I have never been able to renounce the light, the pleasure of being, and the freedom in which I grew up.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up a pen to write.

I think and that is all that I am.

Mandela’s heroism is the heroism of a man who suffered so badly for what he thought of as freedom. And yet when he had the upper hand he has this incredible self-control and these incredible leadership qualities.

Something I’ve realized lately, to my shock, is that I am an optimist, in that I think humans are almost infinitely capable of self-change and self-modification, and that we really can build the future that we want if we’re smart about it.

As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.

If it’s going to come out eventually, better have it come out immediately.

A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body – the wishbone.

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

Remorse sleeps during prosperity but awakes bitter consciousness during adversity.

Remember that your imagination is yours and yours alone. You have the inborn capacity to use it in any way that you choose. No one else is responsible for your imagination. Anything placed in your imagination and held there ultimately becomes your reality.

It was very lucky for me as a writer that I studied the physical sciences rather than English. I wrote for my own amusement. There was no kindly English professor to tell me for my own good how awful my writing really was. And there was no professor with the power to order me what to read, either.

I’m crazy and I don’t pretend to be anything else.

That’s something I think is growing on me as I get older: happy endings.

I wanted to imbue Ziggy with real flesh and blood and muscle, and it was imperative that I find Ziggy and be him.

I’m happy being myself, which I’ve never been before. I always hid in other people, or tried to find myself through the characters, or live out their lives, but I didn’t have those things in mine.

God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

People may think I’m trying something new by telling stories, but they’re just jokes connected to give the illusion of stories. But really, I just continue using my imagination and creating. That’s what I do.

I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix.

Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.

To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.

I knew ‚Crenshaw‘ had elevated me and distinguished me.

I always knew from that moment, from the time I found myself at home in that little segregated library in the South, all the way up until I walked up the steps of the New York City library, I always felt, in any town, if I can get to a library, I’ll be OK. It really helped me as a child, and that never left me.

I don’t think I’m such an amazing person who needs to be written about.

Of all acts of man repentance is the most divine. The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none.

The ‚soul‘ is one of the words you can use to talk about your innermost being, the essence of who you are.

If it’s illegal to rock and roll, throw my ass in jail!

Hiding places there are innumerable, escape is only one, but possibilities of escape, again, are as many as hiding places.

The true identity theft is not financial. It’s not in cyberspace. It’s spiritual. It’s been taken.

Each time we cooperate with God, we take one more giant step forward. Because when God asks us to change, it means that He always has something better to give us – more freedom, greater joy, and greater blessings.

I used to worry about every little thing, trying to figure out every problem. Well, I realize now how foolish that was. I was no more in control of my life than the man on the moon.

If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.

I still consider myself a little, fat kid from Hawaii.

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!

Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem.

Prospering just doesn’t have to do with money.

It was weird to be married; you kind of lose your identity. You’re suddenly somebody’s wife. And you’re like, ‚Oh, I’m half of a couple now. I’ve lost me.‘

When I left the University of Notre Dame, I honestly felt I would never coach again.

All of us are in the same place, each with our own rooms, and we were allowed to do whatever we wanted. Which is totally different than college, where they manage your schedule for you. In the NBA, you’re on your own.

Either you’re the one erasing or you’re the one being erased.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

My overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be.

In everything, satiety closely follows the greatest pleasures.

I couldn’t ever go back home without being something. I probably would never have gone back home. That was definitely a big motivation. To get back home, and not empty-handed.

I’ve always felt that if I examine myself too much, I’ll find out what I know and don’t know, and I’ll burst the bubble. I’ve gotten so lucky relying on my animal instincts, I’d rather keep a little bit of the animal alive.

Be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your quirks. And know that you are just as perfect as anyone else, exactly as you are.

For me, there is no such thing as a negative experience.

Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.

Even with all the advantages of retrospect, and a lot of witnesses dead and gone, you can’t make your life look as if you intended it or you were consistent. All you can show is how you dealt with various hands.

You have to be someone.

I used to stutter really badly. Everybody thinks it’s funny. And it’s not funny. It’s not.

I don’t think a lot of people know personally who I am.

People who truly understand what is meant by self-reliance know they must live their lives by ethics rather than rules.

I don’t have all the answers.

Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.

Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.

Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.

The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.

I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.