Living in America and, of course, just being women in general, we’ve got more strength than we think we do.

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide on what to do.

Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.

There are those who believe Black people possess the secret of joy and that it is this that will sustain them through any spiritual or moral or physical devastation.

The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.

I will not be concerned at other men’s not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.

With tech companies, whoever’s the leader is always questioned, you know. They say, ‚Is this the end of them?‘ And – there’s more – more times people think that’s the case than it really is the case.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

I got the stern end of the stick. It was kind of that iron fist. I am who I am today because of my mother.

We do need women in civic life. We do need women to run for office, to be in political office. We need a feminist to be at the table when decisions are being made so that the right decisions will be made.

I’m very secure about my talents and about who I am.

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.

Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire, and other times God will make you fireproof.

Any of us can be happy and have a good attitude when everything is going our way. But I believe it’s the real test of your character and of your faith to say, ‚Things are not going our way, but I’m still being good to people; I’m still attending church; I still have a good attitude.‘

Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.

The man who has done his level best… is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure.

Failure means a stripping away of the inessential.

Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.

If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that… I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it.

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

I don’t focus on the critics. Everyone who is making any difference in any field has critics. As long as I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, then I don’t worry about it.

Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.

Sometimes you have to take two steps back to take ten forward.

Above everything else I’ve done, I’ve always said I’ve had more guts than I’ve got talent.

From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments of sadness or fear. That’s what I believe, and it was very, very strong in the forest.

Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.

Character is power.

‚Suffering should not make us bitter people,‘ my mother once said, ‚it should make us better comforters.‘ Young people need to hear this from those who have walked before them, because someday they’ll be walking those same steps, but there may not be anyone following behind.

Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change.

He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

I’m tough when I have to be, tender when I should be. When you find a really tough guy, he’s not a predator. He doesn’t have to prove himself. Guys who have to pretend to be tough, they ain’t. I’m tough.

Her body calculated to a millimeter to suggest a bud yet guarantee a flower.

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

If there’s one thing that’s certain in business, it’s uncertainty.

Everybody wants to be me. What can I say?

I have often been downcast but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time. In my diary, I treat all the privations as amusing.

You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.

The sun doesn’t always shine in West Virginia, but the people do.

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.

But for me to have the opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of executives and present myself, I had to hustle in my own way. I can’t tell you how frustrating it was that they didn’t get that. No joke – I’d leave meetings crying all the time.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.

There are people in the world who have skills and strength and talent that I will never have. Never. These notions that you can ‚be whatever you want to be as long as you want it bad enough‘ are not true. They are fairy tales.

I’m sick of the tabloids‘ saying I obsess over guys. Why would you obsess over guys? They don’t like it.

At the end of the day, I understand that life has road blocks, and life is like school – you’ll be tested; we gotta pass it.

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.

My honour was not yielded, but conquered merely.

I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.

I’m comfortable in my own skin, no matter how far it’s stretched. Ha ha.

Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.

Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.

When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have come safely through the worst.

Women are nothing but machines for producing children.

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.

Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.

It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined – to strengthen each other – to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.

That is America. That is America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it. We embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own.

Any experience that touches you, in any particular way, is good. It can be a horrible experience.

War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.

In a universe that’s an intelligent system with a divine creative force supporting it, there simply can be no accidents. As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today, and the evidence is that you did.