You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life of peace, you inspire hope for a future of peace.

Somebody once asked me what my theory of life was, and I said, ‚Don’t try.‘ That fits the writing, too. I don’t try; I just type.

There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life.

My mother told me, ‚Son, nobody else but God knows.‘ And that’s what I’m about – reaching out to the people, crying with them, giving them hope. Visiting the hospital, visiting the kids with cancer, visiting the adults, and stuff like that. That’s what I do.

Breathing in, I am aware of my heart. Breathing out, I smile to my heart and know that my heart still functions normally. I feel grateful for my heart.

Basketball is booming, and it’s not just an Under Armour standpoint: it’s about the game itself. Kids going out and playing and being inspired by what we do on the court.

It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.

I’ve done many ads because that’s my new career. It’s an inspiring extension for my mind.

Sometimes I write about my own life. And sometimes I write about situations I see my friends going through. Sometimes I write about a scene I saw in a movie. I take inspiration from all different places.

Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

When the mind is empty, silent, when it is in a state of complete negation – which is not blankness, nor the opposite of being positive, but a totally different state in which all thought has ceased – only then is it possible for that which is unnameable to come into being.

He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!

Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.

If a man does his best, what else is there?

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.

Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

Nothing is so aggravating than calmness.

All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.

Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children.

The writing process, the way I go about it is I do whatever the beat feels like, whatever the beat is telling me to do. Usually when the beat comes on, I think of a hook or the subject I want to rap about almost instantly. Within four, eight bars of it playing I’m just like, ‚Oh, OK. This is what I wanna do‘.

Mr. T. been to chemo, Mr. T been to radiation, hair fall out… but he’s back. Now I can give hope when I go to the hospital, see the sick kids with cancer, tell them, don’t quit.

That was always the difference between Muhammad Ali and the rest of us. He came, he saw, and if he didn’t entirely conquer – he came as close as anybody we are likely to see in the lifetime of this doomed generation.

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. Trusting that, just because of the way people are built and how interconnected we are, greatness will translate and symmetry will be recognised.

Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.

Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed… It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.

Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.

I think a number of the leaders are, whether you like it or not, in the hip-hop generation. And when they understand enough, they’ll do wonders. I count on them.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

Peace begins with a smile.

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.

Even with all of the things that are so awful, if you walk into your yard and stay there looking at almost anything for five minutes, you will be stunned by how marvelous life is and how incredibly lucky we are to have it.

Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.

That is my wish, hope, instruction for all of you: Take your education seriously, okay? Always do that. Because I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for my education.

You always have to remember that if you say something negative, it’s going to come back to haunt you.

Indians felt despondent about Indian governance. Changing that atmosphere of gloom was a very challenging task, and I faced many difficulties in rectifying the situation and bringing back confidence and hope.

Never, and I mean never, allow anyone else’s ideas of who you can or can’t become sully your dream or pollute your imagination. This is your territory, and a ‚Keep Out‘ sign is a great thing to erect at all entrances to your imagination.

Everywhere I go I find that people… both leaders and individuals… are asking one basic question, ‚Is there any hope for the future?‘ My answer is the same, ‚Yes, through Jesus Christ.‘

Being at ease with not knowing is crucial for answers to come to you.

The true art of memory is the art of attention.

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

Your timeless self does not age and has no fear of the future. Contemplate your physical self and all its possessions, and practice laughing peacefully at it all.

Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.

There is such a thing as old emotional pain living inside you. It is an accumulation of painful life experience that was not fully faced and accepted in the moment it arose. It leaves behind an energy form of emotional pain.

Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant.

Getting a great idea with song writing is a lot like love. You don’t know why this one is different, but it is. You don’t know why this one is better, but it is. It sticks in your head, and you can’t stop thinking about it.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

He who does not mind his belly, will hardly mind anything else.

As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.

Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.

I know that when I pray, something wonderful happens. Not just to the person or persons for whom I’m praying, but also something wonderful happens to me. I’m grateful that I’m heard.

We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.

If you abandon the present moment, you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply.

Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.

When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.

As a kid, we would drive up and down 77 North – that’s our highway – there would be office buildings on the side of the highway and I’d be like, that’s what my house is going to look like when I get older. I’m going to start making my house look like this.

A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.

You know, as a writer, I’m more of a listener than a writer, cuz if I hear something I will write it down.