I’ve always kinda been a little outcast myself, a little oddball, doin‘ my thing, my own way. And it’s been hard for me to, to be accepted, certainly in the early years of my life.

I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.

A lot of people tell me a lot of things about my conduct, my game, my future… but I try to stay away from their words of wisdom. I don’t let it distract me. On the field, you will be facing the ball alone. If you fail, you will the only one to blame. So, you should be the one deciding for yourself.

Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.

Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.

I like to take every day just searching my own heart, making sure that I’m on course, and I’m doing what God wants me to do. I’m real good with not looking to the critics and looking straight ahead.

Yes, I’m still going to misbehave!

My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.

Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experience and invest them in the future.

My experiences in life are getting bigger and better. The more stuff I do, the more stuff I talk about – having kids, traveling, going through relationship problems, dealing with things in my own family. All that stuff builds character.

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body – the wishbone.

The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.

When I was making the early stuff, I never expected it to be so big. I was in my own kind of bubble. I never wanted to tour; I just wanted to create music and make a diary I could put out into the world. And sometimes, I became the characters.

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.

I think the worst part about a breakup sometimes, if one could choose a worst part, would possibly be if you get out of a relationship, and you don’t recognize yourself because you changed a lot about you.

The fact is I am not having sex. But I feel absolutely ripe for the, what would you say? plucking?

Testing oneself is best when done alone.

Don’t let the incidents which take place in life bring you low. And certainly don’t whine. You can be brought low, that’s OK, but don’t be reduced by them. Just say, ‚That’s life.‘

Only the insecure strive for security.

He who knows himself is enlightened.

Everything that enlarges the sphere of human powers, that shows man he can do what he thought he could not do, is valuable.

The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world’s phenomena intersect, only once in this way, and never again.

If there is only one thing in my life that I am proud of, it’s that I’ve never been a kept woman.

I hated to be treated as a child. I thought it was the worst situation.

When you seek the presence of your creative Spirit and are filled with passion about virtually everything you undertake, you’ll successfully remove the roadblocks from your life and enjoy the active presence of Spirit.

Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.

If I am no longer disturbed myself, I will deal less with disturbed people, but I don’t regret having concerned myself with them because I think most of us are disturbed.

The man who is dissatisfied with himself, what can he do?

I may be no better, but at least I am different.

I’m very aware and very conscious of the path I chose in life, and very aware of the path I didn’t choose.

Feeling sorry for ourselves is the most useless waste of energy on the planet. It does absolutely no good. We can’t let our circumstances or what others do or don’t do control us. We can decide to be happy regardless.

Solitude is independence.

You might win some, you might lose some. But you go in, you challenge yourself, you become a better man, a better individual, a better fighter.

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of.

Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.

I know that I always wanted things. I was always proud of my people, proud of my home, but I always wanted more. I think most people do.

What is true belongs to me!

Wisdom allows nothing to be good that will not be so forever; no man to be happy but he that needs no other happiness than what he has within himself; no man to be great or powerful that is not master of himself.

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

You can’t do something forever.

Avoid popularity if you would have peace.

I have no models in Japanese literature. I created my own style, my own way.

If you’re embarrassed because you have some notion about how men are supposed to behave, and it doesn’t include weeping, then you have some personal work to do.

Any experience that touches you, in any particular way, is good. It can be a horrible experience.

Thoughts are fine when you don’t confuse them with who you are, and then thoughts are not a problem. Thinking is a wonderful tool to create things in this world. It only becomes problematic and a source of suffering when you confuse thinking with who you are.

I always say this about my music, and music in general: Music is like a time capsule. Each album reflects what I’m going through or what’s going on in my life at that moment.

For a long time I was scared I’d find out I was like my mother.

If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.

Over the holidays, and even during filming, I realized that I actually like my body, even if it’s not perfect according to the book. I just feel sexy. For the first time, I don’t want to get rid of the curves. I just want to tone it up. My body is comfortable, and it’s not unhealthy, so I’m going to rock with it.

I always try to be myself. Ever since I was an introverted kid, I’d get on stage and be able to break out of my shell.

Always do what you are afraid to do.

I learned to fly a few years ago in England. It’s the only place I’m completely alone – up in the air, detached from everything.

I never do anything that I don’t want to do.

As I got older, I guess I became more mellow and more forgiving and more loving.

People may think I’m trying something new by telling stories, but they’re just jokes connected to give the illusion of stories. But really, I just continue using my imagination and creating. That’s what I do.