The great epochs of our life are the occasions when we gain the courage to rebaptize our evil qualities as our best qualities.

I really believe in the philosophy that you create your own universe. I’m just trying to create a good one for myself.

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.

Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth to see it like it is, and tell it like it is, to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth.

For a long time, I had the idea that I would do a certain amount of work the best I could, and then I would reach a comfort zone, and I wouldn’t be pushed to write more. I would become a different person. It’s a surprise to me that this hasn’t happened. Your body ages, but your mind is the same.

I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that.

Truth cannot be brought down; rather, the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. You cannot bring the mountaintop to the valley. If you would attain to the mountaintop, you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of the dangerous precipices.

I knew ‚Crenshaw‘ had elevated me and distinguished me.

An individual step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual.

My favorite affirmation when I feel stuck or out of sorts is: Whatever I need is already here, and it is all for my highest good. Jot this down and post it conspicuously throughout your home, on the dashboard of your car, at your office, on your microwave oven, and even in front of your toilets!

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern you life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.

If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.

My life has been very full.

The art of being a slave is to rule one’s master.

People can try to reinvent themselves. I don’t think you can really change who you are, though, because who you are is pretty much where you came from and what you’ve done up to now.

My ‚fear‘ is my substance, and probably the best part of me.

I think being able to age gracefully is a very important talent. It is too late for me.

Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.

I’m not perfect.

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

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.

I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.

I used to feel unsafe right in the moment of an accomplishment – I felt the ground fall from under my feet because this could be the end. And even now, while everyone is celebrating, I’m on to the next thing. I don’t want to get lost in this big cushion of success.

My dad seemed comfortable with his decision to be a ‚have-not,‘ but I knew that I wasn’t.

It is after all the greatest art to limit and isolate oneself.

Commit yourself to a mighty purpose.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

I have never felt that the one thing that I am ‚known for‘ is what I am.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge.

I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.

A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.

That’s something I think is growing on me as I get older: happy endings.

When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.

I love playing ego and insecurity combined.

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.

Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.

I have so much in my life. I want to be of value to the world.

You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.

Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been effort stored up in the past.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

A lot of people cry and complain and put their hand out and beg. It never goes well.

It is not good to be too free. It is not good to have everything one wants.

I’d like to be known for more than being the guy in the big suit.

In art, at a certain level, there is no ‚better than.‘ It’s just about trying to operate for yourself on the most supreme level, artistically, that you can and hoping that people get it.

There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.

I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m really confused now.

Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.

Feels good to try, but playing a father, I’m getting a little older. I see now that I’m taking it more serious and I do want that lifestyle.

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency.

One cannot violate the promptings of one’s nature without having that nature recoil upon itself.

I don’t do things for the response or for the controversy. I just live my life.

Reproach is shame, blame, disgrace, disapproval and a disrespectful attitude toward yourself. When you’re under reproach, your behavior shows it.

Needing to have things perfect is the surest way to immobilize yourself with frustration.

My life is my argument.

Success is due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them.