It’s flattering to people who stop you and say that you’ve helped them and all. But, again, you know, you’ve got to stay humble because as quick as you came up, you can come down.

The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.

Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.

He that overvalues himself will undervalue others, and he that undervalues others will oppress them.

I never could get over the fact that The Pixies formed, worked and separated without America taking them to its heart or even recognizing their existence for the most part.

I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.

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

Like it or not, there are a lot of dance teachers in this country who respect me, whether they personally like me or not.

Being elected to Congress, though I am very grateful to our friends for having done it, has not pleased me as much as I expected.

Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation.

I would never exchange my life with anybody else’s.

The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.

We can be thankful to a friend for a few acres, or a little money; and yet for the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, we look upon ourselves as under no obligation.

The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

Power is like being a lady… if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.

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

Getting recognized is insane. It just blows my mind. Like, someone who you don’t know at all can just be like, ‚Oh my God – are you Billie?‘

Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.

I walk every day, and I look at the mountains and the fields and the small city, and I say: ‚Oh my God, what a blessing.‘ Then you realise it’s important to put it in a context beyond this woman, this man, this city, this country, this universe.

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

To get a name can happen but to few; it is one of the few things that cannot be brought. It is the free gift of mankind, which must be deserved before it will be granted, and is at last unwillingly bestowed.

How lucky Adam was. He knew when he said a good thing, nobody had said it before.

Each doctor makes a much, much more important job than I do, but at the end, nobody talks about him. We all know about it, but we don’t really think about it.

My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim.

I was a chemistry major, but I’m always winding up as a teacher in English departments, so I’ve brought scientific thinking to literature. There’s been very little gratitude for this.

If I weren’t performing, I’d be a beauty editor or a therapist. I love creativity, but I also love to help others. My mother was a hairstylist, and they listen to everyone’s problems – like a beauty therapist!

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.

I want to thank The Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block.

I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

Never take anything for granted.

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

My father wasn’t around when I was a kid, and I used to always say, ‚Why me? Why don’t I have a father? Why isn’t he around? Why did he leave my mother?‘ But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, ‚I don’t know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?‘

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.

I’m not in it for fame. I’ve been famous in the streets already.

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‚What’s in it for me?‘

The happiest part of a man’s life is what he passes lying awake in bed in the morning.

There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords.

I was the one who took football off the back pages and put it on to page one.

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

Fondly we think we honor merit then, When we but praise ourselves in other men.

You might not have the things you want, but if you check carefully, you got all you need.

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.

It is possible to live happily in the here and the now. So many conditions of happiness are available – more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don’t have to run into the future in order to get more.

Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it – not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits.

I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.

It’s so easy to settle for less than God’s best for us because we don’t always feel like taking responsibility for our behavior or putting forth some effort to do what we need to do so we can accomplish great things for God and help people. But the cost of settling for less is actually harder than being completely obedient to God’s will.

People in Ethiopia, the Sudan, etc., don’t know Audrey Hepburn, but they recognize the name UNICEF. When they see UNICEF, their faces light up, because they know that something is happening. In the Sudan, for example, they call a water pump ‚UNICEF.‘

Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed.

Even with all of the things that are so awful, if you walk into your yard and stay there looking at almost anything for five minutes, you will be stunned by how marvelous life is and how incredibly lucky we are to have it.

The world is indebted for all triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.

I’m sure everyone knows now that only a few have performed in Madison Square Garden. That list is so small. Now I’m on that list. I’m a part of a very small group, which is unbelievable. You relish in that moment for a second.

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

I don’t go around thinking I’m Ray Bradbury all the time.

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity.