The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory.

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

A lot of my heartbreak songs are inspired by things my sisters are going through, or friends.

There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords.

Everybody accuses me of moving fast when I direct a picture. I don’t move fast, but I just keep moving.

It’s human nature to gripe, but I’m going ahead and doing the best I can.

If you look at anyone who has achieved great success and wealth, people like Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, or Lance Armstrong, they have all focused intensely in order to win.

Writing makes you feel that there is a reason to go on living. If I couldn’t write, I would stop breathing.

The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates.

In every walk of life, you must have leaders. An education in the spiritual world, in the labor field, in the agricultural field, we must have leaders.

A gypsy told me I was going to do great things. I was going to make all kinds of money.

When something an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.

No matter what happens on the field, getting an education makes you a winner.

I used to consider the listener. But now I’m in a space where, if I’m not inspired, I can’t really do the music. I can’t feel it.

There is nothing that makes its way more directly into the soul than beauty.

Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.

I calculate that I took 20,000 punches, but I earned millions and kept a lot of it. I may talk slow, but my mind is OK.

Not only must we be good, but we must also be good for something.

I have dreams, and I want to see them come to fruition.

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

Deficiency motivation doesn’t work. It will lead to a life-long pursuit of try to fix me. Learn to appreciate what you have and where and who you are.

When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

I don’t want to hear the word ‚can’t.‘

Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.

I don’t want to be something that just comes and goes.

If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if – the probable outcome is failure.

I need drama in my life to keep making music.

If you try and work out at 4:30 in the afternoon, how many people are going to chip away at that time? Your boss, your job, your work, your family, your other obligations that you might have. At 4:30 in the morning, all those people are asleep, so you can do whatever you want.

Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

I love those who yearn for the impossible.

You want to know whether we’re better off? I’ve got a little bumper sticker for you: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive! Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!

We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle.

Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed.

If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

I love the name of honor, more than I fear death.

If you are full of motivation as a player, if you are full of concentration, I am open arms.

I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.

I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Like so many American families, our families weren’t asking for much. They didn’t begrudge anyone else’s success or care that others had much more than they did… in fact, they admired it.

Necessity is the mother of taking chances.

I didn’t work hard to sit down and not work.

Before all else, be armed.

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.

Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you, you will be neither successful nor happy.

Thought is the wind and knowledge the sail.

Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.

In order to become prosperous, a person must initially work very hard, so he or she has to sacrifice a lot of leisure time.

When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.

I don’t like looking back. I’m always constantly looking forward. I’m not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I’m too busy looking for the next cow.

There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline.

When Hillary was First Lady, we went to the Beijing Women’s Conference. She courageously stood up and spoke out on behalf of human rights and women’s rights, inspiring millions to fight for a better future.

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

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.

In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics, the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats – maybe it’s imperative that we encounter the defeats – but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be. Human beings are more alike than unalike.

I’ve never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves – it’s just a question of finding the subject.

When you are fitted in a racing car and you race to win, second or third place is not enough.

If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.

Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.