A word of advice from Lord Bryne, an experienced and accomplish military general, to Gawyn a young, talented fighter, and a simp. Gawyn has just proclaimed that a particular young woman (Egwene) is his everything, to which Bryne responds: "But son...A man is more than one drive, one goal. No woman wants that in a man. It seems to me that men who spend time making something of themselves--rather than professing their devotion--are the ones who get somewhere. Both with women, and with life itself...So, if I have advice for you, it's this: Find out who you would be without Egwene, and then figure out how to fit her into that."

Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight, Book 13 in the Wheel of Time series