I know that I always wanted things. I was always proud of my people, proud of my home, but I always wanted more. I think most people do.

We clearly see in God’s Word that anything He tells us to do, He will give us the ability to do it. But do we really believe it? Do we want to believe it? It’s easier to come up with excuses for why we can’t do things that are hard or that we really don’t want to do.

When I was making the early stuff, I never expected it to be so big. I was in my own kind of bubble. I never wanted to tour; I just wanted to create music and make a diary I could put out into the world. And sometimes, I became the characters.

Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state.

Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

Although I don’t have a prescription for what others should do, I know I have been very fortunate and feel a responsibility to give back to society in a very significant way.

When I was young, I could not imagine being old. My mother said, and the doctor confirmed, that I had an unusual amount of energy; and it followed me into young adulthood.

It always remains true that if we had been greater, circumstance would have been less strong against us.

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

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.

I’ll never, ever be full. I’ll always be hungry. Obviously, I’m not talking about food. Growing up, I had nothing for such a long time. Someone told me a long time ago, and I’ve never forgotten it, ‚Once you’ve ever been hungry, really, really hungry, then you’ll never, ever be full.‘

Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

People have so many hang-ups about how other people live their lives. People always want to keep you in a little box, or they need to label you and fix you in time and location.

I was a housewife, so I learned to write in times off, and I don’t think I ever gave it up, though there were times when I was very discouraged because I began to see that the stories I was writing were not very good, that I had a lot to learn, and that it was a much, much harder job than I had expected.

I feel real good because it’s about representing the young world and how to uplift each other and how to push us to be greater and make sure we don’t fall or get trapped or get in trouble, you know what I mean. Stay focused, you know what I mean.

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.

We should not moor a ship with one anchor, or our life with one hope.

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.

Pride is still aiming at the best houses: Men would be angels, angels would be gods. Aspiring to be gods, if angels fell; aspiring to be angels men rebel.

I love my friends and my past, and it’s made me who I am.

For years I wanted to be older, and now I am.

I would love to continue in music, with writing… but I am not the kind of person who will hang around if I start to become irrelevant. If that happens, I will bow down gracefully, raise my kids, and have a garden. And I am going to let my hair go gray when I am older. I don’t need to be blonde when I’m 60!

Guarding your heart and protecting your dignity are a little bit more important than clarifying the emotions of someone who’s only texting you back three words. I’ve learned that from trying to figure out people who don’t deserve to be figured out.

I’ve never responded well to entrenched negative thinking.

I have surrounded myself with very smart people.

There’s a deceptive sin that can keep us from walking in love: pride. It’s deceptive because when you have pride, you’re usually too proud to admit it. I know this because I used to have teachings on pride and they didn’t sell well.

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.

Our necessities never equal our wants.

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

Some people have a hard time getting rid of stuff. If that’s you, pray for God to give you the courage to get rid of things you don’t really need or things He wants you to give away. This will help keep your surroundings organized and clutter-free.

Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity.

I think a big test we all face in life on a regular basis is that discouragement test. Life’s not always fair, but I believe if you keep doing the right thing, God will get you to where you are.

Life is a journey. When we stop, things don’t go right.

Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

When I was 8 years old, I saw ‚Raiders of the Lost Ark‘ in Charlotte, North Carolina. I walked out of there and was so inspired. I loved the movie, and I knew I wanted to be that guy.

I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.

If you want a quality, act as if you already had it.

And winning is a huge thing for me.

Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

With self-discipline most anything is possible.

When you love and accept yourself, when you know who really cares about you, and when you learn from your mistakes, then you stop caring about what people who don’t know you think.

The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an impoverished present.

Take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly, and try another. But by all means, try something.

Whatever talents I possess may suddenly diminish or suddenly increase. I can with ease become an ordinary fool. I may be one now. But it doesn’t do to upset one’s own vanity.

My entire childhood was steeped in poverty. For me, poverty, in a way, was the first inspiration of my life, a commitment to do something for the poor.

When I was a kid, I never thought much about football. I thought about following in my family’s footsteps and going into professional wrestling.

So long as a man imagines that he cannot do this or that, so long as he is determined not to do it; and consequently so long as it is impossible to him that he should do it.

No pressure, no diamonds.

I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.

I feel like this: Whatever is in your path and in your heart, you need to do.

It was my delusion and naivety that brought me here.

One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.

The biggest crime in England is to rise above your station. It’s fine to be a pop star. ‚Oh, it’s great, lots of fun, aren’t they sweet, these pop stars! But to think you have anything to say about how the world should work? What arrogance!‘

The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.

I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

Over the years, I’ve learned that a confident person doesn’t concentrate or focus on their weaknesses – they maximize their strengths.

For a long time I was scared I’d find out I was like my mother.

Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it; he that fears not, gives advantage to the danger.

I feel the emotion that life conjures up and the songs I write get me closer to my feelings and realising who I am. It’s a natural process.