As America knows, Obama turned down the lucrative career path guaranteed to the first African-American

president of The Harvard Law Review to pursue the missions of service and teaching instead. The potential rewards for our country, now that that early choice has led him into the White House, are enormous. Frank Rich

If you want to teach women to be great writers, you should show them the best, and the best was often done by men. It was more often done by men than by women, if we're going to be truthful. A. S. Byatt

I like to wear what I feel good in, not what the latest trend is. Kristin Cavallari

I'm useless at staring at a piece of white paper. But if you put a piece of white paper with a black line on it in front of me, I'll say no that black line should be red and it should go this way or that way. Marc Jacobs

It's all about having a product that you're proud of and coming to work every day. Those basic building blocks are the same in any business. Greg Brenneman

For me, the hardest thing in the world is how to start a book. Nathaniel Philbrick

I don't live for poetry. I live far more than anybody else does. Charles Olson

I got a granite chin. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Long periods of recession, which tend to be self-perpetuating, are usually ended by war, or by preparations for it. Paul Johnson

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Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

If most people were to take a moment to picture in their minds the average,

not-for-profit, save-the-world girl, they... well, they probably wouldn't, because who wants to think about hemp, hairy legs, and Birkenstocks? But I'd rather eat a pair of Birkenstocks than put them on my feet, and I love, love, love my Christian Louboutins. Nancy Lublin Every morning when I woke up, my mother was already in the kitchen making breakfast. It was always the same: steamed rice, pickled vegetables, grilled fish and miso soup. Each day there was something different in the soup such as tofu or potatoes. Nobu Matsuhisa My son was born during my last semester in college. His due date was Thanksgiving, but he didn't show up until finals week. I brought my books to the hospital and didn't think anything of it. That is what a father is supposed to do. LZ Granderson Unless it's a dead-straight short putt, you should focus on a spot somewhere along the line you want to roll the ball on. Ernie Els Ukippers are the kinds of fools who haven't notic...

How great is the mystery of the first cells which were one day animated by

the breath of our souls! How impossible to decipher the welding of successive influences in which we are forever incorporated! In each one of us, through matter, the whole history of the world is in part reflected. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Part of being innovative in government is sometimes not trying to plot out the last chapter of the book, but to be open and see what comes back. Anthony Foxx Bray is where I live; it's a seaside resort. It's a nice place to walk up there and stuff, on the coast. There's crosses along on top of it. Tristan MacManus The decisive factor for the future of Europe - and before all things, for the 'restoration' of Europe - will be whether political thought and national feelings are influenced by the reality of internationalism. Ellen Key In the ancient times, bards went around singing the epics, which were storehouses of philosophy. Amish Tripathi Once I started singing, I didn't have to try to be cool. I was just on...

I object to the actual phrase 'Follow me.' You've gotta be kidding! Why would I

want to follow anybody else? Nor do I want them to follow me. The machinations of my life, the banalities - they're mine. They belong to me. Holly Hunter I think it's important to say that I am genuinely thankful for the time at Bellator. Eddie Alvarez The future of screens isn't about the iPad. It's much, much bigger. Mary Lou Jepsen When you are a kid, you are beset by fears, and you think, 'I'll solve the fear by living forever and becoming a movie star.' William Hurt We share a common planet, and the world has learned the hard way that we have to get along and work together. We have learned, too, that cooperation can benefit all. Joseph Stiglitz I love the process of making a movie so much as an actor that I can only imagine I would love the process of being the director. Tom Holland To win the nomination, you speak to people who vote in Republican primaries. And they tend not to be millennials or minorities... When I win the nomination...

To me, integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate

consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more importantly, in our thoughts and in our hearts. Joseph B. Wirthlin Christians - whether as a priest, a nun, a minister, whatever - have just been stereotyped to death. You try to be a model of kindness and love and forgiveness to all those around you, because you have received kindness and love and forgiveness from God through Christ. That's what Christianity is. Patricia Heaton I grew up in the East Village, in Alphabet City, when it was a very dangerous neighborhood. To survive there, I had to learn to be a little bit invisible. Josh Pais Listen, I believe I should be winning Sport Personality of the Year because if it's about sporting achievements and it's about personality, then I'm a winner hands down. Tyson Fury I don't know any member of Congress who ever said, 'I'm satisfied with the communication that we have from the White House....

Business has to have a seat at the table. Infrastructure isn't going to

be built properly if business doesn't have a seat at the table. A school is not going to happen if businesses don't work with schools about what kind of jobs they really need. Jamie Dimon I never in a million bazillion trillion years imagined that my life would have this many layers of love and richness. Delilah If we're deciding about merch pieces, t-shirts or hats, they have to be well designed and cool enough for somebody to want to buy it and then wear it and walk around advertising me and my music. G-Eazy I was always the first person in the theater all the time. If it was an eight-o'clock curtain, I was here at five-thirty, and it wasn't that I needed to vocalize, because I was all warmed up. I couldn't wait for it to begin. Beverly Sills I just trust in God, work hard, and focus on executing. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce It's bizarre to be given an award for being empathetic and kind, which is what we all should be. Nazanin Boniadi I jus...

You come across words all the time that are everyday sexism. I was described as

'competently bossy' and 'bossily competent' by a male journalist, and I thought, 'Gosh, 'bossy' is never used of a man.' Clare Balding I think that anyone who likes writing views 'The New Yorker' as the, you know, pinnacle of the publishing world. If you get 50 words published in 'The New Yorker,' it's more important than 50 articles in other places. So, would I love to one day write for them? I guess. But that's not my sole ambition. Lauren Weisberger While Ebola's deadly reach has proven to be a complex and unique international challenge, the many uncertainties surrounding this virus continue to threaten U.S. national security. Marco Rubio I crave deadlines. If I don't have a deadline, I become a total slacker, which is why I always have so much on my plate. Lori Wilde I can't take much pride in my childhood acting. It feels like it happened in another lifetime, and even then, it felt like a hobby. Mara ...