A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves.

I have no problem with starting from scratch.

We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.

Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do.

Sure, I get the blues. But what I try to do, is apply joy to the blues, you know? I don’t know if it’s a technique, or just being bent that way, being raised by the folks I was raised by.