The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

I think, because I started Virgin when I was a teenager, it has become a part of me, like my family, and I am motivated by ambition for it, almost as if it were a child.

A lot of people don’t realise I came out of the Smoky Mountains with a load of songs.

If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.

If you’re not ready for everything, you’re not ready for anything.

History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

Imagination decides everything.

I’m inspired by people who keep on rolling, no matter their age.

You do things when the opportunities come along. I’ve had periods in my life when I’ve had a bundle of ideas come along, and I’ve had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I’ll do something. If not, I won’t do a damn thing.

If I waited for perfection… I would never write a word.

It usually helps me write by reading – somehow the reading gear in your head turns the writing gear.

People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.

As much as I love the Western genre, I figured if I kept doing those, I’d eventually run out of steam on that, and that would’ve been the end of it.

To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.

You have to stay faithful to what you’re working on.

Attitude and enthusiasm play a big part in my life. I get excited about the things that inspire me. I also believe in laughing and having a good time.

I believe time wounds all heels.

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

I wanted to get a job being creative, and I did.

When I inspire myself, I want to spread the word because its important to be healthy. I don’t think they’re teaching us enough about that. I think we should eat better and exercise. Look who’s saying that – a guy who was 300 pounds – but I’m doing a lot better than I used to. I’m letting people know its important because it makes you feel better.

My dear sisters, whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils.

Live the life you’ve dreamed.

I’m always disappointed when people don’t live up to their potential. I know that a number of people look down on themselves and consequently on everybody who looks like them. But that, too, can change.

Writing and cafes are strongly linked in my brain.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

I’m a songwriter. Everything affects me.

If I wished to do something, even if I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to make the effort with me, I would go out solo climbing. I did find solo climbing very challenging and a little frightening. You knew that you were completely on your own, and you had to overcome all the problems and possible dangers.

Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.

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

I’d have stopped writing years ago if it were for the money.

You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.

I wanted to use my fame and this face that everyone knows so well to help uplift and inspire people around the world.

I’m always afraid of failing. I have to quiet that fear if I’m going to get up in the morning.

Never complain and never explain.

Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.

Strong emotions such as passion and bliss are indications that you’re connected to Spirit, or ‚inspired,‘ if you will. When you’re inspired, you activate dormant forces, and the abundance you seek in any form comes streaming into your life.

Genius is a potential that lives within you and every other human being. You have many moments of genius in your lifetime. These are the times when you have a uniquely brilliant idea and implement it even if only you are aware of how fantastic it is.

I can take it. The tougher it gets, the cooler I get.

I believe enlightenment or revelation comes in daily life. I look for joy, the peace of action. You need action. I’d have stopped writing years ago if it were for the money.

You can’t hire someone to practice for you.

I hope that people around the world will be as inspired as I am to step up and to speak out on behalf of girls around the world who struggle to go to school.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

Nor shall derision prove powerful against those who listen to humanity or those who follow in the footsteps of divinity, for they shall live forever. Forever.

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

The poet, being an imitator like a painter or any other artist, must of necessity imitate one of three objects – things as they were or are, things as they are said or thought to be, or things as they ought to be. The vehicle of expression is language – either current terms or, it may be, rare words or metaphors.

You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.

With self-discipline most anything is possible.

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.

Life begins on the other side of despair.

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win – essential to success.

The more nobly a man wills and acts, the more avid he becomes for great and sublime aims to pursue. He will no longer be content with family, country, and the remunerative aspect of his work. He will want wider organisations to create, new paths to blaze, causes to uphold, truths to discover, an ideal to cherish and defend.

The reason that I’m here at all is because of my relationship with my family and their encouragement of me to be a musician and to work hard. As long as I stay there in that space, I can do anything. That’s my truth.

I’m never gonna step away from stand-up. I can’t. That’s what got me where I am, and that’s also my muse. That’s how I stay level-headed. That’s what keeps me going.

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

I just kind of wake up with a new idea and new dreams every day, and I follow that dream, as they say.

Live out of your imagination, not your history.

Red is such an interesting color to correlate with emotion, because it’s on both ends of the spectrum. On one end you have happiness, falling in love, infatuation with someone, passion, all that. On the other end, you’ve got obsession, jealousy, danger, fear, anger and frustration.