I had writer’s block for almost a year.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

It’s not possible to advise a young writer because every young writer is so different. You might say, ‚Read,‘ but a writer can read too much and be paralyzed. Or, ‚Don’t read, don’t think, just write,‘ and the result could be a mountain of drivel.

All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.

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.

If I wished to do something, even if I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to make the effort with me, I would go out solo climbing. I did find solo climbing very challenging and a little frightening. You knew that you were completely on your own, and you had to overcome all the problems and possible dangers.

It usually helps me write by reading – somehow the reading gear in your head turns the writing gear.

I enjoy competition. I enjoy challenges. If a challenge is in front of me and it appeals to me, I will go ahead and conquer it.

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.

If you look at my life, generally, I’ve been put in situations which were difficult and which I conquered.

I had a period where I thought I might not be good enough to publish.

The greatest difficulty always comes right before the birth of a dream.

My stories run up and bite me on the leg – I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.

I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.

I think there are a number of things that you can do to encourage your kids‘ dreams, but I do believe in speaking by experience of having a lot of help along the way, stumbling in the past. We’ve all stumbled, and we certainly all deserve to get up and walk again.

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.

Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.

At the end of the day, I understand that life has road blocks, and life is like school – you’ll be tested; we gotta pass it.

When I’m stuck for a closing to a lyric, I will drag out my last resort: overwhelming illogic.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Strangely, some songs you really don’t want to write.

I’ve got nothing to say most of the time.

The most challenging project I’ve ever done, I think, is every single thing I’ve ever tried to do. It’s never easy.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!

I remember they used to tell me, they said, ‚Khaled, you can’t get a Rolls-Royce; you need to get one of them small ones.‘ So I went and bought a Phantom.

I’ve never been a very prolific person, so when creativity flows, it flows. I find myself scribbling on little notepads and pieces of loose paper, which results in a very small portion of my writings to ever show up in true form.

March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.

I want to thank The Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block.

I mean, what would I be doing if I couldn’t write? But that fortunately hasn’t proved to be the case and I can read any day. I still read a lot, and I can write any day, but much more slowly and fewer words.

Writing bores me so.

If it doesn’t work out there will never be any doubt that the pleasure was worth all the pain.

We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle.

I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.

Some writers sit down without a thought of what they are going to say, and they go through draft after draft.

I felt like I had a really bad case of writer’s block… Music is so therapeutic for me that if I can’t get it out, I start feeling bad about myself – a lot of self-loathing.

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.

Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

If I could write directly on a typewriter or a computer, I would do it. But keyboards have always intimidated me. I’ve never been able to think clearly with my fingers in that position. A pen is a much more primitive instrument. You feel that the words are coming out of your body and then you dig the words into the page.

Writing and cafes are strongly linked in my brain.

Anytime someone tells me that I can’t do something, I want to do it more.

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.

I always have to be writing.

It’s always a struggle growing up in Akron.

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.

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.

So many writers don’t like to write… I like to write, and sometimes I’m afraid I like it too much, because when I get into work, I don’t want to leave it. And as a result, I’ll go for days and days and days without leaving my house.

I think I mainly climb mountains because I get a great deal of enjoyment out of it. I never attempt to analyze these things too thoroughly, but I think that all mountaineers do get a great deal of satisfaction out of overcoming some challenge which they think is very difficult for them, or which perhaps may be a little dangerous.

The first duty of man is to conquer fear; he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then.

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.

Although the circumstances of our lives may seem very disengaged, with me standing here as the First Lady of the United States of America and you just getting through school, I want you to know we have very much in common. For nothing in my life ever would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first African-American First Lady.

You have to come to your closed doors before you get to your open doors… What if you knew you had to go through 32 closed doors before you got to your open door? Well, then you’d come to closed door number eight and you’d think, ‚Great, I got another one out of the way’… Keep moving forward.

When I look back over my life it’s almost as if there was a plan laid out for me – from the little girl who was so passionate about animals who longed to go to Africa and whose family couldn’t afford to put her through college. Everyone laughed at my dreams. I was supposed to be a secretary in Bournemouth.

I have owed you this letter for a very long time-but my fingers have avoided the pencil as though it were an old and poisoned tool.

I wish everyone well, but you need to focus on yourself. You need to stop putting your hand out. Everyone wants hand outs. Everyone wants things for free. You’ve got to put in the work. You’ve got to grind. You’ve got go through the struggle, and you’ve got to get it.

Now, we can’t stop the devil from coming against us, but we can overcome him each time – if we exercise the authority of Jesus and decide not to put up with him.

Set up a situation that presents you with something slightly beyond your reach.

That’s when you know you’re the greatest: when you’re the greatest, and people still put odds against you.

Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.