Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.

I have goals.

I don’t go to bed at 1 A.M. and wake up at 5 A.M. and say, ‚Let’s see if I can get this done today.‘

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

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.

Forty is when you actually begin even deserving to be on stage telling people what you think.

If you can ask a young man to give his life for his country, you can lead people.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.

Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.

Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.

You know, T can stand for anything. T stand for working hard. T stand for loving thy neighbor. T stand for feeding the hungry. T stand for just working, working, working, being happy on the set, you know, lifting everybody’s spirits. T stands for just a nice guy.

When you are young you tend to do so many things that are not needed. When you get experience, you know what exactly what works for you and you tend to do things that you want.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

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

If you get knocked down – setbacks in life, like applying for a job if they don’t hire you – keep trying, keep getting up, keep doing it.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.

It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.

You know, there is always times where you feel discouraged and things coming against you, but I don’t know if I ever wanted to throw in the towel.

Sooner or later we’re all someone’s dog.

Off with you! You’re a happy fellow, for you’ll give happiness and joy to many other people. There is nothing better or greater than that!

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

I want to thank God, obviously for the health, for the talent He’s given me, for my family who supports me, for the things that basketball’s taught me on and off the court. For the people that I’ve been able to meet through the game of basketball.

Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment you can grow more surely toward the stars.

Coming generations will learn equality from poverty, and love from woes.

For, if a good speaker, never so eloquent, does not see into the fact, and is not speaking the truth of that – is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?

Mental toughness is a lifestyle. It’s something that you live every single day of your life. When I was growing up, I was a lazy kid. I was a lazy kid, and everybody goes, ‚How did you get to where you’re at today? How did you get to where you’re running 200 miles at one time in 39 hours? Being so disciplined?‘

Everybody is going to have their critics. It’s easy to get discouraged in life.

The presence of passion within you is the greatest gift you can receive. Treat it as a miracle.

I can do whatever I want.

How can a president not be an actor?

If you’re waiting for the perfect moment, you’ll never write a thing because it will never arrive. I have no routine. I have no foolproof anything. There’s nothing foolproof.

Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.

When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‚em, ‚Certainly I can!‘ Then get busy and find out how to do it.

Anytime someone tells me that I can’t do something, I want to do it more.

This ain’t fun. But you watch me, I’ll get it done.

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.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.

Great acts are made up of small deeds.

I’d rather give my life than be afraid to give it.

Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day.

The temptation to take the easy road is always there. It is as easy as staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team.

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.

Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.

Experience which was once claimed by the aged is now claimed exclusively by the young.

The misfortune of the wise is better than the prosperity of the fool.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

The reward of suffering is experience.

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.

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

Don’t think in the morning. That’s a big mistake that people make. They wake up in the morning and they start thinking. Don’t think. Just execute the plan. The plan is the alarm clock goes off, you get up, you go work out. Get some.

If you hear a voice within you say ‚you cannot paint,‘ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.

Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.

Even as you make progress, you need the discipline to keep from backtracking and sabotaging the success as it’s happening.

To me, if life boils down to one thing, it’s movement. To live is to keep moving.

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.

Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.

Do all you can to make your dreams come true.