There are people in the world who have skills and strength and talent that I will never have. Never. These notions that you can ‚be whatever you want to be as long as you want it bad enough‘ are not true. They are fairy tales.

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.

I think one of my pursuits over the years is trying to answer the question of, ‚What else can you do with a voice other than stand in front of a microphone and sing?‘

I don’t really know that much about love, it turns out.

I never saw myself as a folk singer.

Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.

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.

I’m a genetic optimist.

I think it’s my responsibility, as a person of influence… to sometimes try to do what I can.

You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.

Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.

I don’t live in the past at all; I’m always wanting to do something new. I make a point of constantly trying to forget and get things out of my mind.

If every day you practice walking and sitting meditation and generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration and peace, you are a cell in the body of the new Buddha. This is not a dream but is possible today and tomorrow.

Only stupid people are changed by success.

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

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Resist the need to be ‚right‘ all the time or to always have the last word.

We should seek the greatest value of our action.

We do not yet possess ourselves, and we know at the same time that we are much more.

Life well spent is long.

I was at a New Year’s Eve party, and someone asked me how was my year, and I said, ‚I honestly think 2011 was the best year of my entire life,‘ and I actually meant it.

There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.

I was ironing my own clothes when I was 11 years old. My mental strength goes back to those days.

The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.

I’ve always had a problem with the average macho man – they’ve always been a threat to me.

Thaw with her gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, the other breaks into pieces.

There’s something which impels us to show our inner souls. The more courageous we are, the more we succeed in explaining what we know.

Whatever you dwell on in the conscious grows in your experience.

You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It’s very real. It’s very strong.

Yeah, I like to keep myself interested – I’ll kind of throw myself into some area that I don’t completely know or understand, that I’m not adept at, so I’m forced to swim in order to stay afloat. There’s a good feeling that comes from that.

And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

The man never feels the want of what it never occurs to him to ask for.

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

My dad seemed comfortable with his decision to be a ‚have-not,‘ but I knew that I wasn’t.

Difficulties should act as a tonic. They should spur us to greater exertion.

Don’t feel sorry for me.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.

I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow-minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open-mindedness.

I am absolutely my own biggest critic.

What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something from all those years of training and competing. I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didn’t think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learned is that we are always stronger than we know.

It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone – so far.

Life is a lively process of becoming.

Becoming an inspiration for kids is great. I want to inspire them to do whatever they want to.

I think that I am better than the people who are trying to reform me.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.

Better to die ten thousand deaths than wound my honor.

I brought myself down. I impeached myself by resigning.

Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.

Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit.

The man who has done his level best… is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure.

Everyone has at least one story, and each of us is funny if we admit it. You have to admit you’re the funniest person you’ve ever heard of.

Whatever is making you so angry, it’s time for you to give it to God and get over it.

I spent most of the early years of my walk with God focused on what was wrong with me. Most of us probably do that, hoping to change ourselves.

Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.

Libraries raised me.

With drive and a bit of talent, you can move mountains. I know. I’ve done it.

Acting helped me as I was growing up. It helped me learn about myself, helped me travel, helped me understand life, express myself, all those wonderful things. So I’m very, very grateful; it’s a fun job. It’s a luxury.