We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society.

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

When I used to play sports, I’d be the one cheering the team on, ‚Come on, we can beat these guys!‘ That’s just in me.

My celebrity status allows me an opportunity, allows me a pulpit to preach and reach out to the people. Not even always preaching but just leading, motivating them by being a leader.

If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

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

What we need is a system of thought – you might even call it a religion – that can bind humans together. A system that would fit the Republic of Chad as well as the United States: a system that would supply our idealistic young people with something to believe in.

When I was 8 years old, I saw ‚Raiders of the Lost Ark‘ in Charlotte, North Carolina. I walked out of there and was so inspired. I loved the movie, and I knew I wanted to be that guy.

I’m not very ambitious at all.

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.

I think beating myself up sometimes and knowing I am not happy when I do it makes me work harder to do a good job.

Susceptibility to the highest forces is the highest genius.

If you want to achieve something, you build the basis for it.

Over the years I’ve learned how to lock myself up in a prison of hope, knowing that God has nothing but His best planned for me. He promised me things concerning my ministry and my life.

Refuse to be a lazy Christian, and resist a passive, apathetic attitude.

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

A collection is not just one basic idea. It comes from something that is in the air, something you suddenly like and put down on paper and then work out.

We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.

To terrify children with the image of hell… to consider women an inferior creation. Is that good for the world?

Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.

The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‚We did it ourselves.‘

I read everything, but generally more fact than fiction – especially autobiographies and biographies. I’ve read ‚Long Walk to Freedom‘ by Nelson Mandela at least twice on holiday. Every time, I’m totally awed by his vision, strength and forgiveness. I feel honoured to have got to know him and his wonderful wife Graca over the years.

Anyone can be a Superman, but nobody can be Jackie Chan.

Howard Zinn was magical as a teacher. Witty, irreverent, and wise, he loved what he was teaching and clearly wanted his students to love it, also.

While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.

A lot of people are bored of all the political correctness.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

If you try to fight the course, it will beat you.

I think my biggest musical hero growing up was probably Ian MacKaye. He set a great example for all of us local musicians. Still, to this day, I see him as the best example of a right-on musician.

The law will never make a man free; it is men who have got to make the law free.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.

Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.

You can write a song about being in love with someone, but you don’t have to be in love with anyone.

The man who has no problems is out of the game.

Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.

Enemies are so stimulating.

Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.

The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.

Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.

You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.

When I write, I write about my surroundings. Sometimes it’s light, and sometimes it gets very dark.

The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me.

The society in ‚The Handmaid’s Tale‘ is a throwback to the early Puritans whom I studied extensively at Harvard under Perry Miller, to whom the book is dedicated.

The influence of ‚Hidden Fortress‘ comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it’s told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people.

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.

Part of your heritage in this society is the opportunity to become financially independent.

Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.

You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.

Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.

Even the best teams can fail. Celebrities can fade. There is only One in whom your faith is always safe, and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to let your faith show!

I don’t think about the end game. I’ve got lots to occupy my mind. It’s the rage that keeps me going.

I can’t keep somebody from being a star, and I can’t make somebody a star, and nobody can.

Remember, always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.