I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success… such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.

It’s kind of exhilarating, walking through a crazy, insane mob. The most miraculous process is watching a song go from a tiny idea in the middle of the night to something that 55,000 people are singing back to you.

Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.

I like writing. I get cranky when I can’t. Yes, I write books back to back, and I work very hard on them.

But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes.

I have good days and bad days.

Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.

Be the hunter, not the hunted.

In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares. I have had experience enough to know what I say.

My whole thing is to inspire, to better people, to better myself forever in this thing that we call rap, this thing that we call hip hop.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Hundreds of people who’ve never written before send in ‚Dr. Who‘ scripts. They may have good ideas, but what they fail to realise is that writing for TV is incredibly complicated. They have no idea how difficult it is and what the financial commitment is.

We have the resources to build room for a trillion humans in this solar system, and when we have a trillion humans, we’ll have a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts. It will be a way more interesting place to live.

I guess that’s one of the things about growing up in the fifties – it never occurred to me that you wouldn’t be at least as successful as your parents.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

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.

All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.

I’m just writing, writing, writing. I keep these tablets on me until I’m inspired to go back in and make the music. I never take a break from my pen, because I pride myself on that.

You have to dream intentionally. Most people dream a dream when they are asleep. But to be a writer, you have to dream while you are awake, intentionally.

We all die, we all get sick, we all feel hunger and lust and pain, and therefore human life is consistent from one generation to the other. We all – most of us, anyway – want connections with other people and spend our lives looking for them.

The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.

I have Dalinian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous.

When Hillary was First Lady, we went to the Beijing Women’s Conference. She courageously stood up and spoke out on behalf of human rights and women’s rights, inspiring millions to fight for a better future.

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.

We were the first generation to have to deal with the modern stardom of football. Some handled it better than others.

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.

I don’t know what acting is, but I enjoy it.

Don’t think in the morning. That’s a big mistake that people make. They wake up in the morning and they start thinking. Don’t think. Just execute the plan. The plan is the alarm clock goes off, you get up, you go work out. Get some.

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not ‚yours,‘ not personal. They are conditions of the human mind. They come and go. Nothing that comes and goes is you.

Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you’re a human being, you feel, you suffer. You’re gay, you’re sick, you’re nervous or whatever.

As I’m traveling around, I meet many small children. And when I look at a small and think how we’ve harmed this beautiful planet since I was that age, I feel a kind of desperation, anger, shame. I don’t know what I feel; I just don’t know what the emotion is.

Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time.

You don’t have to be scared of me, because I am loyal. Why are people so scared of creative ideas and so scared of truth? All I want to do is do good.

Morning without you is a dwindled dawn.

We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving.

I’m not one icon. I’m every icon. I’m an icon that is made out of all the colors on the palette at every time. I have no restrictions. No restrictions.

Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.

Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

If you are lucky enough to find something that you love, and you have a shot at being good at it, don’t stop, don’t put it down.

There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.

I’m a songwriter. Everything affects me.

My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.

Cry if you have a compound fracture, by all means. Or if your grandpa died. But otherwise, save it for your pillow.

One man cannot practice many arts with success.

The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.

Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.

It’s much easier to be successful than it is to be relevant. The tricks won’t keep you relevant. Tricks might keep you popular for a while, but in all honesty, I don’t know how U2 will stay relevant. I know we’ve got a future. I know we can fill stadiums. And yet with every record, I think, ‚Is this it? Are we still relevant?‘

It’s stasis that kills you off in the end, not ambition.

There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.

Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.

Many people tell me that they don ‚t know what to feel when they finish one of my books because the story was dark, or complicated, or strange. But while they were reading it, they were inside my world and they were happy. That’s good.

Bayern want a decade of success like Barca. That’s OK if you have the money because it increases the possibility of success. But it’s not guaranteed.

My paintings have gotten to be pretty popular and I’ve taken a little bit more interest in painting the last few years. In fact, my novel that I wrote not too long ago, ‚The Hornet’s Nest,‘ I painted the cover picture for it and I do a good bit of painting now.

Love is the one wild card.