True politeness consists in being easy one’s self, and in making every one about one as easy as one can.

In the Raphael Room, the secret turned out to be that only some of the paintings were made by the great master; the rest were made by students. I had liked the ones by Raphael. This was a big jab for my self-confidence in my ability to appreciate art.

Key is never be afraid of being yourself. Never!

Well, I don’t think there’s any need for people to focus on my career.

I have Asperger’s, I’m on the autism spectrum, so I don’t really care about social codes. It makes you think differently.

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

Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.

You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.

You’ve gotta be very careful that grace and politeness do not merge into a banality of behavior, where we’re just nice, sort of ‚death by cupcake.‘

I always say that women should wear whatever makes them feel good about themselves. That’s what I always try to do.

I know this sounds strange, but as a kid, I was really shy. Painfully shy. The turning point was freshman year, when I was the biggest geek alive. No one, I mean no one, even talked to me.

I thought one should have the attitude of ‚What do you care what other people think!‘

I’m very secure about my talents and about who I am.

If someone offers you a breath mint, accept it.

Why is it you always meet people when you look your worst?

I walk tall; I got a tall attitude.

I grew up in an environment where being polite was taken as a weakness. So I just fought everybody.

Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference.

It was really hard for them to intimidate me. They felt I was intimidating. One of the growers had a name for me: I think it was ‚dragon lady‘ or something like it.

In order to have friends, you must first be one.

I think dress, hairstyle and make-up are the crucial factors in projecting an attractive persona and give one the chance to enhance one’s best physical features.

It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability.

My success isn’t a result of arrogance – it’s a result of belief.

I want kids to know: Don’t wait for somebody to come along and tell you you’re special. Because that may never happen.

I tend not to really think about what other people say. I’d rather just try and focus on what I’m doing, try and win basically.

I’m no natural beauty. If I’m gonna have any looks at all, I’m gonna have to create them.

I’m not a person that socializes very well.

I make friends faster and easier than journalists.

You might be the funniest guy in the world, but if you don’t have anything to talk about, people are eventually going to gravitate towards the guy that’s actually saying something.

It was clear to me that if I could get through Princeton at the top of my class, I could do anything in the world.

It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate.

If you don’t stand your ground, then all that happens is people push you backwards.

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.

I am who I am. That’s why my friends and peers respect and appreciate me. I don’t change or cater my actions to fit my surroundings. I’m myself 24/7. People appreciate that.

One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I’m a woman. That is the way all females should feel.

I think that I’m perfect.

I’m not a natural joiner.

I know who I am, I know what I can and can’t do. I know what I will and won’t do. I know what I’m capable of and I don’t agree to do things that I don’t think I can pull off.

In fact, my courage and my bravery at a young age was the thing I was bullied for, a kind of ‚Who do you think you are?‘

I think, a lot of times when you meet someone, you feel like you need to appear like you’re not interested in them so that they’ll be more interested in you. But what happens when you start showing him that you actually like him? What’s he gonna do then? Play the tape forward; how do you keep a guy like that? I don’t want to sign up for that.

Never, and I mean never, allow anyone else’s ideas of who you can or can’t become sully your dream or pollute your imagination. This is your territory, and a ‚Keep Out‘ sign is a great thing to erect at all entrances to your imagination.

You make yourself broad. You make yourself appealing. ‚Hey, y’all, I’m cool with everybody.‘ That’s my message.

Ever since I dated a woman, I know what it is to grab a curve on a woman’s body. Skinny’s not fine when the lights are low.

I can express myself.

Fine manners need the support of fine manners in others.

I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.

I still think I am the greatest.

I’m the most boring person to talk to.

Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons.

If I feel anxious every time someone is staring at me, well, I can’t control what they stare at, but my reaction is, I’m just not going to go outside the house. I’m going to stay in and chill. And when I do go out, I understand what comes along with that.

I had nothing growing up, but I always wanted to be ‚sexy,‘ even before I knew what the word was.

Be proud to be Latino and never lose that pride!

She is a peacock in everything but beauty.

I worked with someone who told me they’d never like me. But for some reason, I just felt like I needed her approval. So I started changing myself to please her. It made me stop being social and friendly. I was so unhappy.

You have to feel confident. If you don’t, then you’re going to be hesitant and defensive, and there’ll be a lot of things working against you.

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

I was in enough to get along with people. I was never socially inarticulate. Not a loner. And that saved my life, saved my sanity. That and the writing. But to this day I distrust anybody who thought school was a good time. Anybody.

I don’t dabble and spend much mind or time dealing with, I don’t know, people’s perceptions of me. I truly don’t.

I’m sick of the tabloids‘ saying I obsess over guys. Why would you obsess over guys? They don’t like it.

It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so.

Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.