Sometimes I wonder why I’m a novelist right now. There is no definite career reason why I became a writer. Something happened, and I became a writer. And now I’m a successful writer.

I have dreams, and I want to see them come to fruition.

When you begin to worry, go find something to do. Get busy being a blessing to someone; do something fruitful. Talking about your problem or sitting alone, thinking about it, does no good; it serves only to make you miserable. Above all else, remember that worrying is totally useless. Worrying will not solve your problem.

Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.

The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.

Whenever you do something, people try to re-do it and do a better version, especially if they’re in another country.

Never, never, never give up.

Do the duty which lies nearest to you, the second duty will then become clearer.

Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

Stand-up can take you in so many different places, man. So many doors can be opened up from stand-up comedy, and the first one that was opened up for me was acting. But you can go from acting to being a TV personality to being a radio personality to being a writer to being a producer, to just being a visionary, to voiceover work.

The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.

If you want special results, you have to feel special things and do special things together. You can speak about spirit, or you can live it.

Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

When a team takes ownership of its problems, the problem gets solved. It is true on the battlefield, it is true in business, and it is true in life.

Losing is tough.

When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.

Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.

I grew up in a rural area called Vega Baja and I’m the first of so many talented people in this area to make it out. I take great pride to represent where I come from and I am able to show my fans, and everyone who listens and watches me, that anything is possible.

I will be conquered; I will not capitulate.

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

People like to blame others. I think a person should just look at their own situation, look around them, find out what they wish to do, and seek and go and do that. And that’s it.

There is a tendency for things to right themselves.

The joy of doing well as a batsman for your country is much more than that little joy of going for a party and enjoying music. It is a completely different high, and I get high by performances. That’s what I enjoy now.

There are people out there who hate me and who say I’m arrogant, vain, and whatever. That’s all part of my success. I am made to be the best.

If you keep proving stuff that others have done, getting confidence, increasing the complexities of your solutions – for the fun of it – then one day you’ll turn around and discover that nobody actually did that one!

It’s not an experiment if you know it’s going to work.

Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.

It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.

Since day one, since the first time I touched the pen, I wanted to be the best at what I do.

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Doing well is the result of doing good. That’s what capitalism is all about.

Never regret what you don’t write.

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.

We came up with TDE. As competitive as rap is, and as much as we’re trying to exceed the standards we set for ourselves, we take their wins as our wins, too.

Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.

If a man constantly aspires is he not elevated?

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.

The book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer was ‚Crime and Punishment‘. I put the thing down after reading it in a fever over two or three days… I said, ‚If this is what a book can be, then that is what I want to do.‘

You must do the things you think you cannot do.

The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.

How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.

My philosophy in life is, Decide what you want to do. You have to have something to hope for.

The time is always right to do what is right.

When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank.

Refuse to be a lazy Christian, and resist a passive, apathetic attitude.

My enthusiasm seems to cause my world to endlessly offer me cooperative, co-creating experiences. I’m willing and I’m eager, and not just about my writing – I feel the same way about staying in shape, enjoying my family, giving a lecture, or whatever it may be.

We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.

You have to feel confident. If you don’t, then you’re going to be hesitant and defensive, and there’ll be a lot of things working against you.

I think you can have 10,000 explanations for failure, but no good explanation for success.

If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder.

Do your job. Do it the best you can. Do it right, because somebody, sometimes your best friend, is waiting for you to screw up so she can take your place.

Sometimes I wish I had taken the Bob Dylan route and sang songs where my voice would not go out on me every night, so I could have a career if I wanted.

The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.