Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.

I don’t want to be something that just comes and goes.

There are certain characteristics that define a good chimp mother. She is patient, she is protective but she is not over-protective – that is really important. She is tolerant, but she can impose discipline. She is affectionate. She plays. And the most important of all: she is supportive.

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

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.

My parents were just constantly affirming me in everything that I did. Late at night, I’d wake up and hear my mother talking over my bed, saying, ‚You’re going to do great on this test. You can do anything you want.‘

The principle of all successful effort is to try to do not what is absolutely the best, but what is easily within our power, and suited for our temperament and condition.

Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.

I’ve never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves – it’s just a question of finding the subject.

I think when smallpox was eliminated, the whole world got pretty excited about that because it’s just such a dramatic success.

If you look at the history of Notre Dame, if you hire a coach who’s been successful at another college program, they’re going to be ultra successful at Notre Dame because the talent will always be there.

The shortest answer is doing the thing.

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

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.

In the world today many people rightfully feel entitled to have success and the good things in life, but they usually understand it will require sacrifice and hard work.

I am a walking piece of art every day, with my dreams and my ambitions forward at all times in an effort to inspire my fans to lead their life in that way.

If this were all to go away tomorrow, all the big success, I would still be very happy going from bar to bar playing music for people.

I was always trying – I never wanted to let my fans down; I always wanted them to see me in my art form.

To be great is to be misunderstood.

There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

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

My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.

Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.

My experience has been that work is almost the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.

I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.

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

My drive is other people’s success.

What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.

If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you – until you get your revenge.

I like working. That’s when I’m feeling my best. And the people around me know that. My wife knows that.

Don’t be a writer; it’s a terrible way to live your life. There’s nothing to be gained from it but poverty and obscurity and solitude. So if you have a taste for all those things, which means that you really are burning to do it, then go ahead and do it. But don’t expect anything from anybody.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

You not supposed to feel down over whatever happen to you. I mean, you’re supposed to use whatever happen to you as some type of upper, not a downer.

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

You want to know whether we’re better off? I’ve got a little bumper sticker for you: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive! Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

Passions are the gales of life.

We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.

It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.

We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.

I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a young mogul. I’m blessed.

Victory belongs to the most persevering.

If an idea isn’t exciting, you shouldn’t do it.

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.

He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.

Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.

When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.

Sometimes you need faith and victory spoken over your life. Words have created power. When you receive them into your spirit, they can ignite seeds of increase on the inside.

The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.

Only those who want everything done for them are bored.

With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.

No man is ever whipped until he quits in his own mind.

What keeps me going is goals.

I can’t deny that label-support gave me a leg up – though not every successful artist needs it.