Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will – his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.

You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.

History will point out some of the things I did wrong and some of the things I did right.

When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.

Well, in order for me to be successful… In order to be a great artist – musician, actor, painter, whatever – you must be able to be private in public at all times.

Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.

There’s room for role models who make mistakes.

It is impossible to underrate human intelligence – beginning with one’s own.

Sometimes God will deliver you from the fire, and other times God will make you fireproof.

That nice, soft pillow and the warm blanket, and it’s all comfortable, and no one wants to leave that comfort – but if you can wake up early in the morning, get a head start on everyone else that’s still sleeping, get productive time doing things that you need to do – that’s a huge piece to moving your life forward.

Trust not yourself, but your defects to know, make use of every friend and every foe.

Vulnerability is basically uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.

No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.

There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means – either may do – the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier.

Remind yourself that winning an argument or proving your point really gets you nowhere in the long run. Win through your actions, not your words.

I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.

Believers, look up – take courage. The angels are nearer than you think.

When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

Frankly, I think that the news industry is critically important because it points out things and surfaces truths that can often be uncomfortable. I think that that’s working, and the spotlight has been pointed on things that we have a responsibility to do better, and I accept that.

To forget one’s purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

The last thing the devil wants you to do is be an obedient Christian.

The way I approach this thing, when I started to get my head screwed on straight and really trying to make something of myself as an artist, when I was 19 or 20, it became more about function for me. Like, what is this song doing to you? What is the function of this type of artform? What is it doing?

You have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity.

I’m just looking to learn, grow, stay focused, and become a better fighter and a better athlete.

As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become.

I separated from the Southern Baptists when they adopted the discriminatory attitude towards women, because I believe what Paul taught in Galatians that there is no distinction in God’s eyes between men and women, slaves and masters, Jews and non-Jews – everybody is created equally in the eyes of God.

I’m just going to say it: I’m pro-guilt. Guilt is good. Guilt helps us stay on track because it’s about our behavior. It occurs when we compare something we’ve done – or failed to do – with our personal values.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you’ll make one.

I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.

Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.

I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

If God treats you well by teaching you a disastrous lesson, you never forget it.

Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.

Bad men are full of repentance.

I used to pray that God would make me a great athlete, and He never did.

In the Bible, we first encounter God when he sides with a bunch of slaves against a powerful Pharaoh, an act of grace freely given.

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.

I think being able to age gracefully is a very important talent. It is too late for me.

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.

Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man’s estate, is the gift of education.

Kings are not born: they are made by artificial hallucination.

Getting organized in the normal routines of life and finishing little projects you’ve started is an important first step toward realizing larger goals. If you can’t get a handle on the small things, how will you ever get it together to focus on the big things?

Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.

Our Creator expects His children everywhere to educate themselves.

Peace is one of the most precious gifts God has promised His children. I know, because for many years my life was not peaceful, and I was miserable.

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.

Worshipping the Lord means giving Him the place that he must have; worshipping the Lord means stating, believing – not only by our words – that He alone truly guides our lives; worshipping the Lord means that we are convinced before Him that He is the only God, the God of our lives, the God of our history.

If you want to be a good writer, be the best writer in the world. That’s what I’ve done.

One of the things I love most about being at home is that I’m comfortable there. And since we are the home of Christ, we need to make sure He’s comfortable in us.

The ‚New Testament‘, now, I quite liked. Jesus had a lot of good things to say, and as for his father, he must have been highly thought of by the community to work with wood – a material that couldn’t have been widely available in Palestine.

I try to not focus on what people expect from me.

As pessimistic as I am about the nature of human beings and our capacity for atrocity and malevolence and betrayal and laziness and inertia, and all those things, I think we can transcend all that and set things straight.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.

Do whatever you will, but first be such as are able to will.

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.

Whatever has happened in my quest for innovation has been part of my quest for immaculate reality.