I call myself a chameleon.

The decathlon includes ten separate events and they all matter. You can't work on just one of them.

To me, the decathlon is its own little society and I am part of that culture.

It's important for me to think I'm mixed-race.

You have to be able to be a good loser. You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something without getting mad and upset.

As a young athlete, it was first about having fun; then it was about winning.

Through everything I've gone through- and I've been everywhere, at the top of the world, in jail, hung over drunk - I never gave up my dream of winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

I think what my parents did was perfect. They were strict, concerned about my safety and held me back just a little.

It really means a lot that I won the gold medal - but I woke up the next morning expecting to feel different. I felt the same.

It took me time to realize that the men who won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon are just men, just like me.

Take pride in exactly what it is you do and remember it's okay to fail as long as you don't give up.

You need to become more than one type of athlete. You have to be a sprinter, a weight man and a distance guy all in one.

If you never give up, you'll be successful.

When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hyper.

And there is such a thing as a decathlon high. It's like a rock rolling down hill, picking up momentum. You get better and better.

I call myself a chameleon.

There is nothing better than having a personal-best day, being in shape and pushing myself beyond my own limits.

As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.

As athletes, we're defined by what we've accomplished. Those are what most people remember and what you get paid for. But I learned more from my failures than from all of my successes put together - failures as an athlete and as a person.

Breaking the world record in '92 was a very special personal moment, but I'd say my favorite moment as a decathlete was winning the Olympic gold medal.

I got interested in decathlon because a coach that I had was a big fan of Bruce Jenner, and he just saw the ability in me - but when it came down to it, I knew my best chance at a college scholarship would be in track and field.

I just love playing so much, competing so much. You're able to put your losses behind you. One of the greatest attributes a decathlete can have is the ability to forget... to look ahead, not behind.

I was a good decathlete until I got with a coach that really knew how to train specifically for the event... I'd really describe it as like being a juggler; you have ten balls and you're trying to get them all in the air at the same time.

I was playing little league baseball when Bruce Jenner was winning the gold but I don't think I was really paying attention at that time.

I've always had to have some kind of failure before I was successful.

Try everything, because you're never sure what you're going to be great at.

When first starting to work with someone you try to get them in the same mindset that you were in when you were successful, and I realized the best thing you can ever do is realize that they are not you. They have a different persona and mindset, and you have to figure out what works best within your communication with that athlete.

If it were not for chiropractic I would not have won the gold medal.

When I'm under stress, I do yoga. It's when I'm happiest that I have a problem with junk food.

One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.

He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.

O Mankind, indeed we have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, The most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, ALLAH is knowing and acquainted. The Quran

Spellings are made by people. Dictionaries - eventually - reflect popular choices.

Whether it was working on theatre sets or stage lighting, I didn't realize most all of the skills I was exposed to were going to come in handy later on when I became a designer.

I know what motivated you was not just a political campaign. It was your love of our country.

In the '70s, Florida-style golf communities started to be built for America's baby-boomers who were doing well and taking up the game but couldn't get into exclusive golf and tennis clubs and were looking for a nice place to live and raise their families.

However, as our brave men and women continue to return from the battlefields of the War on Terror, Congress must respond by enacting policies that meet the evolving needs of the veterans community.

Austin is almost a million people, but it still feels like a relatively small town. Everybody knows each other. Or at least everyone in the filmmaking community.

Before the 'Fast & Furious' promo in Manila, I went on a vacation in the Philippines 10 years earlier. I loved it. My 'Miss Saigon' friends showed me around.

When the venture capital industry invests, it's usually because they sense there is money in them hills. And often it takes a high-profile winner to wake everyone up in the category. SpaceX is that company.

Obstinacy and vehemency in opinion are the surest proofs of stupidity.

The spiritual is inclusive. It is the deepest sense of belonging and participation. We all participate in the spiritual at all times, whether we know it or not.

I never come away from a film thinking I nailed it.

I went to go see 'Final Destination' which you have to be 17 and over to see and they're like 'Uh, we need to see your I.D.' Here's the really funny thing is that I actually had done my hair and makeup that day. If I don't do my hair and makeup I can understand it but I had actually made an effort to look older.

There are compensations for growing older. One is the realization that to be sporting isnt at all necessary. It is a great relief to reach this stage of wisdom.

Singing is a form of admitting that I'm alive.

Many people continue to think of sharks as man-eating beasts. Sharks are enormously powerful and wild creatures, but you're more likely to be killed by your kitchen toaster than a shark!

May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.

I thought, well, you might see curves there, but that's just a bone - so even if I lose weight that's not going to change anything. That's how I look. That's my shape. Do the math.