I’m not a natural joiner.

Someone told me something that stuck with me: ‚You have to envision your life, and then go backwards.‘ I’ve been living by that motto for a while, so I see where I need to be. Now I’m just backtracking and trying to get back up there.

A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.

The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.

You can’t have it all all at once. Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all, but in given periods in time, things were rough. And if you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it.

Manners require time, and nothing is more vulgar than haste.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

When it comes to everybody else’s thing and their lane and their timing, I’m never doing anything intentional to, like, come after somebody. That will always be my biggest mistake or anybody’s biggest mistake if that’s their intention.

There are phases in life which surface at times, and it makes you understand that despite you working hard, everything what you are doing is probably not enough. That’s when you need to look around, and beyond.

Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you’re exactly the same.

You might be the funniest guy in the world, but if you don’t have anything to talk about, people are eventually going to gravitate towards the guy that’s actually saying something.

I’m confident in who I am. I’ve come to a place in my life where I’ve accepted things that are me, as opposed to feeling pressure to explain myself to people around me. That’s just the way I’ve always tried to be. It didn’t change when I became a star.

In the struggle between yourself and the world second the world.

We grow older, but we do not change. We become more sophisticated, but at bottom we continue to resemble our young selves, eager to listen to the next story and the next, and the next.

In my case Pilgrim’s Progress consisted in my having to climb down a thousand ladders until I could reach out my hand to the little clod of earth that I am.

Get up tomorrow early in the morning, and earlier than you did today, and do the best that you can. Always stay near me, for tomorrow I will have much to do and more than I ever had, and tomorrow blood will leave my body above the breast.

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.

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.

The older I get, the better I understand that every day is a gift.

When we get to wishing a great deal for ourselves, whatever we get soon turns into mere limitation and exclusion.

Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.

When I was growing up, there was nobody in my family – not even my mother – who I could look to and be like, ‚I know you’ve never said anything homophobic.‘ So, you know, you worry about people in the business who you’ve heard talk that way. Some of my heroes coming up talk recklessly like that.

I’d like to be known for more than being the guy in the big suit.

One cannot violate the promptings of one’s nature without having that nature recoil upon itself.

We become what we repeatedly do.

I look at where I’m at today and realize that most of my success is owed to the mentors that was in my life.

I don’t want followers.

I think everybody’s trying to get to a place in themselves where they conquer what they was afraid of; they achieve some of their life goals, kept their word about what they were trying to do.

When I was writing ‚Kitchen Confidential,‘ I was in my 40s, I had never paid rent on time, I was 10 years behind on my taxes, I had never owned my own furniture or a car.

I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.

Absolutely not. I have no problem with commitment. In fact, I love having someone in my life.

I have surrounded myself with very smart people.

A man who has not passed through the inferno of his passions has never overcome them.

Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?

At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to do that, to stand out. Now I’ll talk about being beaten up or robbed or making a stupid decision because of a girl or whatever.

People respond when you tell them there is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind.

Back in the day, what motivated me was overcoming myself. Now I believe in being a leader. I’ve done it all – I’m good. Now, it’s about setting an example for others to follow. I can’t just talk it – I have to live it.

For most of us, wisdom is acquired in the thicket of experience and usually meets us somewhere along the way if we live long enough. But sooner is better than later.

I am rather inclined to silence.

Observe all men, thyself most.

There’s two sorts of fear: one you embrace and one you should listen to and turn the other way.

I’ve learned never to say never.

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.

It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all.

People who want the most approval get the least and people who need approval the least get the most.

I’m crazy, but I’m not too crazy.

I never expected to be anybody important.

First and foremost, we need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our own gossiping and anger. We should model the kindness we want to see.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

What’s really hard is that you could care a lot for someone and not want to live with him anymore.

It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always. It’s because I’m not quite an atheist and it worries me. There’s that little bit that holds on: ‚Well, I’m almost an atheist. Give me a couple of months.‘

I just have always felt that people don’t change, circumstances change.

There are no second acts in American lives.

You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‚Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.‘ See the positive in negative events.

As long as you blame someone or something else – something outside you that’s bigger than you are – as the source of your problems, the problems won’t get solved.

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.

Nothing on ‚Relapse‘ and very little on ‚Recovery‘ was produced by me.

I’m sure like everyone else I’m not always the happiest if I don’t do a good job in quali or the race or whatever, so I think beating myself up sometimes makes me work harder.

Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.