I don’t have all the answers.

I wish they would only take me as I am.

One of the huge imbalances in life is the disparity between your daily existence, with its routines and habits, and the dream you have within yourself of some extraordinarily satisfying way of living.

How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.

We cannot learn men from books.

One of the wonderful things about Oprah: She teaches you to keep on stepping.

I think writing really helps you heal yourself. I think if you write long enough, you will be a healthy person. That is, if you write what you need to write, as opposed to what will make money, or what will make fame.

We are looking for happiness and running after it in such a way that creates anger, fear and discrimination. So when you attend a retreat, you have a chance to look at the deep roots of this pollution of the collective energy that is unwholesome.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

The most common lie is that which one lies to himself; lying to others is relatively an exception.

What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

This is the first age that’s ever paid much attention to the future, which is a little ironic since we may not have one.

For a long time, I had the idea that I would do a certain amount of work the best I could, and then I would reach a comfort zone, and I wouldn’t be pushed to write more. I would become a different person. It’s a surprise to me that this hasn’t happened. Your body ages, but your mind is the same.

As you think, so shall you become.

Every man is his own hell.

Well, I screwed it up real good, didn’t I?

I’m sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.

Suppose you could gain everything in the whole world, and lost your soul. Was it worth it?

Transformation literally means going beyond your form.

Unless I am both capable of and willing to reopen the wound every time I write a song, if I choose to not look inside myself to write music, I’m really not worth being called an artist at all.

Life’s too short to deal with other people’s insecurities.

The questions which one asks oneself begin, at least, to illuminate the world, and become one’s key to the experience of others.

Love is a better teacher than duty.

When I grew up, the Devil was a reason why I had a headache or the Devil was the reason I got mad today. We always blamed the Devil. I think today when I say the Enemy, I like to make it broader. Sometimes the Enemy can be our own thoughts.

Choose people who lift you up.

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

Learn to say ‚no‘ to the good so you can say ‚yes‘ to the best.

Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.

I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak.

Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down.

We all have done something unethical.

Libraries raised me.

I think I’m pretty smart. I think I’m pretty clever. But there’s a lot that you hone in on when you finish your education.

What good is it being Marilyn Monroe? Why can’t I just be an ordinary woman?

Weak character will neutralize all of the other possible good qualities a person might possess.

Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

You have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity.

If you try to protect yourself from pain, it becomes a stone in your heart. But the more you learn to face things, the more likely that stone can become a pearl.

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.

It is only a man’s own fundamental thoughts that have truth and life in them. For it is these that he really and completely understands. To read the thoughts of others is like taking the remains of someone else’s meal, like putting on the discarded clothes of a stranger.

If you carefully consider what you want to be said of you in the funeral experience, you will find your definition of success.

To this day, some of my closest friends say, ‚Gaga, you know, everything’s great. You’re a singer; your dreams have come true.‘ But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you’re growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they’re true.

I built a label at the same time I built a career.

One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.

What do I care about the purring of one who cannot love, like the cat?

Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

Some people feel affronted when something they thought to be true doesn’t happen. If that’s the case, then your sense of risk is much higher, and that leads to risk aversion. You need to be able to be comfortable in uncertainty.

None but ourselves can free our minds.

God has his plans and his reasons. Sometimes we are supposed to go through things so that we learn lessons.

I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose, because settling is the worst feeling in the world.

Hair is about when you’re younger. I am my hair.

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.

The Bible tells us to be perfect. This is likely a scary thought for many people. It used to scare me. I didn’t think I could ever get there, no matter how hard I tried.

I’ve never been shy or secretive with the fact that if you walk into my life, you may be walking onto a record.

Absolutely not. I have no problem with commitment. In fact, I love having someone in my life.

The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.

If you’re going to spend two years of your life on something, it has to matter to you; you have to be passionate about it.

The reason I talk to myself is that I’m the only one whose answers I accept.