For me, it’s enough that I have the first and last word.

We must always remember that America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people but because of what people did for themselves and for one another.

Each daughter of God is of infinite worth because of her divine mission.

I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But I am constantly thinking about my own health and making sure that I’m eating right and getting exercise and watching the aches and pains. I want to be this really fly 80-90-year old.

If you were the President of the United States or the Queen of England – you couldn’t have a person who would be more protective than my mother was for me. Which meant really that I could dare to do all sorts of things.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

I realised a little bit to my astonishment that I can give a lecture for a thousand people, and there will be this tumultuous applause, so, you know, I have the feeling well, it can’t be all that bad.

All of these young people have some kind of potential in them. And if we don’t invest in them as a nation, regardless of where they come from or what color they are, if we don’t invest in them, we lose.

I want to represent… to the kids to draw strength from me. So they can see that everybody goes through something, but you can rise up and do your best. Just try.

Beauty is not caused. It is.

What kind of people do they think we are? Is it possible they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?

If you’re too big to fit into fashion, then you just have to do your own fashion.

Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.

I knew I was a winner back in the late sixties. I knew I was destined for great things. People will say that kind of thinking is totally immodest. I agree. Modesty is not a word that applies to me in any way – I hope it never will.

I just feel so much more comfortable and confident every game I play.

The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself.

The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.

‚Born this Way‘ is about being yourself, and loving who you are and being proud.

Many people, especially young people, would like to be more independent and on their own. But it is very difficult and they suffer from feelings of isolation. I think that is one reason why young readers support my work.

When I was writing the Destiny’s Child songs, it was a big thing to be that young and taking control. And the label at the time didn’t know that we were going to be that successful, so they gave us all control. And I got used to it.

But by reading them again and again finally I was able to grasp the essential part. What emotion, enthusiasm, enlightenment and confidence they communicated to me! I wept for joy.

I was in a queer mood, thinking myself very old: but now I am a woman again – as I always am when I write.

I have a deep, deep belief that if I tell you I’m going to crack you with a clean shot to the chin inside one minute of the first round and you will be unconscious, well, then that’s what will happen.

All of us are mentors. You’re mentors right here and now. And one of the things I’ve always done throughout my life, I have always found that person, that group of people that I was going to reach my hand out and help bring them along with me.

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.

My own eight children all march to the beat of their inner music, and in some cases, it is definitely far away from what I hear. I’ve had to honor their instincts and their choices, and merely guided them out of harm’s way until they could be their own guides.

You’re not better than anybody else, but you’re not less than anybody else. You’re a child of the Most High God.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‚I’m possible‘!

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.

Boldness be my friend.

You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Helping those who have been struck by unforeseeable misfortunes is fundamentally different from making dependency a way of life.

No one can give you better advice than yourself.

What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

I was more independent than any farmer in Concord, for I was not anchored to a house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment.

The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.

Immaturity is the incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another.

I was raised to be an independent woman, not the victim of anything.

So confident am I in the intentions, as well as wisdom, of the government, that I shall always be satisfied that what is not done, either cannot, or ought not to be done.

I am not saying I am the best manager in the world. But I’m quite good.

Facts, like people, want to be free – and when they’re free, liberty is usually around the corner.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.

I think a lot of people love to convolute what everyone else does in order to disempower women.

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.

I am so tired of fear. And I don’t want my girls to live in a country, in a world, based on fear.

Bragging just sounds good, man.

Around every corner, always protect the engine that powers you.

You’re just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.

Our most tragic error may have been our inability to establish a rapport and a confidence with the press and television with the communication media. I don’t think the press has understood me.

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.

No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

Be Prepared… the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise.

Even after Independence, we have had to face the poison of casteism and communalism. How long these evils will continue? Whom does it benefit?

My family has very strong women. My mother never laughed at my dream of Africa, even though everyone else did because we didn’t have any money, because Africa was the ‚dark continent‘, and because I was a girl.

The woman who is known only through a man is known wrong.

We can approach God’s throne with boldness because we are confident in the power of what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross.

You have to develop ways so that you can take up for yourself, and then you take up for someone else. And so sooner or later, you have enough courage to really stand up for the human race and say, ‚I’m a representative.‘

I am whatever you say I am; if I wasn’t, then why would you say I am.

I am my own sanctuary and I can be reborn as many times as I choose throughout my life.