The greatest gift is the ability to forget – to forget the bad things and focus on the good.

I just feel that ‚The Color Purple,‘ which was my 10th book, was a true gift from my ancestors.

The people of Northern Ireland have sorted out my whole life.

I don’t know if I particularly want to be remembered for anything. I personally do not think I’m a great gift to the world. I’ve been very fortunate.

People’s minds are changed through observation and not through argument.

Satan wants us to constantly focus on everything that is wrong with us and look at how far we still have to go. But God desires for us to rejoice in how far we have already come.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

Some people feel that the world owes them a living.

The devil is a peace stealer, and he works hard to set us up to get upset. But we can learn how to change our approach so we don’t live upset all of the time. And Jesus gives us the best example to follow.

You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‚Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.‘ See the positive in negative events.

You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.

Nobody can ever say that being negative ever helped them at all – not in any way.

The fame isn’t important to me. It’s a blessing to have. Having so many people that support me, that love me and listen to my music, is beautiful.

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other.

People want to feel hopeful.

There’s a difference in thinking you are a champion and knowing that you are.

One of the most important decisions you’ll ever make is choosing the kind of universe you exist in: is it helpful and supportive or hostile and unsupportive? Your answer to this question will make all the difference in terms of how you live your life and what kind of Divine assistance you attract.

Every day is a gift from God. There’s no guarantee of tomorrow, so that tells me to see the good in this day to make the most of it.

Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.

Happiness is a how; not a what. A talent, not an object.

A good thing to remember is somebody’s got it a lot worse than we do.

It would be a terrific innovation if you could get your mind to stretch a little further than the next wisecrack.

Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones.

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.

It’s honestly true that money means nothing to me.

No one’s policing their own minds more than an author. You spend a lot of time in your own head analysing what you think about things, and a philosophy comes.

Ability is nothing without opportunity.

Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Bottom line is, I didn’t return to Apple to make a fortune. I’ve been very lucky in my life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life. There’s no way you could ever spend it all, and I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do.

Even though you are on the right track – you will get run over if you just sit there.

As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

Of the blessings set before you make your choice, and be content.

What you have outside you counts less than what you have inside you.

Fear is stupid. So are regrets.

Is fear preventing you from taking action? Acknowledge the fear, watch it, take your attention into it, be fully present with it. Doing so cuts the link between the fear and your thinking. Don’t let the fear rise up into your mind. Use the power of the Now. Fear cannot prevail against it.

Check your ego at the door. The ego can be the great success inhibitor. It can kill opportunities, and it can kill success.

Some days I totally appreciate everything that’s happening to me, and some days I feel everyone’s waiting for me to mess up.

We identify in our experience a differentiation between what we do and what happens to us.

Don’t find fault, find a remedy.

There is no way to prosperity, prosperity is the way.

I make preparations both to live and to die every day, but with the emphasis on not dying, and on acting as if I was going to carry on living.

Sometimes we look back and 10 years from now we think, ‚Boy, those were great old days.‘ Well, you know, we’re living in the good old days.

It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.

Those who boast of their descent, brag on what they owe to others.

I wasn’t sure of the exact mindset you should have when you go into a Test match. So I probably became too defensive when I played my first Test match. Short balls in one-day cricket, I have never thought of just defending.

In the struggle between yourself and the world second the world.

So long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you’ve served us – because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home.

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.

What you put into life is what you get out of it.

There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

I don’t think about that. I wasn’t a kid growing up saying one day I’ll get an Oscar and make a speech. That wasn’t on my mind. So what I do is the best work I can do.

It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.

An employer of mine back in the ’80s was kind enough to take me on after a rough patch, and it made a big difference in my life that I knew I was the sort of person who showed up on time. It’s a basic tell of character.

When granted many years of life, growing old in age is natural, but growing old with grace is a choice. Growing older with grace is possible for all who will set their hearts and minds on the Giver of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well look, I mean, I think that prayer and holy water, and things like that are all fine. They don’t do any good, but they don’t necessarily do any harm. It’s touching to be thought of in that way. It makes up for those who tell me that I’ve got my just desserts.

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?