In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride.

Don’t be humble… you’re not that great.

I was ironing my own clothes when I was 11 years old. My mental strength goes back to those days.

I don’t think I’m an unlucky person.

The people in my songs are all me.

The experience of pain or loss can be a formidably motivating force.

Things do not always happen the way I would like them to happen, and I had better get used to that.

Custom reconciles us to everything.

As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me.

I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow-minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open-mindedness.

We all have two lives: an inner life and an outer life. Your inner life is your soul life, which includes your mind, will and emotions. Your outer life is your physical life. And while God cares about every detail of your life, He is more concerned with your inner life than your outer life.

When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern you life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.

I even found it difficult to watch myself playing on TV because I couldn’t identify with the person on the screen. I couldn’t get to grips with it. It was as if it was all happening to someone else.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.

Men must know their limitations.

I used to stutter really badly. Everybody thinks it’s funny. And it’s not funny. It’s not.

I myself would like to become more disciplined within my work.

If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

I’ve read a lot of books on the laws of attraction, and in my home, I have a big book on Muhammad Ali, which I’ve read because he is, like, a hero of mine, but other than that, no, I’m not a big reader.

We must, all of us, learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise.

What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.

So when these people sell out, even though they get fabulously rich, they’re gypping themselves out of one of the potentially most rewarding experiences of their unfolding lives. Without it, they may never know their values or how to keep their newfound wealth in perspective.

Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.

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.

Education is what you learn after you leave school.

Every man’s memory is his private literature.

For years I wanted to be older, and now I am.

Nothing will work unless you do.

I always believe that there should come a time when your energy, speed, stamina should combine well with your brains.

I disagree with everything I used to say.

Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

The utmost extent of man’s knowledge, is to know that he knows nothing.

It was my delusion and naivety that brought me here.

I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.

The most intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security and calm that is not easily disturbed. It is just these intense conflicts and their conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results.

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

You cannot let where you are today cause you to get stuck. I’m going to be my best right now. That’s what faith is all about.

Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you.

If you’ve got a talent, protect it.

We rarely confide in those who are better than we are.

People can cry much easier than they can change.

Sometimes you have to take two steps back to take ten forward.

Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure.

He who knows himself is enlightened.

I’ve never been a boyfriend kind of girl.

I don’t think you get successful to brag and throw what you have in the world’s face. That’s all private.

I had a period in my life where I decided that I would never be bored again and that, if I had any free time at all, I would make plans, and I would always be doing things. It actually was great for a year or so, but then I lost all of my friends.

Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

You know, not to sound corny or nuthin‘, but I felt like a fighter comin‘ up, man. I felt like, you know, I’m being attacked for this reason or that reason, and I gotta fight my way through this.

A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

What I can say is that all my characters are searching for their souls, because they are my mirrors. I’m someone who is constantly trying to understand my place in the world, and literature is the best way that I found in order to see myself.

I think that, whatever happens, I’m just happy I’ve written those songs and I’ve made an album. That’s really big for me, and I’m proud of that.

My philosophy is it’s none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am, and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‚Ich bin ein Berliner!‘