I think my biggest musical hero growing up was probably Ian MacKaye. He set a great example for all of us local musicians. Still, to this day, I see him as the best example of a right-on musician.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

The Bible says to ‚fear not,‘ but this doesn’t mean you should never feel scared. It means when you do feel fear, keep going forward and do what you are supposed to do. Or as I like to say, do it afraid.

Whatever that means, however you got on that mountain, why not try to climb it? And do it in your own way.

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

I want a president with a record of public service, someone whose life’s work shows our children that we don’t chase fame and fortune for ourselves: we fight to give everyone a chance to succeed.

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.

Wherever the invitation of men or your own occasions lead you, speak the very truth, as your life and conscience teach it, and cheer the waiting, fainting hearts of men with new hope and new revelation.

Writing is such a strange, utterly mysterious process. First, there was nothing; then, suddenly, there was something. I don’t know where thoughts are born. Where the hell does it come from? I don’t know. I really don’t know.

I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.

At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.

All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.

That is my wish, hope, instruction for all of you: Take your education seriously, okay? Always do that. Because I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for my education.

Never, and I mean never, allow anyone else’s ideas of who you can or can’t become sully your dream or pollute your imagination. This is your territory, and a ‚Keep Out‘ sign is a great thing to erect at all entrances to your imagination.

I want to represent… to the kids to draw strength from me. So they can see that everybody goes through something, but you can rise up and do your best. Just try.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.

A word after a word after a word is power.

I want to be an Asian Robert De Niro.

You are never too young to learn, never too old to change.

I never had to choose a subject – my subject rather chose me.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

I do not like the man who squanders life for fame; give me the man who living makes a name.

Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

I guess any movie actor can become a role model for audiences out there who enjoy him.

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

I like to work with artists from around the world. There are so many new inspiring filmmakers.

I write for no other purpose than to add to the beauty that now belongs to me. I write a book for no other reason than to add three or four hundred acres to my magnificent estate.

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.

Snoop ain’t never cosigned me, but I know everybody is like, ‚That’s the next Snoop.‘ Nah, I’m Nipsey, and I got to work to define myself.

I learned from the guys before me – Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, just to name a few. These are guys that let it all hang out. What they lived is what they took to the stage.

I mean, I look at my dad. He was twenty when he started having a family, and he was always the coolest dad. He did everything for his kids, and he never made us feel like he was pressured. I know that it must be a great feeling to be a guy like that.

We must act out passion before we can feel it.

It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

See, when you drive home today, you’ve got a big windshield on the front of your car. And you’ve got a little bitty rearview mirror. And the reason the windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small is because what’s happened in your past is not near as important as what’s in your future.

Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Thought is the wind and knowledge the sail.

The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.

There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.

Life can be boring unless you put some effort into it.

The book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer was ‚Crime and Punishment‘. I put the thing down after reading it in a fever over two or three days… I said, ‚If this is what a book can be, then that is what I want to do.‘

Basketball is booming, and it’s not just an Under Armour standpoint: it’s about the game itself. Kids going out and playing and being inspired by what we do on the court.

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done!

Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.

There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing.

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.

When I grow up, I want to be like Balvin.

To love one that is great, is almost to be great one’s self.

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant’s revolving door.

Passions are the gales of life.

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.

I’m a big perfectionist! I’m trying to channel super-confident women like Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Beyonce, because I realized that if you want something, you really have to go for it, just like they do.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Exploration by real people inspires us.

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.