I’m not perfect.

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

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.

Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.

Every spirit makes its house, and we can give a shrewd guess from the house to the inhabitant.

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.

If you’re trying too hard to be the girl next door, you’re not going to be.

We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.

We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‚to do‘ list.

It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.

Remember that your imagination is yours and yours alone. You have the inborn capacity to use it in any way that you choose. No one else is responsible for your imagination. Anything placed in your imagination and held there ultimately becomes your reality.

As a kid from Compton, you can get all the success in the world and still question your worth.

The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.

One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.

It’s certainly not wrong to want to be a better person. God gave us that desire.

What humility does for one is it reminds us that there are people before me. I have already been paid for. And what I need to do is prepare myself so that I can pay for someone else who has yet to come but who may be here and needs me.

Most of one’s life is one prolonged effort to prevent oneself thinking.

I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values – and follow my own moral compass – then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge.

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?

It was one of those evenings when men feel that truth, goodness and beauty are one. In the morning, when they commit their discovery to paper, when others read it written there, it looks wholly ridiculous.

I was so ashamed of who I was.

She never envisioned a legal career for me, but she did think it was very important that I be able to support myself, and I think she would be pleased to see what has become of me.

The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.

I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.

I’m intimidated by the fear of being average.

For an author, the nice characters aren’t much fun. What you want are the screwed up characters. You know, the characters that are constantly wondering if what they are doing is the right thing, characters that are not only screwed up but are self-tapping screws. They’re doing it for themselves.

I would like to fly in space. Absolutely. That would be cool. I used to just do personally risky things, but now I’ve got kids and responsibilities, so I can’t be my own test pilot. That wouldn’t be a good idea. But I definitely want to fly as soon as it’s a sensible thing to do.

Whatever I am, it’s natural… I don’t have to pretend to be aggressive, don’t have to show the opposition that I am on the field. Being aggressive comes naturally to me, helps me perform.

I periodically realize every few years that the only person whose taste I really trust is me.

What I enjoy most is doing something I’ve never done before.

The older you get, the better you get.

If you’re always under the pressure of real identity, I think that is somewhat of a burden.

I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.

The dreams and passions stored within hearts are powerful keys which can unlock a wealth of potential.

Seeing myself on the screen makes me cringe. I understand that I am that way – pouty.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

I don’t live in the past at all; I’m always wanting to do something new. I make a point of constantly trying to forget and get things out of my mind.

Remember, you can always stoop and pick up nothing.

Everything I read about hitting a midlife crisis was true. I had such a struggle letting go of youthful things and learning how to exist and have enthusiasm while settling into the comfort of an older age.

We work to become, not to acquire.

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.

Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.

Single life is so overrated.

It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.

Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.

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

I shall the effect of this good lesson keeps as watchman to my heart.

The thing I always say to people is this: ‚If you avoid failure, you also avoid success.‘

I don’t want to be something that just comes and goes.

I do believe in the old saying, ‚What does not kill you makes you stronger.‘ Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity.

I’m not a natural joiner.

I was married a few times, and one of my husbands was jealous of me writing.

I always wanted a family.

I don’t think I’m such an amazing person who needs to be written about.

There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.