I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.

It’s the niceties that make the difference fate gives us the hand, and we play the cards.

In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft.

I am proud of having done what I’ve done. Very proud.

To have no time for philosophy is to be a true philosopher.

The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and about all time.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

There will be days when I walk in an arena and people will cheer and then there might be days when I walk in an arena and people might boo, but it all sounds the same to me because it’s all just noise that lets me know that I’m relevant.

No, I’m not anguished and tormented.

I’m the kind of person who needs to feel like everything happens for a reason. When you date a guy and it goes badly, that’s horrible. But if you can write a song about it, then it was worth it.

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

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

What a blind person needs is not a teacher but another self.

I want people to follow their dreams, yes… but I’m not interested in telling young black kids how to be rappers… I want to show them that there’s so many other paths you can take, besides a rapper or basketball player.

What we think, we become.

No parent is perfect; we all can look back and think of things we could’ve done to help our children be better prepared for adulthood. And sometimes it’s best to admit it to them and encourage them to learn from our mistakes.

You have to believe in your process. You have to believe in the things that you are doing to help the team win. I think you have to take the good with the bad.

I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability.

Control your own destiny! Control your own destiny!

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.

People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true.

I think what motivates people is not great hate, but great love for other people.

It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.

My father wasn’t around when I was a kid, and I used to always say, ‚Why me? Why don’t I have a father? Why isn’t he around? Why did he leave my mother?‘ But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, ‚I don’t know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?‘

We were poor, but we smiled.

We have a big appetite for putting people down but, at the heart of everyone, there’s enough room for all of us to succeed.

A gender line… helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.

I’m grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one to talk to.

I think that I am better than the people who are trying to reform me.

Sometimes we look back and 10 years from now we think, ‚Boy, those were great old days.‘ Well, you know, we’re living in the good old days.

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

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

I always thought it was wrong for me to take credit for the work that I did. I don’t think that anymore.

The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.

I’m a woman, and anytime you tell a woman that she looks nice, it’s not going to upset her.

Every time somebody speaks of my honesty, there is someone who quivers inside me.

I deeply regret any harm, or any perceived harm, that I may have done to anyone by any behaviour of mine.

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.

Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it.

I talk about myself in the third person all the time. I don’t live my life in the way someone like you does. I live my life completely serving only my work and my fans.

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

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

Protect your enthusiasm from the negativity of others.

When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were previously. Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged and inspired after spending any time with you and me.

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

I’m all about evolution. I’m the first person to judge myself.

Those who boast of their descent, brag on what they owe to others.

I will be unhappy if I know I have not accomplished something I should have done that was possible.

If I have a platform and a voice, I should use it for my people.

I’m just glad I play for Coach Belichick.

Few of us can stand prosperity. Another man’s, I mean.

I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.

I think my vice would be outdoing myself.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

I find with most of my readers are kind of like me, sort of people who were a little bit naive in life and then learned the hard way that this is what’s going on, the political games and most of my readers write to me telling me that the book helped them open their eyes to what other people are doing to them.

I don’t know what can be so dangerous about giving people hope.

I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.