Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.

With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else’s ideas about you, but what’s important is how you feel about yourself – for survival and living day to day with what comes up.

At 155, I will be the same animal, an even better animal.

We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we’ll also have a lot more joy in living.

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

There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.

My father will anticipate everything. He will leave you and me no chance to do a great and brilliant deed.

A man is what he thinks about all day long.

Humility is not something that comes naturally. But it is a cardinal virtue that should be pursued more than any other.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.

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

I’ve always liked being busy. If I have nothing to do for a week, it just makes me mad.

It is the nature of every person to error, but only the fool perseveres in error.

I feel very lucky to make a living from my imagination; I’m very grateful for that. I like that what I do is create. I’m feeling very lucky to have had the career I had. It’s gone much longer and bigger than I ever thought it would be.

No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

The formation of one’s character ought to be everyone’s chief aim.

If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it – young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – is changed by it.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

I’m not a person that socializes very well.

Life being very short, and the quiet hours of it few, we ought to waste none of them in reading valueless books.

People want to feel hopeful.

People always say that you can’t please everybody. I think that’s a cop-out. Why not attempt it? ‚Cause think of all the people you will please if you try.

I think my first thought on reaching the summit- of course, I was very, very pleased to be there, naturally – but my first thought was one of a little bit of surprise. I was a little bit surprised that here I was, Ed Hillary, on top of Mt. Everest. After all, this is the ambition of most mountaineers.

When you are learning about a martial art, it is about respect.

From my childhood I had been intended for the clergy. This prospect hung like a dark cloud on my mind.

I’m no natural beauty. If I’m gonna have any looks at all, I’m gonna have to create them.

Indeed, it is as important to learn how to receive a blessing as it is to be willing to give one.

Accept the terrible responsibility of life with eyes wide open.

I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.

The great thing about America is that you can come from the worst circumstances and become something remarkable.

To be great is to be misunderstood.

My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.

I look at myself like a show dog. I’ve got to keep her clipped and trimmed and in good shape.

I think it’s OK to be confident in yourself.

It’s pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious.

When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.

Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.

The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.

Talent is something that comes from within; it has nothing to do with age.

No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.

One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities. One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.

All ways of living can be sanctified, and for each individual, the ideal way is that to which our Lord leads him through the natural development of his tastes and the pressure of circumstances.

Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.

I’m not a bad person.

The way to develop decisiveness is to start right where you are, with the very next question you face.

At 57, to have a No. 1 album, I wasn’t expecting it.

I always was that person who was hard on myself and challenged myself no matter what I was doing, whether it was passing third grade or playing basketball.

I had given up some youth for knowledge, but my gain was more valuable than the loss.

I’m selfish.

The best thing I did was to choose the right heroes.

My moms always told me, ‚How long you gonna play the victim?‘ I can say I’m mad and I hate everything, but nothing really changes until I change myself.

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

Every seven years, I sit down and make a whole new plan.

A great mind becomes a great fortune.

If I can be a leader, I will.

Somewhere deep down there’s a decent man in me, he just can’t be found.

I know I want to always do the best I can.

Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.

The greenhorn is the ultimate victor in everything; it is he that gets the most out of life.