Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.

To hold a man down, you have to stay down with him.

It is easy to get everything you want, provided you first learn to do without the things you cannot get.

O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.

I don’t focus on the critics. Everyone who is making any difference in any field has critics. As long as I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, then I don’t worry about it.

The only way you gain mental toughness is to do things you’re not happy doing. If you continue doing things that you’re satisfied and make you happy, you’re not getting stronger. You’re staying where you’re at. Either you’re getting better, or you’re getting worse. You’re not staying the same.

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.

The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.

I’ve never had writer’s block.

Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.

Let every dawn be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.

I grew up where, when a door closed, a window didn’t open. The only thing I had was cracks. I’d do everything to get through those cracks – scratch, claw, bite, push, bleed. Now the opportunity is here. The door is wide open, and it’s as big as a garage.

A jug fills drop by drop.

Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them.

Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.

Good luck has its storms.

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean.

I’m the most stubborn person I know.

Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.

Courage is knowing what not to fear.

You shall, I question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek for it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that it is out of the reach of industry and valor.

A leader is a dealer in hope.

Obedience brings success; exact obedience brings miracles.

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

The best way out of a difficulty is through it.

You see things; and you say ‚Why?‘ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‚Why not?‘

You have to come to your closed doors before you get to your open doors… What if you knew you had to go through 32 closed doors before you got to your open door? Well, then you’d come to closed door number eight and you’d think, ‚Great, I got another one out of the way’… Keep moving forward.

I’ve been blessed to be somebody that’s been climbing that success mountain top for years of hard work, you know, but now it’s all connecting. And now, the whole world is watching, you know what I’m saying, and it feels good ‚cause it’s good energy. This is all positive vibes, and good vibes and good energy, so it feels incredible.

We’re all dreamers.

When I heard Little Richard, I mean, it just set my world on fire.

Begin noticing and being careful about keeping your imagination free of thoughts that you do not wish to materialize. Instead, initiate a practice of filling your creative thoughts to overflow with ideas and wishes that you fully intend to manifest. Honor your imaginings regardless of others seeing them as crazy or impossible.

The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.

Every noble work is at first impossible.

Hope is the magic carpet that transports us from the present moment into the realm of infinite possibilities.

Scripture is filled with examples of men and women whom God used late in life, often with great impact – men and women who refused to use old age as an excuse to ignore what God wanted them to do.

Almost any biographer, if he respects facts, can give us much more than another fact to add to our collection. He can give us the creative fact; the fertile fact; the fact that suggests and engenders.

With ideas it is like with dizzy heights you climb: At first they cause you discomfort and you are anxious to get down, distrustful of your own powers; but soon the remoteness of the turmoil of life and the inspiring influence of the altitude calm your blood; your step gets firm and sure and you begin to look – for dizzier heights.

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.

When I found somebody who I fell in love with, it made me feel different than I felt the rest of the day. It was electrifying. That’s what inspired the ‚Off to the Races‘ melodies. That’s one of the times when you’re feeling electrified by someone else and they make you happy to be alive.

Fashion is inspired by youth and nostalgia and draws inspiration from the best of the past.

Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life.

I’ve had quite a lot of luck with dreams. I’ve often awoken in the night with a phrase or even a whole song in my head.

While we should never give up our principles, we must also realize that we cannot maintain our principles unless we survive.

I can take it. The tougher it gets, the cooler I get.

It is no use saying, ‚We are doing our best.‘ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.

We all know we have a finite period of time. I just feel if I’m going to be alive, I want to be challenged – to be as immortal as possible. The path to that isn’t an easy way, but it’s a rewarding way.

The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire.

Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long; and the age of the great epics is past.

When I was 8 years old, I saw ‚Raiders of the Lost Ark‘ in Charlotte, North Carolina. I walked out of there and was so inspired. I loved the movie, and I knew I wanted to be that guy.

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.

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

He that struggles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.

The secret is not to give up hope. It’s very hard not to because if you’re really doing something worthwhile I think you will be pushed to the brink of hopelessness before you come through the other side.

If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‚Why the hell not?‘

O, had I but followed the arts!

I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.

Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.

The greatest difficulty always comes right before the birth of a dream.