My parents had always preached the virtues of hard work. But hard work is one thing; economic struggle is another.
Partisanship is not necessarily a bad thing. It leads to new leadership and new opportunities.
My faith has been the driving thing of my life. I think it is important that people who are perceived as liberals not be afraid of talking about moral and community values.
People share everything on Facebook. That can be a very good thing or a very noisy thing. With Foursquare, people know that they're getting information specifically about a place, advice about where they are and what they could be doing. It's a very filtered view of the world.
Now is the only thing that exists.
I hate politics. It's slimy. Any job where people pander for votes, I don't like. The country has gotten so partisan that if you're not on my side, you're the enemy. The only thing I ever try to support is a third party, like Unity08. We need more parties and more choice.
I think the most important thing about music is the sense of escape.
At one point in your life, you'll have the thing you want or the reasons why you don't.
The most important thing about skating is that it teaches you to do the things you should do before you do the things you want to do.
Baseball is my job, and I love it, but it can't be the only thing I've got going on.
The smart thing in the art world is to have one good idea and never have another.
It's just a whole different thing, and it's just that my life has been a blessing, and I thank god every day for the gifts that he has given me and for my daughter and to be able to watch her grow and be a part of her joys and her excitement and what she wants to do in life.
We all have regrets, but the thing is to learn from life.
I think there's a little confusion between humor and 'gross' passing for humor. That's kind of regrettable, because they aren't the same thing.
This social-networking thing takes you to crazy places.
Over the years to come, one thing is for certain: if the monarchy wishes to stay relevant and in power, it will have to change more.
As a teenager especially, I just wanted to do my thing and not be noticed.
I've tried everything. I've done therapy, I've done colonics. I went to a psychic who had me running around town buying pieces of ribbon to fill the colors in my aura. Did the Prozac thing.
I feel like it's important to use this gift God gave me, my life and my career to do something to make the world a better place. It's an easy thing for me to do.
It was a fun film. I had a great time doing it. I was looking for a role just like that for my first movie role. I didn't want to have a starring role, because I wanted a chance to learn. I didn't want the whole thing riding on me.
One thing you can't intend is how you will be read. I hear it said a lot that my books are about the 'search for identity', and this is said admiringly, as if I meant to encourage such a search.
I'm trying to have my own thing, and I don't know if it's even possible. I didn't realize so many people actually think I'm trying to be like my dad. I read comments like 'She's no Elvis.' I'm not trying to be. I never set out to be.
Reggae music don't really focus on one thing, you know. If reggae music is speaking about the struggle of people, and the suffering, it don't mean black people. It mean people in general.
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.
I tried the broadcasting thing, the coaching thing, but I'll never replace the competitive feeling of being out on the field when we were players.
I just lived it and did my own thing without looking over my shoulder. I think I'm very lucky, considering when I started everything, and the fact that I have a masters in music, and I've always worked in music, and that's what I wanted to do.
Patience can be a good thing - but not necessarily. Sometimes it's not so bad to be impatient. I'm a little bit too polite.
I believe things have a way of working out, and if they don't work out, maybe it's not the right thing.
Beauty does not mean one thing but not something else.
We have co-opted seed funds. You know, Y Combinator, that was completely our money. We have secret handshakes with a whole bunch of people. Very dangerous, because word gets out that so-and-so's money is Sequoia's money, that would not be a good thing.
I think it's also important for people to really see that your identity doesn't come just from what you do but who you are. My relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing to me. Because of that, I don't have to change whether I am one of the most popular guys in football.
The thing that sucks is that there's so much false data because people are in mystery as to what Scientology is, so they just kind of make up stuff.
To feel the presence of the Lord is an amazing thing.
My favorite thing about playing a vampire is the stunts. It's just a new, fun thing to do. Especially as a girl, being able to be all dolled up in heels and little outfits and be able to kick boys' butts, I think it's a really fun, make-believe world to play.
Sometimes when things are way too big and I can't control it, I do sort of a weird thing where I kind of check out a little bit. It's all about self-preservation for me.
Every corny thing that's said about living with nature - being in harmony with the earth, feeling the cycle of the seasons - happens to be true.
