Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.

Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realise the great life.

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.

Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.

People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.

The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.

There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline.

I don’t ever want to be caught up in a system of thinking I can do one thing ‚cos that’s just… that’s just telling yourself a lie.

I’ll tell you one thing, since I’m married, single people look absolutely ridiculous to me.

I’d rather be a victor than a victim.

It is normal to give away a little of one’s life in order not to lose it all.

When new turns of behavior cease to appear in the life of the individual, its behavior ceases to be intelligent.

I was never really good at anything except for the ability to learn.

An elusive, enigmatic aura will make people want to know more, drawing them into your circle. Create such a power by hinting at something contradictory within you.

The sun is gone, but I have a light.

Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

Movies are fun, but they are no cure for cancer.

I believe many people feel like God is mad at them. One day I put a post on Facebook that said, ‚God is not mad at you.‘ Within a few hours, we literally had thousands of positive responses from people saying things like, ‚That is exactly what I needed to hear today.‘ Obviously, this is a message we need to hear.

I’m convinced that no one can amount to a damn in the arts if he becomes sweetly reasonable, seeing all sides of a picture, forgiving all sins.

The only thing that could spoil a day was people. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.

The fellow that can only see a week ahead is always the popular fellow, for he is looking with the crowd. But the one that can see years ahead, he has a telescope but he can’t make anybody believe that he has it.

When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

One’s past is what one is. It is the only way by which people should be judged.

In order for me to be successful… In order to be a great artist – musician, actor, painter, whatever – you must be able to be private in public at all times. That is what we do.

There is danger that we lose sight of what our friend is absolutely, while considering what she is to us alone.

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

When someone is impatient and says, ‚I haven’t got all day,‘ I always wonder, How can that be? How can you not have all day?

I can be almost terminally grief-stricken because things are so dire, but at the same time, there’s a real lightheartedness about just the recoverability of life, of how things change, how they’re not the same, ever again.

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.

I’m always disappointed when people don’t live up to their potential. I know that a number of people look down on themselves and consequently on everybody who looks like them. But that, too, can change.

An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous.

Changing your mind is probably one of the most beautiful things people can do. And I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things over the years.

Sometimes, if you begin to sing in a halfhearted mood, you can sing yourself up the ladder. Singing will often make the heart rise.

I think the tiniest little thing can change the course of your day, which can change the course of your year, which can change who you are.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.

Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them.

I give opinions, not advice.

Fear is real, but so is love.

Passions are vices or virtues to their highest powers.

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.

God reigns when we take a liberal view, when a liberal view is presented to us.

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

Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye, and you will be drawn toward it.

What you are comes to you.

I knew I wasn’t going to be a rocket scientist – let’s not be fools – but I wasn’t going to be a bum.

Nothing is so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it to be expecting evil before it comes.

The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.

I have goals.

I’ve never been a jealous person, and I’ve never felt built up by someone else’s failure – that’s a cheap thrill.

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.

A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants.

I grow daily to honour facts more and more, and theory less and less. A fact, it seems to me, is a great thing; a sentence printed, if not by God, then at least by the Devil.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

Many of my fans often tell me that they listen to my songs to get through things. And therefore, obviously, I hope that they can picture being in a place where things are better… I hope my songs can bring people to a calm place.

Remember happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.

Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.