As for me, prizes mean nothing. My prize is my work.

You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.

Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, buy you will never imprison my mind.

A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others.

Know yourself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

I do nothing upon myself, and yet am mine own executioner.

If you compromise your own conscience, you will weaken your conscience. Soon your conscience will fail to guide you and you never will have real wealth based on peace of mind.

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

Thinking too well of people often allows them to be better than they otherwise would.

You don't have to be big or well known to be great.

The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.

Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his own; he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.

No ascent is too steep for mortals. Heaven itself we seek in our folly.

The heights by great men reached and kept Where not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.

Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.

It’s not when you realize that nothing can help you—religion, pride, anything—it’s when you realize that you don’t need any aid.

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win—if you don't, you won't.