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

I don’t believe we are supposed to go through life defeated and not having enough money to pay our bills or send our kids to college.

Applause waits on success.

In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention.

It needs time. Nobody wants to hear it, but that’s the truth: if you want to have success in the future, you have to be ready to work now.

You are victors, not victims!

Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

I gather from motivation around me – from a lot of personalities who have done well in their respective fields.

No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.

The Bible says to ‚fear not,‘ but this doesn’t mean you should never feel scared. It means when you do feel fear, keep going forward and do what you are supposed to do. Or as I like to say, do it afraid.

You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.

Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the way to that new world, than stand idly on the shore.

Why should I be studying for a future that soon may not exist?

But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.

Music will never go away, and I will never stop making music; it’s just what capacity or what arena you decide to do it.

I’ve done everything every fat person ever has. I’ve tried every diet.

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

I have the Midas touch, in the way that when I hook up with a project, I feel, not speaking cocky or conceited, but there’s a confidence I have. I learned that from Muhammad Ali; I used to bodyguard him. He taught me about confidence. So when it comes to any job I work, I’m gonna do it good; I’m going to bring it over the top.

I think as long as I do a good job and put in all my effort to proving that I’m worth it, then everything should be fine.

One of the huge imbalances in life is the disparity between your daily existence, with its routines and habits, and the dream you have within yourself of some extraordinarily satisfying way of living.

It’s not an experiment if you know it’s going to work.

It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.

I always try to do as much as I can do. I’m never a person that does not enough, because I’d regret not doing enough and think I probably could have done more. I probably go too far and have to reel myself back in, which works in some things, and other things it doesn’t work.

Achievement brings its own anticlimax.

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.

A lot of people tell me a lot of things about my conduct, my game, my future… but I try to stay away from their words of wisdom. I don’t let it distract me. On the field, you will be facing the ball alone. If you fail, you will the only one to blame. So, you should be the one deciding for yourself.

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.

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.

I don’t let even a day go by wherein I don’t give at 100 per cent.

Have you not learned that strength comes to an ordinary soul when given an extraordinary calling?

And die of nothing but a rage to live.

A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.

You can be passionate about anything.

In inner-city, low-income communities of color, there’s such a high correlation in terms of educational quality and success.

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

I’ve been blessed to be somebody that’s been climbing that success mountain top for years of hard work, you know, but now it’s all connecting. And now, the whole world is watching, you know what I’m saying, and it feels good ‚cause it’s good energy. This is all positive vibes, and good vibes and good energy, so it feels incredible.

Martyrdom: The only way a man can become famous without ability.

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.

My interest in creating anything is that it be useful.

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

Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.

Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.

Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.

Find people who will make you better.

I always make my dreams into goals.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

That nice, soft pillow and the warm blanket, and it’s all comfortable, and no one wants to leave that comfort – but if you can wake up early in the morning, get a head start on everyone else that’s still sleeping, get productive time doing things that you need to do – that’s a huge piece to moving your life forward.

We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.

The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.

You always want your people to be proud of what you have accomplished.

A boy carries out suggestions more wholeheartedly when he understands their aim.

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there’s only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.

It sounds simple telling people to work hard and never quit, but to really execute and demonstrate those principles takes discipline and faith. Those are the two factors that I believe separate the good from the great, the successes from the failures.