There was my name up in lights. I said, ‚God, somebody’s made a mistake.‘ But there it was, in lights. And I sat there and said, ‚Remember, you’re not a star.‘ Yet there it was up in lights.

You would think that a rock star being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is.

None are more taken in by flattery than the proud, who wish to be the first and are not.

The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. There is nothing so conformable to reason as this disavowal of reason.

If I could give you information of my life, it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led by God in strange and unaccustomed paths to do In His service what He has done in her. And if I could tell you all, you would see how God has done all, and I nothing.

The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has.

Fame is ultimately about the cycles of desire and how to do away with them or manage them well.

Sometimes, wearing a scarf and a polo coat and no makeup and with a certain attitude of walking, I go shopping or just look at people living. But then, you know, there will be a few teenagers who are kind of sharp, and they’ll say, ‚Hey, just a minute. You know who I think that is?‘ And they’ll start tailing me. And I don’t mind.

I didn’t come to Hollywood. Hollywood came to me. A lot of people wish they could say the things I say. Everyone out here is so phony, it’s sickening.

Be smarter than other people, just don’t tell them so.

As much as it might look like, to someone else, that I’m successful, I never feel like I’m anywhere. The further I go, I still feel equally further from my eventual goal. Because as I grow, I get more goals. I’m never content.

Actors know what actors are insecure about – and they’re all insecure.

I’ve never had that much trouble with the paparazzi, but I don’t run the same circles that a lot of these people that do get hounded by the paparazzi.

If you modestly enjoy your fame you are not unworthy to rank with the holy.

Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the Presidency.

To this day, some of my closest friends say, ‚Gaga, you know, everything’s great. You’re a singer; your dreams have come true.‘ But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you’re growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they’re true.

Let us be absolutely clear about one thing: we must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.

I think that we have opportunities all around us – sometimes we just don’t recognize them.

My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don’t need another plaque.

It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.

I think I’ve developed, as many people do, this sense of, ‚Don’t say the wrong thing, or else people will point at you and laugh.‘

People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.

‚Thank you‘ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.

The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don’t know nothing. I mean, that’s my life lesson.

I’m honest enough to say I don’t know everything. You know, I don’t. I don’t understand all of God. I don’t understand, you know, some kind of why bad things happen.

Sometimes you recognize that there is a category of human experience that has not been identified but everyone knows about it. That is when I find a term to describe it.

There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self.

Many people look at me and think they know me but they don’t at all. This is the real me. I am a humble person, a feeling person. A person who cares about others, who wants to help others.

I don’t think I could think of a single thing that’s more isolating than being famous.

The abdomen is the reason why man does not readily take himself to be a god.

To be famous, in fact, one has only to kill one’s landlady.

The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.

People wonder aloud about whether I am an okay mother. That is obviously painful because it’s so important to me. It’s hard to hear that people think I’m not a capable mother and a good person, that they just think I’m nuts.

I was going to McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day. The kids behind the counter knew me – it wouldn’t even faze them. Or I’d sit up at Denny’s or Big Boy and just eat by myself. It was sad. I got so heavy that people started to not recognize me.

The last thing you want is to not be recognized for all of the hard work you put in.

I always entertain the notion that I’m wrong, or that I’ll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing.

I’m not in it for fame. I’ve been famous in the streets already.

People ask, ‚Should I call you Sir Hopkins?‘ But I say, ‚No. Call me Tony,‘ because it’s too much of a lift-up.

The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.

Everywhere I go, the kids call me ‚the book lady.‘ The older I get, the more appreciative I seem to be of the ‚book lady‘ title. It makes me feel more like a legitimate person, not just a singer or an entertainer. But it makes me feel like I’ve done something good with my life and with my success.

I wanted to be famous for my music and my talent, and I always wished I could cut it out when I left the stage.

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.

A person places themselves on a level with the ones they praise.

I second-guess and overthink and rethink every single thing that I do.

If you have a success you have it for the wrong reasons. If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work.

I’m the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them.

There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it cannot recognize itself; anyone who wants to recognize it has to be a lie.

Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.

I have no interest in Shakespeare and all that British nonsense… I just wanted to get famous and all the rest is hogwash.

In the book of Gaga, fame is in your heart, fame is there to comfort you, to bring you self-confidence and worth whenever you need it.

I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.

Humility may well be one of the most difficult of the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in us – and to maintain. That’s because without humility, it’s not likely that you will put your complete trust in God.

It’s flattering to people who stop you and say that you’ve helped them and all. But, again, you know, you’ve got to stay humble because as quick as you came up, you can come down.

Some artists are working to buy the mansion or whatever the element of fame must bear, but I spend all my money on my show.

Americans are far more remarkable than we give ourselves credit for. We’ve been so busy damning ourselves for years. We’ve done it all, and yet we don’t take credit for it.

The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has extended a little longer than 15 minutes is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.

There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords.

The longer a man’s fame is likely to last, the longer it will be in coming.

I believe God wants you to have money to pay your bills, send your kids to college and do charity work and build orphanages. There’s the teaching that we’re supposed to be poor to show that we’re humble. I don’t buy that. I think we’re supposed to be leaders. We’re supposed to excel.

Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent.