Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.

For just when ideas fail, a word comes in to save the situation.

I don’t go to bed at 1 A.M. and wake up at 5 A.M. and say, ‚Let’s see if I can get this done today.‘

I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.

On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

Whatever you have, you must either use or lose.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also.

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.

When I’m writing a record, I kind of don’t listen to much music. Just because I want to be inspired solely on the emotion; just based on how it feels.

When I did have some success, it further emboldens you to be like, ‚No, I’m just going to write what I feel I should write.‘

All my life affection has been showered upon me, and every forward step I have made has been taken in spite of it.

Get place and wealth, if possible with grace; if not, by any means get wealth and place.

At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.

Unless and until you inspire the people, you will not get results. Imposition will never give you the results. Inspiration will always give you the results.

Most of my songs have names of people I’ve met or are dear to me. There are people who have privacy issues and about people knowing about their private life. But for me, I like to include few special names and few details about them to make the song very special to me.

This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.

I’ve never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves – it’s just a question of finding the subject.

The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.

Man becomes his most creative during war.

It’s the philosophies of being an athlete that carry me today.

If you or I fail at business, we fail. If we cheat and fail, we go to jail. But if you’re rich and politically connected, your incompetence may be protected by a government bailout.

If you are the kind of person who is waiting for the ‚right‘ thing to happen, you might wait for a long time. It’s like waiting for all the traffic lights to be green for five miles before starting the trip.

When you’re one of the leaders of the team, there are no days off.

All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.

Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.

We live in a culture that relishes tearing others down. It’s ultimately more fulfilling, though, to help people reach their goals. Instead of feeling jealous, remember: If God did it for them, He can do it for you.

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

If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

To have done anything just for money is to have been truly idle.

What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.

A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.

I seen a lot of artists be hot for a minute, and then that’s it, and somebody else come in.

The battle is all over except the ‚shouting‘ when one knows what is wanted and has made up his mind to get it, whatever the price may be.

We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

How you played in yesterday’s game is all that counts.

My old drama coach used to say, ‚Don’t just do something, stand there.‘ Gary Cooper wasn’t afraid to do nothing.

Big results require big ambitions.

Goodness is the only investment that never fails.

Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

Necessity is the mother of taking chances.

I was the kid that was the 199th pick that never had the body for it. People didn’t think I’d play one year in the NFL, and now I’m going on my 17th year.

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.

Courage is knowing what not to fear.

The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory.

The important thing is to be in love with something.

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

If I’d been born ugly, you’d never have heard of Pele.

Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference.

We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip our people to walk through those doors.

I think that once you’ve had a few No. 1s in your career that you’ve kind of proven yourself, and I don’t feel the need to prove anything anymore.

Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.

Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.

If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get.

And die of nothing but a rage to live.

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

I never expected any sort of success with ‚Mockingbird’… I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement.