There is only one way… to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.

My message to all the activists is to just keep going, and I know it really may seem impossible and hopeless sometimes – it always does – so you just have to keep going because if you try hard enough and long enough you will make a difference.

You have to be smart. The easy days are over.

Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.

If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

People’s blessings give you the power to work tirelessly. The only thing required is commitment.

Voters quickly forget what a man says.

If you’re in this business and you are scared, then you better do something else.

If you stop struggling, then you stop life.

The young think that failure is the Siberian end of the line, banishment from all the living, and tend to do what I then did – which was to hide.

If you’re not going to be rewarded for your virtues, and instead you’re going to be punished for them, then what’s your motivation to continue?

Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.

This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.

It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.

If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.

There are old heads in the world who cannot help me by their example or advice to live worthily and satisfactorily to myself; but I believe that it is in my power to elevate myself this very hour above the common level of my life.

In soloing – as in other activities – it is far easier to start something than it is to finish it.

Do your job. Do it the best you can. Do it right, because somebody, sometimes your best friend, is waiting for you to screw up so she can take your place.

It is better to risk starving to death then surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what’s left?

If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‚Why the hell not?‘

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.

The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.

What old people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new.

Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.

Remember that the essence of authority is that people willingly follow your lead.

When things are going bad, don’t get all bummed out. Don’t get startled; don’t get frustrated. If you can say the word ‚good,‘ guess what? It means you’re still alive. It means you’re still breathing.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

I always was that person who was hard on myself and challenged myself no matter what I was doing, whether it was passing third grade or playing basketball.

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

Man is not made for defeat.

Hope is a waking dream.

Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week.

A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.

Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for it.

I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything, or creating anything. Period. If you ain’t desperate at some point, you ain’t interesting.

I’m addicted to placebos.

Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure.

Anything you really want, you can attain, if you really go after it.

With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.

Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.

You are victors, not victims!

Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

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

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

The Bible says that Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. On the job, in the grocery store, even among unsaved friends and family members, God’s people are there to bring seasoning to an unsavory situation.

What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.

Love is the answer to everything. It’s the only reason to do anything. If you don’t write stories you love, you’ll never make it. If you don’t write stories that other people love, you’ll never make it.

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.

We clearly see in God’s Word that anything He tells us to do, He will give us the ability to do it. But do we really believe it? Do we want to believe it? It’s easier to come up with excuses for why we can’t do things that are hard or that we really don’t want to do.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life.

I have no human feelings.