Intimidation doesn't last very long.

If you fail the first time that's just a chance to start over again.

The American dream, to me, means having the opportunity to achieve, because I don't think you should be guaranteed anything other than opportunity.

If you want it, you've got to give it.

I worry about the things I can affect, and the things I have no control over I move by.

I never really had a chance to know the players individually... I thought when they were on the floor, they worked hard. But I never really got to know them.

If you can't go through it, find a way around it. Don't spend all your time banging your head.

Intimidation doesn't last very long.

We should never discourage young people from dreaming dreams.

If your mind is at work, we're in danger of reproducing another cliche. If we can keep our minds out of it and our thoughts out of it, maybe we'll come up with something original.

Fear of the unknown is a great creative partner.

If you're going to build something, don't build on land someone else already owns. You want your own land, your own domain, your own sovereignty. Trouble is, so much of the choice land - the land where all the people are - is already owned by someone else: By Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Apple (in apps, anyway).

I think Americans like the practical; they like the human. And I like both those things myself, and I try and put them into my books.

There's so much that goes into a film that I feel like it's a bit arrogant to say, 'Oh, I never watch my own movies.' Well, it's not just you. There's a whole host of other people. So much skill goes into it. But I would say it does take a couple times seeing it to get a level of perspective.

I like 'Bewitched' off the first album because it's one of the happiest songs I've ever written and, as any writer will tell you, happy songs are a million times more difficult to write than sad songs.

I do not discriminate about size. I design dresses to accentuate a woman's positives, whether you are a size 0 or a size 3X.

Things are better now that the attention has subsided a bit, and I'm happier. Now I can concentrate on what I'm supposed to do, that is, training and running. Despite everything that's happened, I feel like I'm still the same person.

The real duties of an ambassador are to enter into or follow negotiations between his own government and that of the country to which he is accredited.

I believe my love of beauty and my ability to see what works is a gift I was given by God.

Though it may not seem like it, I never try to write about a place, per se; it's always, first and last, about story. Story is everything. Story and a bit of attitude.

We are the greatest experts in the world in criticizing our country, but no one loves his country more than the Israelis. No one.

No one looks at a baby and says, 'You are going to be a great novelist, and you really need to start writing now.' Something in us says: 'This is what I must do.'

God never answers prayers. It is people who answer their own prayers by knowing how to connect and utilize the divine energy of the Creator and the God-like force in their own souls.

When I got signed to the 'Fader' Label, they got really excited about having me as their new artist. They were promoting my music everywhere. Pharrell was one of the producers who wanted to work with me, so I was really lucky to be one of those people who got to work with him.

Progress is mans ability to complicate simplicity.

One thing that we've invested a lot of in, that we all live by, is the power of the commissioner.

An album, for me, is not just a commercial product. It's about presenting a world to people, for them to explore and enjoy. How they do that is up to them.

In America, when you bring an idea to market, you usually have several months before competition pops up, allowing you to capture significant market share. In China, you can have hundreds of competitors within the first hours of going live. Ideas are not important in China - execution is.

Black patients were treated much later in their disease process. They were often not given the same kind of pain management that white patients would have gotten and they died more often of diseases.

Obviously, a theatrical masterpiece needs more than a plot; many television shows are nothing but plot, and it is doubtful that they will stand the test of time. But I also don't think that making fun of plot or acting like we're all somehow 'above' structure is such a good idea.

I let people make remarks about me, but it doesn't touch me, all those remarks.

A good director has to be a captain - he has to work with a lot of people every day.

Community colleges are popular among political leaders of both parties. But because of the lack of funding and a lack of direction, they have lost their critical edge in preparing workers for a 21st-century economy.