As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become.

It is plain indeed that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are relatives of ours: far nearer to us than Elves, or even than Dwarves. Of old they spoke the languages of Men, after their own fashion, and liked and disliked much the same things as Men did. But what exactly our relationship is can no longer be discovered.

My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

A man who is not afraid is not aggressive, a man who has no sense of fear of any kind is really a free, a peaceful man.

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

Our whole life is set up in the path of least resistance. We don’t want to suffer. We don’t want to feel discomfort. So the whole time, we’re living our lives in a very comfortable area. There’s no growth in that.

Some men do think I’m a psycho bunny-boiler.

Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries.

When there’s so much left to do, why spend your time focusing on things you’ve already done, counting trophies or telling stories about the good old days?

I have total recall. I remember being born. I remember being in the womb, I remember being inside. Coming out was great.

I want to be a man who is truthful and who won’t let pride get in the way of my ripping myself open to my partner and saying, ‚Here I am. This is me.‘ I feel there’s something powerful when a man reaches a point in his life when he can be completely vulnerable.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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.

No untroubled day has ever dawned for me.

Prison life, fortunately, I spent a lot of years, about 18 years with other prisoners, and, as I say, they enriched your soul.

For a long time, I thought I was ugly and disfigured. This made me shy and timid, and I often reacted to insults that were not intended.

These are the soul’s changes. I don’t believe in ageing. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.

Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

‚Victory Lap,‘ even the title. It’s the accumulation of trial and error; that’s what I represent; trial and error.

The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants.

Why regret anything? Where does it get you to regret anything you’ve ever done in your life? It gets you nowhere. It’s a pathetic emotion that you can wallow in.

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

When I was old enough to change my name, I changed it to Mr. T so that the first word out of someone’s mouth was ‚Mister,‘ a sign of respect.

Your Highest Self is not just an idea that sounds lofty and spiritual. It is a way of being. It is the very first principle that you must come to understand and embrace as you move toward attracting to you that which you want and need for this parenthesis in eternity that you know as your life.

By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.

I got my own back.

Believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made.

Man is not the sum of what he has already, but rather the sum of what he does not yet have, of what he could have.

Your entire life only happens in this moment. The present moment is life itself. Yet, people live as if the opposite were true and treat the present moment as a stepping stone to the next moment – a means to an end.

I carry a small sheet of paper in my wallet that has written on it the names of people whose opinions of me matter. To be on that list, you have to love me for my strengths and struggles.

Know that any and all thoughts that you have regarding your own skills, interests, and inclinations are valid. To reinforce the validity of your thoughts, keep them private. Tell yourself that they’re between you and God.

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

I just do the best I can and write something interesting, to tell stories in an interesting way and move forward from there.

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.

No poet or orator has ever existed who believed there was any better than himself.

As I grow up, the lessons I learn in love and relationships and how we treat each other are hopefully maturing – hopefully.

Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don’t know because we don’t want to know.

I wish everyone well, but you need to focus on yourself. You need to stop putting your hand out. Everyone wants hand outs. Everyone wants things for free. You’ve got to put in the work. You’ve got to grind. You’ve got go through the struggle, and you’ve got to get it.

What we think, we become.

My fans saw me get engaged, saw me make that woman my wife, me having kids, me divorcing, me talking about divorce before the divorce, me talking about my kids‘ reaction to that divorce.

There’s definitely going to be things that I’m not very good at, things I can improve.

Then not only an old man, but also a drunkard, becomes a second time a child.

Getting organized in the normal routines of life and finishing little projects you’ve started is an important first step toward realizing larger goals. If you can’t get a handle on the small things, how will you ever get it together to focus on the big things?

Modesty is not only an ornament, but also a guard to virtue.

Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense.

I don’t think human beings learn anything without desperation. Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything or creating anything. Period. If you ain’t desperate at some point, you ain’t interesting.

Weak character will neutralize all of the other possible good qualities a person might possess.

The most propagandistic element of ‚Frozen‘ was the transformation of the prince at the beginning of the story, who was a perfectly good guy, into a villain with no character development whatsoever about three-quarters of the way to the ending.

Satan is wiser now than before, and tempts by making rich instead of poor.

As a kid from Compton, you can get all the success in the world and still question your worth.

Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge.

Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.

I’ve discovered that when we take time to renew our minds with God’s Word, we learn how to think like God thinks, say what God says, and act like He wants us to act.

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

I have seen how leaders rule by intimidation. Leaders who demonize and dehumanize entire groups of people often do so because they have nothing else to offer. And I have seen how places that stifle the voices and dismiss the potential of their citizens are diminished: how they are less vital, less hopeful, less free.

Idleness is the beginning of all vice, the crown of all virtues.