I can promote until I am blue in the face, but ultimately nobody knows what makes a hit.
So if diva means giving your best, then yes, I guess I am a diva.
I am putting pressure on myself to do my best and perform to my potential.
I am not a has-been. I am a will be.
I could have easily been too afraid to say 'yes' to Chicago, because it requires so much I haven't done before. If I am a flop at singing and dancing, maybe my love for it will carry me through.
I have not had any of that surgical stuff. I am too curious to find out exactly how I progress every day of my life naturally. That is what fascinates me.
I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.
I am disappointed that my 25 years in public life have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell's report has raised many serious questions. I plan to publicly answer all of those questions at the appropriate time in the appropriate way. I only ask that in the meantime people not rush to judgment.
I'm not blaming my mom for my life because I am responsible for me, and nobody can change me or ruin me easier than I can.
I forget sometimes that I'm in the HBO stable because I am such a fan of so much of their programming. Like, 'The Wire' is my favorite TV show of all time.
I am a confident player, and a lot of people might look at it like, 'Oh, another cocky attitude,' but I don't look at it that way.
I am pretty hard on myself. But I think that's how it has to be if you want to keep growing as an actor.
I need to add that my work on multiple intelligences received a huge boost in 1995 when Daniel Goleman published his book on emotional intelligence. I am often confused with Dan. Initially, though Dan and I are longtime friends, this confusion irritated me.
I am always fascinated by India.
I am a geek nerd who happened to have a temporary period of jockiness.
I am not a princess, I don't want to be referred to as a princess - I find that super creepy.
I'm no where as tough as my father. I really think that I am more open to change than he was.
Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.
I am always scared when I start something new. That hasn't changed.
I am not, by nature, an explorer or an adventurer.
I stop wanting what I am looking for, looking for it.
As I prepare for my second term as Secretary-General, I am thinking hard about how we can meet the expectations of the millions of people who see the U.N.'s blue flag as a banner of hope. We have to continue our life-saving work in peacekeeping, human rights, development and humanitarian relief.
Since the beginning of my recording career in 1975, I have had a little difficulty because the pop stations think I'm a jazzer who doesn't have a feeling for pop, so it's hard to get my records played. Similarly, black urban radio doesn't understand that with my R&B roots, I am more than a jazz singer. So I get pigeonholed.
I am not interested in slickness for the sake of slickness.
I am a Marxist Leninist and I will be one until the last day of my life.
I just stay focused, and I always think about gymnastics. I am just doing what I always do... working really hard and pushing myself to the maximum and keeping myself motivated.
More than ever, I am convinced that history has meaning - and that its meaning is terrifying.
I am an enthusiastic participant in a church, but I have never been particularly concerned with denominational identity.
I am proud of being a Somali-American Muslim, and my wardrobe has been an important part of my religious and cultural upbringing.
It's kind of nice in some ways having an Olympic Trials where I finished second. You can kind of go in more under the radar facing a 2:03 guy and facing a lot of dudes who are faster than I am, whereas, before Beijing, I had one of the top 10 times in the field, or something like that.
In fact I am quite snappy and irritable, and I don't know if I'd like to make myself worse in that respect.
In everything I do, whether in business, philanthropy or my personal life, I am guided by my inner truth, my values.
I am a relationship girl. That's kind of just how I'm made... When you're in my life, it's actually very contained.
I am basically a complainer and all the grounds for complaint have been swept out from under me.
I am not well educated or bright enough to be politically clued in, but I hope in the film that I'm going to shock a few people, win a lot of people over.
Of course I am frustrated with regard to extreme poverty, to violence that never seems to cease.
