I always say the strength of democracy lies in criticism. If there is no criticism, that means there is no democracy. And if you want to grow, you must invite criticism. And I want to grow; I want to invite criticism.

With any recovery from morbidity there must go a certain healthy humiliation.

No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.

Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision.

Well, in order for me to be successful… In order to be a great artist – musician, actor, painter, whatever – you must be able to be private in public at all times.

There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.

There’s a victory, and defeat; the first and best of victories, the lowest and worst of defeats which each man gains or sustains at the hands not of another, but of himself.

Our will is always for our own good, but we do not always see what that is.

You might win some, you might lose some. But you go in, you challenge yourself, you become a better man, a better individual, a better fighter.

The reason I became 297 pounds is because that was comfortable. What was very uncomfortable was running. What was very uncomfortable was being on a diet. What was very uncomfortable was trying to face things that I didn’t want to face. And I also realized, when I was really big, I had no growth. Why? Because I was living comfortable.

I’m one of the world’s most self-conscious people. I really have to struggle.

You’ve got to learn to survive a defeat. That’s when you develop character.

Self-talk, for me, has been the biggest thing in my life. A lot of us have a dialogue that is crap. It’s a crappy dialogue. We live in a world right now that is very external. Everything is very on the surface. Superficial. Everything. And what we’re telling ourselves is what we see on TV.

There is no body of theory or significant body of relevant information, beyond the comprehension of the layman, which makes policy immune from criticism.

Don’t ever criticize yourself. Don’t go around all day long thinking, ‚I’m unattractive, I’m slow, I’m not as smart as my brother.‘ God wasn’t having a bad day when he made you… If you don’t love yourself in the right way, you can’t love your neighbour. You can’t be as good as you are supposed to be.

Not to go back is somewhat to advance, and men must walk, at least, before they dance.

If you’re going to be a winner in life, you have to constantly go beyond your best.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

When I was 50 years old, I actually decided to draw up a list of half a dozen things that I really hadn’t done very well, and I was going to make efforts to improve. One of them was skiing, and I really did become a very much better skier.

Character is destiny.

Never marry someone in hope that they’ll change later.

No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from.

The spread of civilisation may be likened to a fire; first, a feeble spark, next a flickering flame, then a mighty blaze, ever increasing in speed and power.

If you deserve it, go get it.

Nobody looks like they did when they were 20, so why not take advantage of the fact that you’re changing, emotionally as well as physically?

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

I intend to inspire people with my story: motivate young people that grew up like myself, or even not like myself. Just, you know, go through the human experience.

When you’re coming up with new material, it’s not always gonna be good. The only way to learn is for it not to get a laugh, so you can adjust it and come back the next day to see if it’s working right. Next time, you might get a different laugh. You’re constantly rebuilding.

Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.

Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill.

Criticism is prejudice made plausible.

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

Capital is money, capital is commodities. By virtue of it being value, it has acquired the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring, or, at the least, lays golden eggs.

Don’t ever forget two things I’m going to tell you. One, don’t believe everything that’s written about you. Two, don’t pick up too many checks.

But for me to have the opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of executives and present myself, I had to hustle in my own way. I can’t tell you how frustrating it was that they didn’t get that. No joke – I’d leave meetings crying all the time.

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.

Don’t give in to excuses that can keep you from really living the best life God has for you.

Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.

A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention.

Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.

We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths.

I always say, decisions I make, I live with them. There’s always ways you can correct them or ways you can do them better. At the end of the day, I live with them.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

Get up tomorrow early in the morning, and earlier than you did today, and do the best that you can. Always stay near me, for tomorrow I will have much to do and more than I ever had, and tomorrow blood will leave my body above the breast.

The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.

When you write an article about anything, trolls use the comments to attack. They feel frustrated – but haters are losers. It’s not good to feed this aspect. It’s more intelligent to be constructive.

I know, to banish anger altogether from one’s breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God’s grace.

I’m sure the feeling of fear, as long as you can take advantage of it and not be rendered useless by it, can make you extend yourself beyond what you would regard as your capacity. If you’re afraid, the blood seems to flow freely through the veins, and you really do feel a sense of stimulation.

You can’t go backward in life.

I never sell a book. I sell myself. And the way to sell yourself is to be an instrument of love.

I am invariably late for appointments – sometimes as much as two hours. I’ve tried to change my ways but the things that make me late are too strong, and too pleasing.

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.

I’m actually starting to like more and more people who have convictions that are unpopular.

I’ve learned never to say never.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community.

I want to be an honest man and a good writer.

It is never too late to give up our prejudices.

When the negative thoughts come – and they will; they come to all of us – it’s not enough to just not dwell on it… You’ve got to replace it with a positive thought.