I think being able to age gracefully is a very important talent. It is too late for me.

I use a stream-of-consciousness approach; if you don’t censor yourself, you end up with what you’re most concerned about, but you haven’t filtered it through your conscious mind. Then you craft it.

If we don’t plant the right things, we will reap the wrong things. It goes without saying. And you don’t have to be, you know, a brilliant biochemist and you don’t have to have an IQ of 150. Just common sense tells you to be kind, ninny, fool. Be kind.

Some men can live up to their loftiest ideals without ever going higher than a basement.

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.

Fear is stupid. So are regrets.

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

There’s an inherent danger in letting people think that they have perfected something. When they believe they’ve ‚nailed it,‘ most people tend to sit back and rest on their laurels while countless others will be labouring furiously to better their work!

I don’t care if people I admire criticize me because their opinion is valuable to me.

Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules.

I’m not trying to follow a set of rules and stuff. I’m just living my life.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

You can be happy where you are.

Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.

When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they’re not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can ‚cause I know I’m gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can? Some days, they pan out a little better than others, but you still gotta always just try.

To add value to others, one must first value others.

There are many things that happen every day that we could murmur about if we let ourselves go there. But they really aren’t worth the effort it takes to get upset and gripe about it.

I am not very good with relationships. With anyone. I can’t be locked up with anyone for too long.

Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.

If you don’t know your full-throttle history, the whole story of how you came to where you are, it’s kind of hard to put things together.

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

I don’t suffer of anything that I’ve lost.

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.

No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.

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.

Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.

I’m not talent. Not considered ‚talent‘ by Lifetime. I’d like to say I’m their savior, but that would be cocky.

I’m chasing perfection.

True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind.

I’ve always been really, really aware of my insecurities – really, really aware. I never developed that thick skin that keeps you from letting things get to you.

I know I’m talented, but I wasn’t put here to sing. I was put here to be a wife and a mom and look after my family. I love what I do, but it’s not where it begins and ends.

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.

I criticize by creation – not by finding fault.

Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill.

I’m just trying to be myself. I’m not trying to be anyone else.

There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.

I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one. And I’m still fanatical, but now I’m a little less fanatical.

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.

And obviously, from our own personal point of view, the principal challenge is a personal challenge.

I had never been in charge of anything. I’d always worked for someone. I worked for a furniture warehouse. I did masonry. I always had a boss yelling at me. So I’d never been in charge of an organization.

Ability is nothing without opportunity.

We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.

It’s really hard to guarantee things in life. I guarantee if you get up in the morning and you work out, and you work hard, you will have a better day – 100% guaranteed.

Sometimes if you got a problem deep rooted in your life, it takes a little bit of time to overcome it in that area.

I don’t have a problem with ageing – in fact, I embrace that aspect of it. And am able to and obviously am going to be able to quite easily… it doesn’t faze me at all.

I want to solidify as an artist and show that as I grow as a person and make mistakes and learn from them, I’m going to grow artistically.

When I was in college I did a lot of stupid things and I don’t want to make an excuse for that. Some of the things that people accuse me of are true, some of them aren’t. There are pranks, IMs.

Most of us aren’t defeated in one decisive battle. We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be.

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did.

I am not happy, and the quest for happiness as a principal objective is not part of my world. Of course, ever since I can remember, I have done what I felt like doing.

Many people know so little about what is beyond their short range of experience. They look within themselves – and find nothing! Therefore they conclude that there is nothing outside themselves either.

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

I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The dark side of one’s nature. Have fun with it and you know, is to accept everything about ourselves.

America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people. The image of the Statue of Liberty with Emma Lazarus‘ famous poem. She lifts her lamp and welcomes people to the golden shore, where they will not experience prejudice because of the color of their skin, the religious faith that they follow.

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.

I like to write about love and love lost because I feel like there are so many different subcategories of emotions that you can possibly delve into.

Your success, or lack of success, is your responsibility. Even when you have a chain of command that you don’t like as well, its your responsibility to work with the up chain of command.

What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.