As we advance in life we learn the limits of our abilities.

The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.

As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.

Men must be taught as if you taught them not, and things unknown proposed as things forgot.

None of the records I make are ever a deliberate construction – they’re always an expression of who I am at the time and where I am in my life.

Thinking is a wonderful tool if it’s applied. Thinking, however, can not become the master. Thinking is a very bad master. If you’re dominated by thinking then your life becomes very restricted.

We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.

I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.

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.

The same thing I did in 2013 is what I’m trying to do in 2014, which is continue to improve, continue to shock people. You know, I have several projects coming up between 2014 and 2015, and hopefully by 2015, I’ll have another hour of stand-up material where I’ll be able to go on the road and tour again.

The big message of gospel is that you don’t have to keep fighting the universe; you can stop, and the universe is quite good to you. There is a loss of ego.

Money does not change people, people change.

Always say ‚yes‘ to the present moment… Surrender to what is. Say ‚yes‘ to life – and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.

Character is power.

You might not always get what you want, but you always get what you expect.

The longer I live, the more I feel that true repose consists in ‚renouncing‘ one’s own self, by which I mean making up one’s mind to admit that there is no importance whatever in being ‚happy‘ or ‚unhappy‘ in the usual meaning of the words.

What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal.

Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.

The reason that I’m here at all is because of my relationship with my family and their encouragement of me to be a musician and to work hard. As long as I stay there in that space, I can do anything. That’s my truth.

Sometimes I’m a bit under-aggressive and sometimes a bit over. But I think it’s good to have both.

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.

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do.

If you listen through the screen of your desires, then you obviously listen to your own voice; you are listening to your own desires.

I’ve always done whatever I want and always been exactly who I am.

I have met 18 million youth, and each wants to be unique.

There’s not a note of mine that’s worth the noting.

I went to a lovely school, and I got an incredible education. And I actually think that my education is what really sets me apart, ‚cause I’m very smart.

Because you know when you first become famous, you start walking a little different because people are staring at you.

To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.

You leave old habits behind by starting out with the thought, ‚I release the need for this in my life‘.

I’m sure like everyone else I’m not always the happiest if I don’t do a good job in quali or the race or whatever, so I think beating myself up sometimes makes me work harder.

I know I will never be happy, but I know I can be gay!

Where much is expected from an individual, he may rise to the level of events and make the dream come true.

I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.

Control your own destiny! Control your own destiny!

I write from my soul. This is the reason that critics don’t hurt me, because it is me. If it was not me, if I was pretending to be someone else, then this could unbalance my world, but I know who I am.

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

Marriage is a school itself. Also, having children. Becoming a father changed my whole life. It taught me as if by revelation.

The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.

What you don’t do can be a destructive force.

A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.

I’m not going to change the world. You’re not going to change the world. But we can help – we can all help.

I’ve never professed to be anything but an average student.

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.

You’re not a product of your nature. That is your genetic makeup or your nurture, the things that have happened to you. Of course those things affect you powerfully, but they do not determine you.

There are as many pillows of illusion as flakes in a snow-storm. We wake from one dream into another dream.

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

God didn’t make me to make movies, flex muscles, buy gold. What you love the most becomes your God… If I never make another dollar, my life is complete.

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.

Study the past, if you would divine the future.

First and foremost, we need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our own gossiping and anger. We should model the kindness we want to see.

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.

Education is hanging around until you’ve caught on.

No group and no government can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned.

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

Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you’re exactly the same.

We human beings are strange creatures and still reserve the right to think for ourselves.

Real riches are the riches possessed inside.

I used to feel unsafe right in the moment of an accomplishment – I felt the ground fall from under my feet because this could be the end. And even now, while everyone is celebrating, I’m on to the next thing. I don’t want to get lost in this big cushion of success.

The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.

It’s absolutely normal that different human beings want to go different ways.