Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true.

For an author, the nice characters aren’t much fun. What you want are the screwed up characters. You know, the characters that are constantly wondering if what they are doing is the right thing, characters that are not only screwed up but are self-tapping screws. They’re doing it for themselves.

I think my vice would be outdoing myself.

A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.

I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.

Being happy is a matter of personal taste.

God is speaking to us. But are we listening to Him? When our conscience begins to nudge us for whatever reason, we might have this low-level misery or uneasiness about whatever it is we’ve done or we’re about to do. At times like this, it’s wise to prayerfully consider whether we’re offending God with our actions.

The truth is something that burns. It burns off dead wood. And people don’t like having the dead wood burnt off, often because they’re 95 percent dead wood.

There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline.

You don’t want to pigeonhole yourself.

The greatest pride, or the greatest despondency, is the greatest ignorance of one’s self.

We’re always looking over our shoulders, ‚what they will think, what the press will think, what will this one – am I making the right career move?‘ When you’re young you have to do all that to survive, I suppose.

There will be days when I walk in an arena and people will cheer and then there might be days when I walk in an arena and people might boo, but it all sounds the same to me because it’s all just noise that lets me know that I’m relevant.

Control and surrender have to be kept in balance. That’s what surfers do – take control of the situation, then be carried, then take control. In the last few thousand years, we’ve become incredibly adept technically. We’ve treasured the controlling part of ourselves and neglected the surrendering part.

So let’s be honest with ourselves and not take ourselves too serious, and never condemn the other fellow for doing what we are doing every day, only in a different way.

I think I am smart unless I am really, really in love, and then I am ridiculously stupid.

I hate pain, despite my ability to tolerate it beyond all known parameters, which is not necessarily a good thing.

We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.

Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

It is only a man’s own fundamental thoughts that have truth and life in them. For it is these that he really and completely understands. To read the thoughts of others is like taking the remains of someone else’s meal, like putting on the discarded clothes of a stranger.

When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.

To have no time for philosophy is to be a true philosopher.

We all self-conscious. I’m just the first to admit it.

Self-control means wanting to be effective at some random point in the infinite radiations of my spiritual existence.

The Nation of Islam’s main focus was teaching black pride and self-awareness. Why should we keep trying to force ourselves into white restaurants and schools when white people didn’t want us? Why not clean up our own neighborhoods and schools instead of trying to move out of them and into white people’s neighborhoods?

There are certain things that bother me and certain things that don’t. Personal attacks on me? I think I’m just so used to it.

I am, as a character, at times, a little overbearing. I recognize that.

I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?

I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.

I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me – spiritually and financially.

Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened your mindset can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak, one-second impulses to give in. Even if you’re feeling low and beat down by life right now, I guarantee you can think of a time or two when you overcame odds and tasted success.

You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.

Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

Man is not made for defeat.

I’m not happy all the time, and I wouldn’t want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody.

Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.

If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?

When you begin to worry, go find something to do. Get busy being a blessing to someone; do something fruitful. Talking about your problem or sitting alone, thinking about it, does no good; it serves only to make you miserable. Above all else, remember that worrying is totally useless. Worrying will not solve your problem.

There is a road from the eye to heart that does not go through the intellect.

Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Americans are far more remarkable than we give ourselves credit for. We’ve been so busy damning ourselves for years. We’ve done it all, and yet we don’t take credit for it.

Well, I wouldn’t say that I was in the great class, but I had a great time while I was trying to be great.

Go on thinking that you don’t need to be read and you’ll find that it may become quite true: no one will feel the need tom read it because it is written for yourself alone; and the public won’t feel any impulse to gate crash such a private party.

I don’t have any stress. I’m very lucky. I live a very healthy life.

Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that’s when something snaps up and bites you.

I’ve been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.

No one has ever learned fully to know themselves.

I think life is a matter of choices and that wherever we are, good or bad, is because of choices we make.

Love is a state of being.

You have to feel confident. If you don’t, then you’re going to be hesitant and defensive, and there’ll be a lot of things working against you.

I look at myself like a show dog. I’ve got to keep her clipped and trimmed and in good shape.

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

My dad had a church of 90 people when I was born. It was just, over the years it continued to grow.

Whenever things go a bit sour in a job I’m doing, I always tell myself, ‚You can do better than this.‘

If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.

What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.

Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.

In Hollywood the woods are full of people that learned to write but evidently can’t read. If they could read their stuff, they’d stop writing.