Relish everything that’s inside of you, the imperfections, the darkness, the richness and light and everything. And that makes for a full life.

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.

Once I knew only darkness and stillness… my life was without past or future… but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.

Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.

Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.

I think the discipline comes with turning that cellphone and Blackberry off and unplugging completely. You do that and you go through some withdrawals in the beginning. You start thinking, ‚Oh, do I need to do this? Do I need to do that?‘ You forget that we were doing just fine with the payphone.

It were a real increase of human happiness, could all young men from the age of nineteen be covered under barrels, or rendered otherwise invisible; and there left to follow their lawful studies and callings, till they emerged, sadder and wiser, at the age of twenty-five.

Fear is real, but so is love.

I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

I am not happy, and the quest for happiness as a principal objective is not part of my world. Of course, ever since I can remember, I have done what I felt like doing.

In my younger days, I was trying to write sophisticated prose and fantastic stories.

Adversity leads us to think properly of our state, and so is most beneficial to us.

If we’re going to bring out the best in people, we, too, need to sow seeds of encouragement.

We will move forward, we will move upward, and yes, we will move onward.

Libraries raised me.

I don’t have much positive to say about motor neuron disease, but it taught me not to pity myself because others were worse off, and to get on with what I still could do. I’m happier now than before I developed the condition.

I’m not a centerfold.

For me, the world that I inhabit in reality is probably a very different world than the one people expect that I would be in.

You don’t have the same mentality as you did five years ago – even one year. People are always changing, and I believe that everyone deserves the space to change and for people to recognize their change.

A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential.

What I have in common with the character in ‚Truman‘ is this incredible need to please people. I feel like I want to take care of everyone and I also feel this terrible guilt if I am unable to. And I have felt this way ever since all this success started.

Mindfulness practices enhance the connection between our body, our mind and everything else that is around us. Mindful living is the key to understanding our struggles with weight and to empowering us to control our weight.

A leader is a dealer in hope.

There are going to be things I’m not going to be great at, times when I make mistakes, 100%.

While we may lose heart, we never have to lose hope.

Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.

Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy.

I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.

Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.

To us also, through every star, through every blade of grass, is not God made visible if we will open our minds and our eyes.

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

Your energy, your spirit are important considerations. Feeling petty and frustrated can have reverberating consequences for your ability to think strategically and reach your goals.

I don’t have to be what you want me to be.

Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn’t get some of that stuff out.

The correlative to loving our neighbors as ourselves is hating ourselves as we hate our neighbors.

Instead of being critical of people in authority over you and envious of their position, be happy you’re not responsible for everything they have to do. Instead of piling on complaints, thank them for what they do. Overwhelm them with encouragement and appreciation!

Why don’t you start believing that no matter what you have or haven’t done, that your best days are still out in front of you.

Dressing up is a bore. At a certain age, you decorate yourself to attract the opposite sex, and at a certain age, I did that. But I’m past that age.

Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.

Simplify, simplify.

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

One of my big goals as a human being is to continue to write what’s really happening to me, even if it’s a tough pill to swallow for people around me… I do fear that if I ever were to have someone in my life who mattered, I would second-guess every one of my lyrics.

I feel the emotion that life conjures up and the songs I write get me closer to my feelings and realising who I am. It’s a natural process.

I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.

It’s amazing: I am a New Yorker. It’s strange; I never thought I would be.

Rejoicing in our joy, not suffering over our suffering, makes someone a friend.

You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.

If you’re trying too hard to be the girl next door, you’re not going to be.

We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our education system.

I love to sit and eat quietly and enjoy each bite, aware of the presence of my community, aware of all the hard and loving work that has gone into my food.

Only the insecure strive for security.

The more successful I become, the more I need a man.

What a liberation to realize that the ‚voice in my head‘ is not who I am. ‚Who am I, then?‘ The one who sees that.

I don’t like to read things that people write about me. I’d rather read what kids have to say about me because it’s not their profession to do that.

If the people are happy, united, wealthy, and powerful, we presume the rest. We conclude that to be good from whence good is derived.

Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.

In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.