My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do

so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
Maya Angelou

The only time I even entertain the tiniest element of religion is for Christmas carols.
Ian Watson

For me, fashion is not about reality.
Carine Roitfeld

It's a tribute to the human brain that anyone is able to function out there on television in a talk situation that is entirely artificial.
Dick Cavett

I swam. We made it, our team, from the rocks of Cuba to the beach of Florida, in squeaky-clean, ethical fashion.
Diana Nyad

I have no interest in making a work that doesn't elicit a feeling.
Kara Walker

You can look at the state of California, which is on a pathway to destruction because they expanded government too much, thinking that there would always be someone to pay for it.
Greg Abbott

I hate even the idea of a synopsis. When stories are really working, when you're providing subtextual exploration and things that are deeply layered, you're obligated to not say things out loud.
Shane Carruth

As a leader, you need to care deeply, deeply about your people while not worrying or really even caring about what they think about you. Managing by trying to be liked is the path to ruin.
Dick Costolo

Weight used to be an issue. I was always fat as a child. And everyone used to tell me, 'You've got such a pretty face; why don't you lose some weight?' Over the years I've realised that my body is a certain type, and I have learned to accept it.
Vidya Balan

Gemeoss

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...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

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...

There is constant talk about the intermarriage crisis: who is a Jew and how

we define a Jew. That doesn't go over well with young Jews trying to figure out whether they want to be a part of this thing or not. Tahl Raz I've been studying voice for quite a while, especially opera, for at least seven or eight years. Shelly Burch Like anything, I remember who I work for. You work for the people who sent you to office. Darryl Glenn For the bourgeoisie, the main danger against which it had to be protected, that which had to be avoided at all costs, was armed uprising, was the armed people, was the workers taking to the streets in an assault against the government. Michel Foucault My grandmother is a huge part of my life. She's just a great woman: a woman of the church. Chance The Rapper I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords. Matthew Desmond One of my best friends since I was eleven years old is a gay man, and I knew his struggle. It was a tough life, you ...

Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful.

It's a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. Amanda de Cadenet I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video. Adam Scott When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you. Kat Graham It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that. Laurence Fishburne Voters aren't asking to be pandered to and aren't asking to be tricked. Jason Kander I'm a pretty controlled and disciplined person, but my real vice is buying plants and food shopping. Zac Posen Barack Obama was a president who understood not only how technology could transform the way government services worked but also technology itself. He got it. Steven Levy Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up...

Professional politicians will say anything, and they're always careful to leave themselves room to turn

around and do the other. Nick Harkaway I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions. Derek Jeter For most of my writing life, I've refused to allow myself to believe that writing was a significant form of action. I always felt very uneasy about the fact that all I did was write in a situation as desperate as apartheid South Africa. Whether I was correct or not is a different issue. Athol Fugard Theatre's a much less faddish, more sensible world than TV or film. Stephen Mangan I'm definitely gonna do another solo record at some point. 'Flamingo' wasn't just me dipping my toes in the water. I really loved it. It was successful, and that helps, but I love those songs, and I miss singing them. Brandon Flowers I want to be the coolest aunt in the entire world. Bailee Madison I am a rapid-cycling manic-depressive, bi-polar one disorder, which means I can have thirty or forty episodes a year...

My sister and I know our lives could have been different - radically, unthinkably, irretrievably

different - if we had not been adopted. We might have found ourselves in homes without love, stability or kindness. We might have found ourselves in care for much longer, without the secure attachment that being cradled in a mother's arms brings. Michael Gove I was raised to believe in myself. I know I'm cool. I'm not trying to brag or say I'm the man or anything like that. I don't lie or cheat, and I'm not mean to anybody. I treat people with respect. Freddie Prinze, Jr. The difference between a healthy person and one who is mentally ill is the fact that the healthy one has all the mental illnesses, and the mentally ill person has only one. Robert Musil To the contrary, I think we bent over backwards to press for elections and for democratic reform. John Negroponte If you got the money honey I got the time and when you run out of money honey I run out of time. Willie Nelson I started off wanting very much to be a newscaster. Bob Iger I feel li...

I plan someday to do a one-man show based solely on the e-mails of Bellamy

Young. And people will think I've written a brilliant comedy myself when, in fact, all the text will be directly from Bellamy. Joshua Malina The big issues, the things that scar Scotland - the least of them is whether we should have a border at Gretna Green or not. Johann Lamont I really love 'Real Housewives.' It's like the, you know, comedy stuff that's, like, intentionally funny. Like, I love 'Nathan for You,' that Comedy Central show. It's just brilliant. My friend Bill Eichner has a show called 'Billy on the Street' that I write for, and even if I didn't write for it, I'd still love it. Julie Klausner From the rugged cliffs of Cape Liptrap peninsula jutting bravely into the swells of Bass Strait, the coast arcs southeast, hugging the waters of Waratah Bay with sweeping flat lines of fine pale sand and knotty scrub. Tim Cope I think, obviously, everyone has a lot of favorite movies, but I really for some reason just love Q...

I have a different kind of experience than other girls had. I've had to face

a lot of different styles and adjust to them. I had to face a lot of bad situations and come back. I've had to fight with my eyes swollen shut and my nose broken and bloody. Holly Holm I love memory sticks. They seem to me to be magic. Ruth Rendell Massage is very important for relaxing. Andrew Tan The high esteem in which the Nobel Prizes are held is undoubtedly due to the conscientious way in which the Committees have discharged a heavy responsibility. Ernest Walton I don't listen to my old stuff very often at all. Kate Bush I think there's certain things that I know in my head that I enjoy: action movies. Lucas Till In my family, telling stories is just a way of life. Helen Oyeyemi Why did I become Jackie Chan? Mostly because I work very hard. When people were sleeping, I was still training. Jackie Chan Plyometrics. Hate them. Enough already. Jumping around, using your own body weight is so hard to me. How did we do it as kids? Sarah Shahi