The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.

I will keep America moving forward, always forward, for a better America, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand Points of Light. This is my mission, and I will complete it.

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.

Therapy? I don’t need that. The roles that I choose are my therapy.

Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.

You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.

Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.

All art is but imitation of nature.

Things do not always happen the way I would like them to happen, and I had better get used to that.

A man’s own manner and character is what most becomes him.

Responsibility is the price of freedom.

The best advice comes from people who don’t give advice.

You can’t do something forever.

It is a fact often observed, that men have written good verses under the inspiration of passion, who cannot write well under other circumstances.

You see something, then it clicks with something else, and it will make a story. But you never know when it’s going to happen.

Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.

I’m kind of fascist with myself, you know.

The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosopher’s or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself, and that is why you must know yourself – Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork, you must make a decision.

Words are powerful; if you change your words, you can change your life.

I’m working at trying to be a Christian, and that’s serious business. It’s like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Buddhist, a good Shintoist, a good Zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy – it’s serious business.

All of my writing is God-given.

The thing that motivates me is a very common form of motivation. And that is, with other folks counting on me, it’s so easy to be motivated.

I don’t know what can be so dangerous about giving people hope. Causing people to have better relationships. I’m not leading them to some false God or something like that.

The lessons of history would suggest that civilisations move in cycles. You can track that back quite far – the Babylonians, the Sumerians, followed by the Egyptians, the Romans, China. We’re obviously in a very upward cycle right now, and hopefully that remains the case. But it may not.

Sometimes I’ll jot a clever turn of phrase down. Sometimes I’ll just remember it.

I need to keep working on myself for a while.

Now we’re in the midst of not just advocating for change, not just calling for change – we’re doing the grinding, sometimes frustrating work of delivering change – inch by inch, day by day.

I don’t want to hear the word ‚can’t.‘

What? You seek something? You wish to multiply yourself tenfold, a hundredfold? You seek followers? Seek zeros!

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.

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Before I do anything, I think, well what hasn’t been seen. Sometimes, that turns out to be something ghastly and not fit for society. And sometimes that inspiration becomes something that’s really worthwhile.

Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.

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

No sooner said than done – so acts your man of worth.

I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that.

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.

Nothing is more fearful than imagination without taste.

I once wanted to prove myself by being a great actress. Now I want to prove that I’m a person. Then maybe I’ll be a great actress.

In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride.

You’ve got to vote, vote, vote, vote. That’s it; that’s the way we move forward. That’s how we make progress for ourselves and for our country.

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

Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do.

A word after a word after a word is power.

True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and of the mind.

Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.

To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.

Some like to think that a keen appreciation of art can actually make us better people – more just, more moral, more sensitive, more understanding. Perhaps that is true – in certain rare, isolated cases.

Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.

I used to worry about every little thing, trying to figure out every problem. Well, I realize now how foolish that was. I was no more in control of my life than the man on the moon.

Key is never be afraid of being yourself. Never!

From the moment I open my eyes, I’m trying to free my body. I’m trying to get looser, more flexible, to gain control. Movement is medicine to me.

To keep the business going, you gotta keep it boomin‘.

Chaos is a friend of mine.

Brad was a huge surprise to me. I think we were both the last two people who were looking for a relationship. I certainly wasn’t. I was quite content to be a single mom with Mad.

Writing is such a strange, utterly mysterious process. First, there was nothing; then, suddenly, there was something. I don’t know where thoughts are born. Where the hell does it come from? I don’t know. I really don’t know.

We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are – that is the fact.

I can never say ‚why‘ about anything I do. I suppose I can say ‚how‘ and ‚when‘ and ‚what.‘ But ‚why‘ is impenetrable to me.