I try to keep in my mind the simple question: Am I trying to do

good or make myself look good? Too many of our responsibilities get added to our plate when we are trying to please people, impress people, prove ourselves, acquire power, increase our prestige. All those motivations are about looking good more than doing good.
Kevin DeYoung

You always have to think in a new modern way, and you always have to push yourself in fashion because it's a big treadmill. You can't really get off it. You just have to move a little faster.
L'Wren Scott

I don't think at Pixar we'd ever make something that was too scary for general audiences.
Dan Scanlon

The 'economy' became a god such as never before, and a happy, successful society was one that could please this god - sometimes by sacrificing beautiful things - to keep the deity from getting angry and harming the people by withdrawing favours.
Michael Leunig

To me, one of the things I love about being an actor is that it's never done; it's never perfect, and so it's the process. It's like practicing being okay with things not being perfect and things being outside of your control.
Kerry Bishe

Russia can become a strategic partner in a fight against international terrorism.
Milos Zeman

There's a magical energy and power from the ocean. I was born in a room overlooking the sea, in the middle of a storm. Perhaps, then, it's not surprising that shores touch my soul. Science might disagree, but I think there's a difference in the air on a coast - the positive ions, perhaps.
Jo Beverley

Sometimes you get bored of the same moves, but you know that there are those moves that those fans love.
Ciara

My dinner options are kept simple during Wimbledon. I have either salmon with rice, roast chicken with vegetables and potatoes, or steak with salad. My girlfriend Kim will cook, and I know each night that it will be one of those three.
Andy Murray

I feel that as long as you're honest, you have the opportunity to grow. It's when you shut down, go into denial, and try to start hiding things from yourself and others, that's when you lock in certain behaviors and attitudes that keep you stuck.
Tracy McMillan

I love people who are fearless, and I'm a spiritual guy, so I connect with people spiritually.
Haywood Nelson

Gemeoss

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason.

All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook. Larry Elder I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead. Frank Black You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Tom Petty We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such fr...

I think in the old days, the nexus of weirdness ran through Southern California, and

to a degree New York City. I think it's changed so that every bizarre story in the country now has a Florida connection. I don't know why, except it must be some inversion of magnetic poles or something. Carl Hiaasen My job on 'Dark Shadows' was to make it fun and funny, first and foremost. It can still be dark and it can still even be gory and gothic at times, but it also needed to be fun and it needed to be an experience that people would enjoy having. Seth Grahame-Smith I've always wanted to tackle the casual part of dressing. Knits to me are always just easy. I've fantasized about packing a suitcase of only knits: You just throw them in, roll them in a ball, pull them out and they still look fabulous. Nanette Lepore Tailoring was considered to be a world that was very traditional, and basically going out of fashion. Fashion designers did not have a real link with tailoring or tradition, so I fused the two worlds together. Ozwald Boateng Sanctific...

I hate these reality TV shows where people walk off Big Brother and think they're

A-list celebrities when they've done nothing in their lives, it really does my head in. Kevin Pietersen Success is just being happy. And I try so many different things. I do a lot of different things. Because I think God has helped me to love myself. I know who God is, and I love God. Herschel Walker Jumping genes are fundamental because they're agents of change. Everybody knows that organisms evolve. What makes them evolve is that their genes are dynamic and in motion. A familiar example is the stripe-y corn - called Indian corn - that you buy in the fall. Nina Fedoroff I feel like any single woman of color who's been onstage has a Shakespeare monologue in her back pocket, and a monologue from 'For Colored Girls.' It's just part of what you should have, as a woman of color. Kerry Washington As a parent, your perspective of childhood is through the eyes of this person that you care so much about and you just want the world to be great for them. You w...

One of the things I noticed more in this draft than in any recent drafts

was the importance of the character issue. Players who had baggage, like Justice, fell much farther than his talent dictated. But a lot of coaches didn't want to take the chance. Ron Jaworski On some level, now, we are joining the larger world and realizing that we are connected with people in these very scary ways, sometimes. What happened recently in Spain affects us here and brings questions up. It is too bad that people have to be shaken up in that way. Edwidge Danticat 'Brand-Dropping' is the term that the Kluger Agency coined to describe discreetly advertising by product mentioning in song, and we feel we can make this the way of the future without jeopardizing any artist's creative outlet or typical style. Adam Kluger While I sign off on trades or free agents, I've rarely overruled my basketball people's decisions. But I'm not shy about steering the discussion or pushing deeper if something doesn't make sense to me. Paul Allen Kids are...

It's nice coming to Nashville, and we have four-bedroom house and a dog, and we

go swimming a lot. We get down here and spread out a lot, and I miss my sweet tea and my cornbread and my good southern cooking - but I'm down here eating pretty for two weeks and I'm ready to go back to New York City. Justin Townes Earle I hope everybody will go back to the negotiating table. I've always said this is the only way forward. Mohamed ElBaradei I'm the type of artist who touches people, that's the type of artist that I am. Jacob Lusk Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people. William Styron Comedy wasn't something I chose - it chose me. Pauly Shore When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do. Whitney Houston When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers! Gary Lineker St...

Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously, precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to

every country in the world. Margaret Chan Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn't take any brains to complain. Robert A. Cook Shakespeare has been praised in English more than anything mortal except poetry itself. Fame exhausts thought in his eulogy. George Edward Woodberry The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Ken Blanchard The whole concept of negotiating is intimidating to many people. Leigh Steinberg Every day I work my guts out in training, every match I play my heart out. Ruud van Nistelrooy The healthiest companies are always characterized by organic talent development. Margaret Heffernan I don't really like to explain my songs. Yanni I am a bit of a lefty on some issues. Vince Cable We must never confuse elegance with snobbery. Yves Saint Laurent

It is not the truth that a man possesses, or believes that he possesses, but

the earnest effort which he puts forward to reach the truth, which constitutes the worth of a man. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing My favorite animal to hunt is probably elk. There's nothing like the sound of a bugling bull splitting the cold air at first light. And that smell is unmistakable. Once you experience their musk in the wild there's no going back! A close second would be a varmint hunt. Chris Pratt Years of research in psychology has shown that rewards and punishments can be very effective in changing behavior. But, at the same time, they can create an addiction to rewards and punishments. Barry Schwartz When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be an actor. Tom Ford I'm a better and more educated person because of basketball. Lisa Leslie I never thought I would just be doing Arkady books. Martin Cruz Smith We need to say goodbye to the traditional methodologies of corporate universities. Marcus Buckingham Here Fashion is a despot, and no one dream...

When you first start working, you take whatever job is offered, because you have to

build your resume. But you don't think about what you're building. Chris Hardwick I think it's important to find humor anywhere you can. In real life, with the darkest, scariest, most intense moments, if you can find something funny, that's good. Katie Lowes I am not racked with self-loathing. Some issues of guilt and shame, but I'm a pretty good guy. Marcus Brigstocke The long poem cannot be a digressive, expansive, boring exposition. It is really made of very sharp, Imagistic, quintessential poetic elements. Louis Dudek The day I entered St Columb's College, my parents bought me a Conway Stewart pen. It was a special afternoon, of course. We were going to be parting that evening; they were aware of it, I was aware of it, nothing much was said about it. Seamus Heaney I'm always wearing Spanx, eating ice cream and feeling a bit lonely. Sheridan Smith Writer's block! It doesn't exist. You just long for ideas to go away so you have an...

Writing books and being paid for it - it's not like winning the Lottery. You

can't suddenly go, 'Yippee!' and start throwing tenners in the air. I've done pretty well out of it, but certainly not enough to say, 'Right, that's me set up for life.' Joanne Harris When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't write if you don't think they're on your side, because then you start to yell at them or preach down to them. Tony Kushner When infuriated by an outrageous column, do not be suckered into responding with an abusive e-mail. Pundits so targeted thumb through these red-faced electronic missives with delight, saying 'Hah! Got to 'em.' William Safire I've always wanted to write a book relating my experiences growing up as a deaf child in Chicago. Contrary to what people might think, it wasn't all about hearing aids and speech classes or frustrations. Marlee Matlin The three actors I admire the most are a...

I wanted to be a designer since I was a kid, and I was always

attracted to the way rock stars dressed and the way their girlfriends dressed. I always thought that they were the most interesting people. Anna Sui I don't know why, but the older I get the more interested I get in my parents' marriage. And it's interesting to be married yourself, too, because there is an inevitable comparison. Jhumpa Lahiri I don't think there's any such thing as teaching people photography, other than influencing them a little. People have to be their own learners. They have to have a certain talent. Imogen Cunningham I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement. Calvin Coolidge While there are many influences on gas prices in America, I believe the passage of a national energy bill will help relieve this burden on our country. Paul Gillmor I understand that the end does not justify the means. And this should be a lasting value for democracy. Park Ge...