Irrespective of whether you have talent or not, one has to work hard. Just being talented doesn’t mean anything; you can end up wasting it before you realize.

A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.

I think one of my pursuits over the years is trying to answer the question of, ‚What else can you do with a voice other than stand in front of a microphone and sing?‘

I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs.

Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.

I do some kind of work, whether writing or painting or recording, on a daily basis. And it’s so essential that when I’m involved in the actual process, my so-called ‚real life‘ becomes almost incidental, which becomes worrying.

Rhythm is something you either have or don’t have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

I stayed true to my dreams and, eventually, they came true.

There is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.

The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.

Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.

Well done is better than well said.

I’ve had all six of my books reach the New York Times bestseller list, which is especially rewarding seeing as I flunked out of high school twice because I couldn’t write. It just goes to show you that we learn from our mistakes.

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

I’m always amazed by the people who work on stage who sing night after night, day after day, week in week out.

I have only one understanding of development and of making success, and that’s by going step by step.

There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.

As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.

If you’re a human being, you can attempt to do what other human beings have done. We don’t understand talent any more than we understand electricity.

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.

I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage.

Some artists just ruin their voices because they don’t know any better.

Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.

I still have my first paycheck. It was just, I think, a dollar or two that I got when I started as a songwriter with BMI, and I had some songs there that I had through the company, and in the mail I got this big old check for, like, a dollar and a half or something. Somebody had recorded one of my songs.

I was asked to act when I couldn’t act. I was asked to sing ‚Funny Face‘ when I couldn’t sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn’t dance – and do all kinds of things I wasn’t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.

The more centuries that I am able to score, the happier I will be.

For me, education has never been simply a policy issue – it’s personal. Neither of my parents and hardly anyone in the neighborhood where I grew up went to college. But thanks to a lot of hard work and plenty of financial aid, I had the opportunity to attend some of the finest universities in this country.

I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they’re good or there because they’re lucky.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

Sometimes you must suffer through something to defeat your fear of it.

My father, who was jailed for stealing on more than one occasion, just abandoned his fatherly responsibilities and disappeared. I grew up working from the time I was nine years of age. Money was a big issue everywhere I lived.

By indignities men come to dignities.

If the people are happy, united, wealthy, and powerful, we presume the rest. We conclude that to be good from whence good is derived.

Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.

Innovation has nothing to do with how many R & D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R & D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.

I want to be part of that long list who have achieved great things with McLaren, won races and championships.

At the end of the day, I understand that life has road blocks, and life is like school – you’ll be tested; we gotta pass it.

I think you can have 10,000 explanations for failure, but no good explanation for success.

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.

I know I have a responsibility to the fans.

In inner-city, low-income communities of color, there’s such a high correlation in terms of educational quality and success.

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

A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them.

Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs.

I think any activity you have your kids in, you’re all trying to live vicariously through them. And you’re jealous of the kid that’s naturally more talented or has the facility, the body, the genes, or the God-given talent. People get jealous of that.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

I can tell you from experience that God’s help and presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good-without Him, we can do nothing of true value.

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.

The real story of Facebook is just that we’ve worked so hard for all this time. I mean, the real story is actually probably pretty boring, right? I mean, we just sat at our computers for six years and coded.

To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift.

The man who has done his level best… is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure.

I would venture to guess that the biggest reason creative types don’t produce isn’t because they don’t have vision… or talent… in most cases, it’s a lack of discipline.

Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

I’ve been pleased to work with so many wonderful stars through the years. This has been an amazing journey. I hope it continues.

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

I’ve had a lot of success; I’ve had failures, so I learn from the failure.