What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

I think life is a matter of choices and that wherever we are, good or bad, is because of choices we make.

O wretched man, wretched not just because of what you are, but also because you do not know how wretched you are!

Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.

An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie.

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

Every single one of us has a few months here or there that feel like dark months.

Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.

I think I could go away tomorrow. I’ve already accomplished something. It’s such a selfish business that sometimes I get sick of myself.

I was ill, and everyone could see it but me.

Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.

In this business, by the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late to save yourself. Unless you’re running scared all the time, you’re gone.

Frustration is a sign I am acting independently. The more you try your own way, the tighter the doors will stay closed.

I find that when I get on stage now, I don’t want to perform a lot of my songs because they don’t feel like me. So I want to make songs that are timeless.

Never be lucid, never state, if you would be regarded great.

I’ve sat in sushi bars, really fine ones, and I know how hard this guy worked, how proud he is. I know you don’t need sauce. I know he doesn’t even want you to pour sauce. And I’ve seen customers come in and do that, and I’ve seen him, as stoic as he tries to remain, I’ve seen him die a little inside.

A sex symbol becomes a thing. I just hate to be a thing.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

As long as I’m learning something, I figure I’m OK – it’s a decent day.

I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding.

A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body – the wishbone.

People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.

I don’t like it when people who are young act like they’re 40. That’s taking too much on. Putting up a shield and trying to act like you’re so mature or whatever – I don’t try to act mature. Some people might say I’m mature for my age, but it’s not something I’m trying to do, you know? I’m just me.

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.

When I understand myself, I understand you, and out of that understanding comes love.

Through our own recovered innocence we discern the innocence of our neighbors.

If I haven’t any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself.

I’ve learned people are watching, so don’t do nothing stupid.

I think that’s why I put my energy into making music. That’s how I get my thoughts out, instead of being crazy all the time.

Don’t grow accustomed to living with less, doing less, and being less to the point that you eventually sit back and accept it.

I always wanted a family.

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.

If I’m in a bad mood, or if I’m uncomfortable, it’s probably what I’m wearing that’s making me feel that way.

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.

My life is not to be somebody else’s impact – you know what I mean?

I’m the most stubborn person I know.

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

I’m not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts. You know, that’s not me.

How does a nice Catholic girl end up going to prison for a year? It’s crazy. I’ve made mistakes. I have to pay for those mistakes.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

It’s dangerous to read the Internet about yourself when you’re me. Or when you’re anyone in the public eye.

A poem is a naked person… Some people say that I am a poet.

Always say ‚yes‘ to the present moment… Surrender to what is. Say ‚yes‘ to life – and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.

A lot of times, people make other people responsible for their joy: ‚You’re not making me happy, you’re not doing this, you’re not doing that.‘

Now I am older, I understand we have to accept who we are.

Your Highest Self only wants you to be at peace. It does not judge, compare, or demand that you defeat anyone or be better than anyone.

If you have the ability to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and start over, you come out stronger because you learn from whatever mistakes you made.

I have to write because if I don’t get something down then after a while I feel it’s going to bang the side of my head off.

I feel like the reason people feel like they know me is because I’m giving you myself in the music. There’s where the connection comes from; you can’t Twitter that.

Things do not change; we change.

I don’t even know how to speak up for myself, because I don’t really have a father who would give me the confidence or advice. And if you’re always the new kid, you never get a chance to adapt, so your confidence is just zilch.

The world around me has changed, and I have learned to adapt but not change. But I’m changing into the woman I am meant to be.

There’s not a note of mine that’s worth the noting.

It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I’ve learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place.

I think that it’s okay to be mad at someone who hurt you. This isn’t about, like, the pageantry of trying to seem like nothing affects you.

You are remembered for the rules you break.

I’m not convinced that women have the education or the sense of their own history enough or that they understand the cruelty of which men are capable and the delight that many men will take in seeing you choose to chain yourself – then they get to say ‚See, you did it yourself.‘

I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.

I don’t see the point of doing an interview unless you’re going to share the things you learn in life and the mistakes you make. So to admit that I’m extremely human and have done some dark things I don’t think makes me unusual or unusually dark. I think it actually is the right thing to do, and I’d like to think it’s the nice thing to do.

Who shall measure the hat and violence of the poet’s heart when caught and tangled in a woman’s body?

Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?