A lot of times, people feel that if they forgive the person who hurt them, then they will continue to take advantage of them or not take responsibility for what they did wrong.

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.

The people in my songs are all me.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

There are going to be things I’m not going to be great at, times when I make mistakes, 100%.

Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.

I’m not frightened of appearing vulnerable.

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

It’s possible to love a human being if you don’t know them too well.

Hollywood is not suited for me, and I am not suited for it.

First, I’m trying to prove to myself that I’m a person. Then maybe I’ll convince myself that I’m an actress.

When a man says he had pleasure with a woman he does not mean conversation.

If you dream the proper dreams, and share the myths with people, they will want to grow up to be like you.

Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?

If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.

It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.

I always wanted a family.

The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.

I don’t like being alone.

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.

Great loves too must be endured.

I was willing to accept what I couldn’t change.

A man has a tendency to accept you the way you are, while most women immediately start to pick flaws and want to change you.

If you are lonely when you’re alone, you are in bad company.

It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is.

To be loved is very demoralizing.

Our treasure lies in the beehive of our knowledge. We are perpetually on the way thither, being by nature winged insects and honey gatherers of the mind.

It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.

Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.

We are second-hand people. We have lived on what we have been told, either guided by our inclinations, our tendencies, or compelled to accept by circumstances and environment. We are the result of all kinds of influences, and there is nothing new in us, nothing that we have discovered for ourselves: nothing original, pristine, clear.

I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.

I had to come from something, come from a place that was negative and positive but the majority of it is a negative place.

We grow older, but we do not change. We become more sophisticated, but at bottom we continue to resemble our young selves, eager to listen to the next story and the next, and the next.

The African is my brother but he is my younger brother by several centuries.

When you have good friends you’ve been around, every time they talk, you don’t give them your full attention. You don’t look them in the eye and stop. Half the time, you’re listening, half the time, you are ignoring them.

Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.

However happy people say they are, nobody is satisfied: we always have to be with the prettiest woman, buy a bigger house, change cars, desire what we do not have.

Probably the greatest harm done by vast wealth is the harm that we of moderate means do ourselves when we let the vices of envy and hatred enter deep into our own natures.

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

Protect your enthusiasm from the negativity of others.

We will always tend to fulfill our own expectation of ourselves.

A quarrel is quickly settled when deserted by one party; there is no battle unless there be two.

I’ve always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.

I never saw myself as a folk singer.

When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.

Don’t get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects.

I could not do what I do, and teach a class, and never miss a deadline, never be late for anything if I was a lush, OK? I would really love to read a piece that said, ‚He is not a lush.‘ That would be fabulous, it would be a first, I could show it to people and say, ‚Look!‘

I can express myself.

We all have a tendency to avoid our weaknesses. When we do that, we never progress or get any better.

Our errors are surely not such awfully solemn things. In a world where we are so certain to incur them in spite of all our caution, a certain lightness of heart seems healthier than this excessive nervousness on their behalf.

If you’re serious, you really understand that it’s important that you laugh as much as possible and admit that you’re the funniest person you ever met. You have to laugh. Admit that you’re funny. Otherwise, you die in solemnity.

A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.

Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

All ways of living can be sanctified, and for each individual, the ideal way is that to which our Lord leads him through the natural development of his tastes and the pressure of circumstances.

Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

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

I used to pray that God would make me a great athlete, and He never did.