I dropped out of NYU, moved out of my parent’s house, got my own place, and survived on my own. I made music and worked my way from the bottom up.

I can never be safe; I always try and go against the grain. As soon as I accomplish one thing, I just set a higher goal. That’s how I’ve gotten to where I am.

I will be conquered; I will not capitulate.

Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.

Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.

I grew up where, when a door closed, a window didn’t open. The only thing I had was cracks. I’d do everything to get through those cracks – scratch, claw, bite, push, bleed. Now the opportunity is here. The door is wide open, and it’s as big as a garage.

I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.

We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail.

Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it… Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.

It is easier to stay out than get out.

The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.

Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.

There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome; to be got over.

God gave you a brain. Do the best you can with it. And you don’t have to be Einstein, but Einstein was mentally tough. He believed what he believed. And he worked out things. And he argued with people who disagreed with him. But I’m sure he didn’t call everybody jerks.

Those who attain any excellence, commonly spend life in one pursuit; for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.

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.

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

Obedience brings success; exact obedience brings miracles.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself.

Even the best teams can fail. Celebrities can fade. There is only One in whom your faith is always safe, and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to let your faith show!

I wonder how many times people give up just before a breakthrough – when they are on the very brink of success.

Imagine your family finally making it from nothing to something, and finally getting things going, and finally buying a beautiful house and taking care of your children – and the next day, it’s completely all gone. Zero. Boom. Flat broke. So that’s when I had to man up.

I work very hard, but when God opens that door for you – when life opens that door for you, I should say – I think it’s important to be giving, to return the love back.

I’ve always been an underdog. I feel like I beat the odds.

I tried acting, liked it, and stuck with it. I saw it as the way I would keep that promise to myself of getting back at those who had made my school life a misery.

In my youth, I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment you can grow more surely toward the stars.

Perseverance is also key to success in any endeavor, but without perseverance in combat, there can be no victory.

I’m gonna go hard no matter what because I gotta feed my family, and I gotta feed myself.

My life is a struggle.

Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again.

Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?

It doesn’t matter if the water is cold or warm if you’re going to have to wade through it anyway.

I don’t think about the end game. I’ve got lots to occupy my mind. It’s the rage that keeps me going.

Go as far as you can see; when you get there you’ll be able to see farther.

There is a soak-the-rich attitude in the air, a feeling that if you have a lot of money you must have got it by some ghastly means. I can quite happily say there was never any family money. All the money we got was mine, just from writing books.

It is the nature of every person to error, but only the fool perseveres in error.

Overcoming fear is the first step to success for entrepreneurs. The winners all exemplify that, and the hard work and commitment they have shown underlines what is needed to set up a business.

If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.

You shall, I question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek for it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that it is out of the reach of industry and valor.

For me, education has never been simply a policy issue – it’s personal. Neither of my parents and hardly anyone in the neighborhood where I grew up went to college. But thanks to a lot of hard work and plenty of financial aid, I had the opportunity to attend some of the finest universities in this country.

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.

My music will go on forever. Maybe it’s a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.

Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn’t matter how good you are.

Black Americans, no more than white Americans, they do not want more government programs which perpetuate dependency. They don’t want to be a colony in a nation.

I have only one understanding of development and of making success, and that’s by going step by step.

The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.

Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes,‘ he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. ‚Shake it off. Stop complainin‘. Stop grumblin‘. Stop cryin‘. We are going to press on. We have work to do.

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‚Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.

In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm… in the real world all rests on perseverance.

You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.

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

We are like boxers, one never knows how much longer one has.

You must take the compromise to win, or else nothing. That means: you race or you do not.

All my life affection has been showered upon me, and every forward step I have made has been taken in spite of it.

What I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all – the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead.

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.

The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.