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 have short goals – to get better every day, to help my teammates every day – but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It’s all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing.

I pity the fool who just gives up.

I refuse to feel guilty. I feel guilty about too much in my life but not about money. I went through periods when I had nothing, so somebody in my family has to get stinkin‘ wealthy.

I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I still had a daughter who I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.

Well, in order for me to be successful… In order to be a great artist – musician, actor, painter, whatever – you must be able to be private in public at all times.

If you don’t set the tone for the day, the devil will set it for you.

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.

Let the path be open to talent.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.

I don’t do things for the response or for the controversy. I just live my life.

This lady is not for turning.

A child wants things to be a certain way. When you get to be an adult, you just understand that some people are good, some are not, and you can’t be naive.

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.

Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil.

Though ambition in itself is a vice, it often is also the parent of virtue.

Losing is tough.

At the age of 6, a teacher full of ambitions, who taught in the small public school of Biran, convinced my family that I should travel to Santiago de Cuba to accompany my older sister who would enter a highly prestigious convent school. Including me was a skill of that very teacher from the little school in Biran.

Act well your part, there all the honour lies.

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

I disagree with everything I used to say.

My life is my message.

Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.

I used to stutter really badly. Everybody thinks it’s funny. And it’s not funny. It’s not.

We all know we have a finite period of time. I just feel if I’m going to be alive, I want to be challenged – to be as immortal as possible. The path to that isn’t an easy way, but it’s a rewarding way.

I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.

A woman can’t be alone. She needs a man. A man and a woman support and strengthen each other. She just can’t do it by herself.

You are never too young to learn, never too old to change.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Invest three percent of your income in yourself (self-development) in order to guarantee your future.

If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.

The fact is that since you’re a divine creation who originated in the world of Spirit, you have exactly the right amount of smarts to accomplish all that you need and want to do while you’re here on earth. It’s all perfect… and so are you!

My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.

Don’t worry about motivation. Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes. It is unreliable – and when you are counting on motivation to get your goals accomplished, you will likely fall short.

Be not simply good – be good for something.

Whether for life or death, do your own work well.

Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure.

He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.

We usually lose today, because there has been a yesterday, and tomorrow is coming.

I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.

Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn’t get some of that stuff out.

If you were the President of the United States or the Queen of England – you couldn’t have a person who would be more protective than my mother was for me. Which meant really that I could dare to do all sorts of things.

The good things of prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired.

I allow myself to fail. I allow myself to break. I’m not afraid of my flaws.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

I love my daddy. My daddy’s everything. I hope I can find a man that will treat me as good as my dad.

No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.

Just like every person who works for Dortmund is a fan of the club, it was the same at Mainz. When I was a player there, we had 800 supporters on rainy Saturday afternoons, and if we died, no one would notice or come to our funeral. But we loved the club, and we have this same feeling at Dortmund.

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.

I’m so nervous. I’ve always been nervous, ever since I was a kid.

The secret of success is constancy to purpose.

I didn’t have a father figure in the house.

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.

When I was young, an eccentric uncle decided to teach me how to lie. Not, he explained, because he wanted me to lie, but because he thought I should know how it’s done so I would recognise when I was being lied to.

When I was married, I definitely went through a lying period.

With patient and firm determination, I am going to press on for jobs. I’m going to press on for equality. I’m going to press on for the sake of our children. I’m going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I am going to press on.

The reason I became 297 pounds is because that was comfortable. What was very uncomfortable was running. What was very uncomfortable was being on a diet. What was very uncomfortable was trying to face things that I didn’t want to face. And I also realized, when I was really big, I had no growth. Why? Because I was living comfortable.