I’m almost like three people. There’s me the, Dolly, the person. There’s me, the star. And then there’s me, the manager.

I woke up one day and thought: ‚I want to write a book about the history of my body.‘ I could justify talking about my mother because it was in her body that my body began.

There is a difference between happiness and wisdom: he that thinks himself the happiest man is really so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.

I always wonder when it was that I was embraced.

I don’t know what ‚normal‘ means, anyway.

Never be lucid, never state, if you would be regarded great.

A lot of people like to do certain things, but they’re not that good at it. Keep going through the things that you like to do, until you find something that you actually seem to be extremely good at. It can be anything.

If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.

I’ve always believed in God. I also think that’s the sort of thing that either comes as part of the equipment, the capacity to believe, or at some point in your life, when you’re in a position where you actually need help from a power greater than yourself, you simply make an agreement.

When you realize who you live for, and who’s important to please, a lot of people will actually start living. I am never going to get caught up in that. I’m gonna look back on my life and say that I enjoyed it – and I lived it for me.

I don’t believe in ‚thinking‘ old. Although I’ve transitioned through many bodies – a baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, mid-life and older adult – my spirit is unchanged. I support my body with exercise, my mind with reading and writing, and my spirit with the knowing that I am part of the Divine source of all life.

Did you know there’s a difference between being busy and being fruitful? Did you ever stop to think that just being busy – running around in circles all day but not accomplishing anything – is the same as wasting your time? It’s frustrating to expend so much energy and time and not have any fruit from your effort!

The curse of me and my nation is that we always think things can be bettered by immediate action of some sort, any sort rather than no sort.

I’ve never been a boyfriend kind of girl.

I’m not very ambitious at all.

When people get taken over by the ego to such an extent, there is nothing else in their mind except the ego. They can no longer feel or sense their humanity – what they share with other human beings, or even with other life forms on the planet. They are so identified with concepts in their minds that other human beings become concepts as well.

There are no second acts in American lives.

It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself.

There’s only one effectively redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of self-will to make room for the knowledge of God.

Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing.

People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

I am a walking piece of art every day, with my dreams and my ambitions forward at all times in an effort to inspire my fans to lead their life in that way.

I do not live on false promises. I cannot afford to live on bad advice.

In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.

In this business, by the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late to save yourself. Unless you’re running scared all the time, you’re gone.

I don’t think I’m an unlucky person.

It is impossible to underrate human intelligence – beginning with one’s own.

I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak.

I’m German in my mind, but from a Germany that doesn’t exist any more.

I’m always cast in these strange men… that’s not me, really.

The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.

If you don’t live your life, then who will?

You know, you can make a small mistake in language or etiquette in Britain, or you could when I was younger, and really be made to feel it, and it’s the flick of a lash, but it would sting, and especially at school where there’s not much privacy, and so on. You could, yes, undoubtedly be made to feel crushed.

People should make up their own mind about what they think of me.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

So many people live with anger and unforgiveness, and many of them are Christians.

I love getting out of my comfort zone.

It is better to do one’s own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.

I feel like everything we do comes down to how it looks. Even no branding is branding. For example, you had no face or image to put to my music at first. That was branding.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

The first step in a person’s salvation is knowledge of their sin.

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.

Even though I was very shy, I found I could get onstage if I had a new identity.

When I’m a director, I look at myself the actor as a completely different person. It’s somebody else up there, an actor playing a role. I keep myself out of it.

I’m so wrapped up in my work that it’s often impossible to consider other things in my life. My marriage ended in divorce because of this, my relationship with Holly has suffered by this.

Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.

If you’re embarrassed because you have some notion about how men are supposed to behave, and it doesn’t include weeping, then you have some personal work to do.

People will try to bring you down, but you gotta go up.

Wanting to feel good is synonymous with wanting to feel God.

One thing I want to make clear, as far as my own rebirth is concerned, the final authority is myself and no one else, and obviously not China’s Communists.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

Your emotions are very unstable and should never be the foundation for direction in your life.

I always have a full-length mirror next to the camera when I’m doing publicity stills. That way, I know how I look.

As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.

Whatever has happened in my quest for innovation has been part of my quest for immaculate reality.

My upbringing in Canada made me the person I am. I will always be proud to be a Canadian.

I’m over being a pop star. I don’t wanna be a hot girl. I wanna be iconic. And I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. I feel like I’m highly respected, which is more important than any award or any amount of records. And I feel like there comes a point when being a pop star is not enough.

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