If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

I know Elon, we’re very like minded in many ways. We’re not conceptual twins. One thing I want us to do is go to Mars, but for me it’s one thing. He’s singularly focused on that. I think motivation wise, for me I don’t find that Plan B idea motivating. I don’t want a plan B for Earth, I want Plan B to make sure Plan A works.

Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it… Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.

If you hear a voice within you say ‚you cannot paint,‘ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics, the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats – maybe it’s imperative that we encounter the defeats – but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be. Human beings are more alike than unalike.

I do love the films I’ve done in the past. I work hard in my movies and my friends work hard and we’re trying to make people laugh and I’m very proud of that.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.

Chaotic action is preferable to orderly inaction.

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

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.

Don’t just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it.

I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.

The difference between us and them, between you and success, is not that you never fail, but it’s how you recover from those failures – is that you keep getting up time and time again. You figure out what you did wrong, and then you make it right. I say that to my kids every day.

Don’t be dependent. At all. Ever. Period.

Success is not greedy, as people think, but insignificant. That is why it satisfies nobody.

Everybody accuses me of moving fast when I direct a picture. I don’t move fast, but I just keep moving.

About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends.

People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.

Competition gives me energy. It keeps me focused.

If I’d just tried for them dinky singles I could’ve batted around .600.

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.

I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith.

One of the things I definitely think of as a driver of me is fear. And it’s fear of failure, fear of being overtaken.

The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.

If you’re not ready for everything, you’re not ready for anything.

At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.

So many people have this idea: I want to achieve something great or be somebody great. And they neglect the step that leads to greatness. They don’t honor this step at this moment because they have this idea of some future moment where they are going to be great.

What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

It’s not essential for me to have a big debut week; it’s not essential for me to have big radio records.

I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.

I feel like I want to take care of everyone and I also feel this terrible guilt if I am unable to. And I have felt this way ever since all this success started.

A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.

Everywhere I go, the kids call me ‚the book lady.‘ The older I get, the more appreciative I seem to be of the ‚book lady‘ title. It makes me feel more like a legitimate person, not just a singer or an entertainer. But it makes me feel like I’ve done something good with my life and with my success.

Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.

I will prepare and some day my chance will come.

Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.

I believe you never get tired by doing work. You get tired when you don’t work. When you clean your house, you don’t get tired; it gives you satisfaction.

Life loves the liver of it.

The shortest answer is doing the thing.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

One thing Britons have always been celebrated for, and that is being able to stick it out in a tight place.

Eight years ago, you may remember Hillary and I were rivals for the Democratic nomination. We battled for a year and a half. Let me tell you, it was tough, because Hillary was tough. I was worn out. She was doing everything I was doing, but just like Ginger Rogers, it was backwards in heels.

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.

I have always felt it is my destiny to build a machine that would allow man to fly.

Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.

We are twice armed if we fight with faith.

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.

If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.

You know capitalism is this wonderful thing that motivates people, it causes wonderful inventions to be done. But in this area of diseases of the world at large, it’s really let us down.

The only thing I ever wanted to be was a professional football player.

The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life. It should be something useful, something good.

The success I have achieved in bodybuilding, motion pictures, and business would not have been possible without the generosity of the American people and the freedom here to pursue your dreams.

Morse conquered his electrical difficulties although he was only a painter, and I don’t intend to give in either till all is completed.

The companies that work are the ones that people really care about and have a vision for the world so do something you like.

To create something you must be something.

Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.

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

If you’ve got a talent, protect it.