A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.

Choose people who lift you up.

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.

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.

He who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he may really be nearby.

For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise.

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.

My life is mine to remember.

It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one’s heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.

I don’t have the best track record with quotes.

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world.

Wherever a man turns he can find someone who needs him.

I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.

When Nirvana became popular, you could very easily slip and get lost during that storm. I fortunately had really heavy anchors – old friends, family.

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.

At the Carter Center we work with victims of oppression, and we give support to human rights heroes.

I actually feel like women in my position, when we have all at our disposal to help us, shouldn’t complain when we consider all of the people who are really struggling and don’t have the means or support. Many people are single, raising children. That’s hard.

I’ve… been accused of being involved with every man I’m ever seen with or worked with. Maybe I have, maybe I ain’t. I never tell if I have.

My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim.

When I grew up, the Devil was a reason why I had a headache or the Devil was the reason I got mad today. We always blamed the Devil. I think today when I say the Enemy, I like to make it broader. Sometimes the Enemy can be our own thoughts.

One of the things I did when I discovered this huge importance of being vulnerable is very happily moved away from the shame research, because that’s such a downer, and people hate that topic. It’s not that vulnerability is the upside, but it’s better than shame, I guess.

While you’re saving your face, you’re losing your ass.

As unique as we all are, an awful lot of us want the same things. We want to shake up our current less-than-fulfilling lives. We want to be happier, more loving, forgiving and connected with the people around us.

Different taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

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.

And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

You know, it’s not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.

It’s more interesting for me to figure out how to be superior in areas where I’m naive, where I’m a novice.

Lovers often invest their first meetings with retrospective significance, as if to try to conjure the elements of the numinous out of the stubborn witness of the everyday.

Impart as much as you can of your spiritual being to those who are on the road with you, and accept as something precious what comes back to you from them.

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.

Marriage destroyed my relationship with two wonderful men.

To reform a world, to reform a nation, no wise man will undertake; and all but foolish men know, that the only solid, though a far slower reformation, is what each begins and perfects on himself.

My own dreams fortunately came true in this great state. I became Mr. Universe; I became a successful businessman. And even though some people say I still speak with a slight accent, I have reached the top of the acting profession.

Transforming yourself into a deep listener will not only prove more amusing as you open your mind to their mind, but you will gain the most invaluable lessons about human psychology.

All things considered, there’s nobody better for children than parents.

What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.

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

A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married.

How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.

Development of outlook naturally begins with a respect for God… Reverence to God and reverence for one’s neighbor and reverence for oneself as a servant of God.

If I think too hard about a relationship, I’ll talk myself out of it.

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.

Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.

People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles.

We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?

Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.

In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures.

I didn’t have a father figure in the house.

The Tao teaches us not to intervene and interfere. The things we love we have to learn to leave alone. And the people we love we have to learn to let them be.

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

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.

The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.

Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.

There is no lonelier man in death, except the suicide, than that man who has lived many years with a good wife and then outlived her. If two people love each other there can be no happy end to it.

I can’t usually stomach a project after I finish it, but for those days and weeks and months that it’s new to me, I do listen to it, and it might change over time, but it’s about function.

You can draw inspiration from anything. If you’re a good storyteller, you can take a dirty look somebody gives you, or if a guy you used to have flirtations with starts dating a new girl, or somebody you’re casually talking to says something that makes you so mad – you can create an entire scenario around that.

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.

There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has a right to blame us.