I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.

We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.

I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.

When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.

So here is the quick way of working out if you’re a feminist. Put your hand in your pants. a) Do you have a vagina? and b) Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said “yes” to both, then congratulations! You’re a feminist.

I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do, was to fulfil my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, it’s all the same day.

I’m a feminist because I believe in women… It’s a heavy word, feminism, but it’s not one I think we should run from. I’m proud to be a feminist.

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.

Women have to harness their power – it’s absolutely true. It’s just learning not to take the first no. And if you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.

If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.

Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then.

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.

I am the American Dream. I am the epitome of what the American Dream basically said. It said, you could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country. That’s exactly what I’ve done. I am where I am, because I believe in all possibilities.

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.

Never dull your shine for somebody else.

The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.

I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.

Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what a feminist is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.

I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life, who taught me about quiet, strength and dignity.

Most of the stuff I've read about me has been true.

I love berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries, anything with an 'errie' in it!

Whatever the right hand findeth to do, the left hand carries a watch on its wrist to show how long it takes to do it.

I've had a lot of very positive feedback about those stories, and seem to have struck upon something that most people feel. I can also tap dance, and don't know many other authors who can.

The real potential of electricity lies not in providing social amenities but in stimulating long term economic development

Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.

Boston is really a small town, and the pro sports here are almost like a college sport.

Concentration camps were entirely a matter for the police and had nothing to do with the administration.

Being with my family is my highest priority.

To try to create a character without a whole lot of information can be taxing. At the same time, it's fun to just stay on your toes and let the next bit of dialogue come in, and turn the page as you read the next script and see what they have in store for you next.

So the animal finally performs in that situation only the fitting act.

Marxism is a revolutionary worldview that must always struggle for new revelations.

Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.

I find the science behind major natural events almost more interesting than the way in which those same events wreak their effects on human society.

Moses - the man of God - was a species of human chameleon - scholar, general, law-giver, leader, etc.

I had a few stories and longer pieces published, but my first proper novel came in 2003, called 'Dead I Well May Be.'

Life doesn't always end up with a bow wrapped around it.

Crystals grew inside rock like arithmetic flowers. They lengthened and spread, added plane to plane in an awed and perfect obedience to an absolute geometry that even stones - maybe only the stones - understood.

Know or listen to those who know.

In order to be truly happy, you must live along with, and you must stand for something larger than yourself.

I wish I could go back in time and enjoy once more what we took for granted.

I'm childish and silly. Most people tease me because I'm a bit daft.