Everything that I've ever been able to accomplish in skating and in life has come out of adversity and perseverance.

And so figure skating was a great vehicle for me to kind of be competitive at something, without having to be big.

I had a ninth grade teacher who told me I was much smarter and much better than I was allowing myself to be.

What was really funny is that as I got older all those guys who called me a sissy in junior high school wanted me to be their best friend because they wanted to meet all the girls that I knew in figure skating.

I started skating and I kind of liked it because I could run circles around the guys that wouldn't pick me to play baseball.

Always try to maintain complete tolerance and always make an effort to give people more than they expect.

Half of figure skating is opinion, convincing judges.

Male figure skating is different than female figure skating; we're not America's sweetheart.

Adversity, and perseverance and all these things can shape you. They can give you a value and a self-esteem that is priceless.

So as an amateur Olympic competitor I loved criticism, because it made me better. But now as a professional I don't really know how to channel it or where to take it, so I don't take it quite as well.

But I never really thought that I would be extraordinarily successful at skating, it's just something that happened, you know.

I was nine-years-old when I first put on skates.

Everything that I've ever been able to accomplish in skating and in life has come out of adversity and perseverance.

The only disability in life is a bad attitude.

I'm very accessible. I don't get into this ego thing.

Most other competitions are individual achievements, but the Olympic Games is something that belongs to everybody.

I just try to touch people's hearts in a way through skating, so they're not just witnessing a performance, they're feeling a performance and they're a part of it.

Rationality is not one of this industry's attributes.

I was more interested in skating and the girls and traveling than I was in calculus.

When you turn professional, you become an entertainer, and like every other entertainer, you don't want to get a bad review.

When you're expected to win and you have the press saying that you are going to win the Olympic gold medal, and you're the only sure thing in the Olympics, it can undermine your confidence.

I didn't want to be the sissy figure skater, you know.

The high road is always respected. Honesty and integrity are always rewarded.

Without strength and courage it's really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating, because you're alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.

Fame is a very confusing thing, because you are recognized by a lot of people that you've never seen before, and they're at a great advantage.

That's what makes the Ryder Cup in golf so much better than the Masters or the U.S. Open. To be a part of something that is not about personal achievement, but about representing everyone and sharing it with the whole country, it's wonderful.

And the fact that I liked to show off and be the center of attention really lends itself to figure skating very well.

From the fall of October, 1980 to March, 1984 I never lost a competition.

I don't think most teachers realize how much impact they have.

I graduated a the top of my class in the '84 Olympic Games; I won a gold medal.

Male figure skating is different than female figure skating were not Americas sweetheart.

Without strength and courage its really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating because youre alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.

Half of figure skating is opinion convincing judges.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself-always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity.

Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity.

Something called 'the Oklahoma Standard' became known throughout the world. It means resilience in the face of adversity. It means a strength and compassion that will not be defeated.

Three hundred years ago a prisoner condemned to the Tower of London carved on the wall of his cell this sentiment to keep up his spirits during his long imprisonment: 'It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity.

It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.

By adversity are wrought the greatest works of admiration, and all the fair examples of renown, out of distress and misery are grown.

Constant success shows us but one side of the world; adversity brings out the reverse of the picture.

There is in every woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.

He knows not his own strength that has not met adversity.

Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist: it reduces him to his fighting weight.

You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity.

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.

I'm used to adversity and working really well in difficult situations. It was hard for me to accept the success.

Weak minds sink under prosperity as well as adversity; but strong and deep ones have two high tides.

The firmest of friendships have been formed in mutual adversity, as iron is most strongly united by the fiercest flame.