I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.

Whatever you are, be a good one.

I don’t look at my old work. I mean, they made nice books; the books were made without me, the one from last year and the one from this year. I – personally, I’m not interested in my own past. I’m only interested in today – perhaps tomorrow.

The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.

The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.

Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in a destructive first marriage. By the time I was 23, I was broken in my soul. I didn’t know how to think right. I felt wrong about everything. But God stepped into my life, and I came out on the other side and didn’t even smell like smoke.

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.

I don’t know how to live good. I only know how to suffer.

I don’t have any regrets. I made all my own decisions.

I always entertain the notion that I’m wrong, or that I’ll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.

I really have no interest in myself.

It is never too late to give up our prejudices.

Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body. Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: With mindfulness, you can see that she is unhappy, that she is suffering. You can see her wrong perceptions. You can see that she is not beautiful when she says things that are unkind.

I never knew a more presumptuous person than myself. The fact that I say that shows that what I say is true.

There are women who can make you feel more with their bodies and their souls, but these are the exact women who will turn the knife into you right in front of the crowd. Of course, I expect this, but the knife still cuts.

Control your own destiny! Control your own destiny!

To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.

I don’t see myself in terms of artifice. I see myself as a real person who chooses to live my life in an open way – artistically.

Instead of blaming everyone and everything else for your problems, pray for God to help you take an inventory of what’s been on your mind so you can think about what you’ve been thinking about.

I don’t have to be what you want me to be.

Playing in MLS was a great experience. It has boosted my confidence and I feel I have matured as a player.

To this day, some of my closest friends say, ‚Gaga, you know, everything’s great. You’re a singer; your dreams have come true.‘ But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you’re growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they’re true.

I mean we all need a second chance sometimes.

You may make some mistakes – but that doesn’t make you a sinner. You’ve got the very nature of God on the inside of you.

I can be jubilant one moment and pensive the next, and a cloud could go by and make that happen.

If you get your ego in your way, you will only look to other people and circumstances to blame.

I don’t write so much now. I’m getting on 33, pot belly and creeping dementia.

I am who I am and I say what I think. I’m not putting a face on for the record.

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‚If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?‘ And whenever the answer has been ‚No‘ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

Why am I a star? It can’t be because of looks.

If anything is certain, it is that I myself am not a Marxist.

It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there’s nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.

A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.

Lots of songs aren’t even from my experiences, but they’re about accepting… the dark things about yourself.

The Canteen Boy, the reason you feel bad for him and you can laugh is because he, and I guess a lot of my characters, they don’t notice they’re getting made fun of. So they’ll say something back that’s not that great a quip, but in their mind they won the argument.

If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.

Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?

If there are people you haven’t forgiven, you’re not going to really awaken. You have to let go.

It is only in our decisions that we are important.

Everything has been figured out, except how to live.

It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I’ve learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place.

I don’t dislike any of my exes. If I took time to form a relationship, it’s gonna hurt when we move on, but are you puttin‘ White-Out over all that beautiful time together? That was real time in your life. It’s connected to where you are today.

I’m so happy I discovered early how wonderful music makes me feel.

A woman knows by intuition, or instinct, what is best for herself.

Within us there is someone who knows everything, wills everything, does everything better than we ourselves.

Forty is when you actually begin even deserving to be on stage telling people what you think.

I have the problems of, I must confess, old age.

Suffering by nature or chance never seems so painful as suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.

I often wake up in the night, and I like to have something to think about.

I’m a big believer in doing things that make you uncomfortable. So, we live in a world where we want to be as comfortable as we can. And we wonder why we have no growth. We wonder why – when the smallest thing in our life gets difficult – we wonder why we cower and we run away.

I think that I’m perfect.

I never saw myself as a folk singer.

In one way, I suppose, I have been ‚in denial‘ for some time, knowingly burning the candle at both ends and finding that it often gives a lovely light.

Don’t let the incidents which take place in life bring you low. And certainly don’t whine. You can be brought low, that’s OK, but don’t be reduced by them. Just say, ‚That’s life.‘

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