The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.

The mind of a 19-year-old is very different from the mind of a 26-year-old. You grow. You get into better relationships. You experience more, meet more people, better people. But when you’re in a dark hole at an earlier point in your life – you write about the mindset you’re in at that moment.

The world is put back by the death of every one who has to sacrifice the development of his or her peculiar gifts to conventionality.

I stopped doing drugs when I was 20. I was finished with drugs before Nirvana even started.

There are women who can make you feel more with their bodies and their souls, but these are the exact women who will turn the knife into you right in front of the crowd. Of course, I expect this, but the knife still cuts.

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.

Sometimes you must suffer through something to defeat your fear of it.

I want people to draw strength from me.

When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were previously. Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged and inspired after spending any time with you and me.

I don’t do things for the response or for the controversy. I just live my life.

If I make a fool of myself, who cares? I’m not frightened by anyone’s perception of me.

Deep down, I know I have this intuition or instinct that a lot of creative people have, that their demons are also what make them create.

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.

The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes.

At one point I learned transcendental meditation. This was 30-something years ago. It took me back to the way that I naturally was as a child growing up way in the country, rarely seeing people. I was in that state of oneness with creation and it was as if I didn’t exist except as a part of everything.

At some point, you grow out of being attracted to that flame that burns you over and over and over again.

When I was married, I definitely went through a lying period.

On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.

I am God’s vessel. But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.

People always say when they meet me that I’m not what they expect. I assume they think I’m this super dark and depressing guy, but I like to channel all of those emotions into my work.

America is the student who defies the odds to become the first in a family to go to college – the citizen who defies the cynics and goes out there and votes – the young person who comes out of the shadows to demand the right to dream. That’s what America is about.

I’m not this horrible, evil person.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.

I never expected to be anybody important.

How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself anything less than a god.

God has equipped you to handle difficult things. In fact, He has already planted the seeds of discipline and self-control inside you. You just have to water those seeds with His Word to make them grow!

If you’re too big to fit into fashion, then you just have to do your own fashion.

Just because something didn’t work out your way, or somebody disappointed you, that does not change who you are.

I’m totally myself.

Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.

Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.

To become ‚unique,‘ the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine until you reach your destination.

The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.

It’s a very strange thing being recognized or looked upon as someone special.

Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.

People always say that you can’t please everybody. I think that’s a cop-out. Why not attempt it? ‚Cause think of all the people you will please if you try.

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.

God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.

I was inspired to spend an entire year – my 65th year – reading, researching, and meditating on Lao-tzu’s messages, practicing them and ultimately writing down these insights as I felt Lao-tzu wanted us to know them.

Spiritual people don’t float around all day on clouds of glory; they live in the real world and deal with real issues in real ways.

That’s all I could ever hope for, to have a positive effect on women. ‚Cos women are powerful, powerful beings. But they’re also the most doubtful beings. They’ll never know – we’ll never know – how powerful we are.

Only the really plain people know about love – the very fascinating ones try so hard to create an impression that they soon exhaust their talents.

I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.

My ultimate goal is to end up being happy. Most of the time.

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.

I’m stupid, I’m ugly, I’m dumb, I smell. Did I mention I’m stupid?

I actually feel more of a woman because I feel like I’m being smart about my choices, and I’m putting my family first, and I’m in charge of my life and my health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete.

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.

Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment you can grow more surely toward the stars.

Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I still had a daughter who I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.

Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!

I sometimes ask people, ‚Can you be aware of your own presence? Not the thoughts that you’re having, not the emotions that you’re having, but the very presence of your very being?‘ You become aware of your own presence by sensing the entire energy field in your body that is alive. And that is the totality of your presence.

People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.

As a human being, anger is a part of our mind. Irritation also part of our mind. But you can do – anger come, go. Never keep in your sort of – your inner world, then create a lot of suspicion, a lot of distrust, a lot of negative things, more worry.