There's nothing wrong with being driven. And there's nothing wrong with

putting yourself first to reach your goals.
Shonda Rhimes

Peace is the cornerstone of our development.
Mwai Kibaki

Every time I sign a contract, I donate something to charity and buy a piece of jewelry. Whether the movie gets made or not, it's a celebration.
Nia Vardalos

What I don't like about Washington, if we say one syllable or one sentence, or this guy said something bad about me, then, all of a sudden, they have to be my mortal enemy. I don't think that's how it works in American business.
Anthony Scaramucci

Leather has a real durability and functionality.
Matthew Williamson

I have buckets of sympathy for the obese, often subject to cruelty, ridicule, denunciation, and contempt.
Lionel Shriver

Technology moves so quickly; you can't get comfortable with the business you have today because technology will progress.
Joe Gebbia

I want women and girls of African descent and of color to be able to not have to keep searching for stories about themselves.
Danai Gurira

It's hard to sell merchandise off YouTube.
Freddie Wong

Food is a weapon - a very effective weapon. People don't cultivate, don't farm, you cut the road off, then you subjugate them very easily.
Tom Catena

Gemeoss

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...

I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason I play the

way I play, just everything. Just knowing the days I don't feel right, going to practice, having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and make sure I was all right. Those were hard days. Derrick Rose I've read every Madonna biography. I've also looked up every pop star to see how they first made it. The biggest thing I learnt was that you have to be pro-active. You can't be scared. Marina and the Diamonds I think it's part of being English, particularly if you are middle-class - you're always looking to be reminded that you are no good and you are always actually embarrassed about being successful. Chris Martin I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about things that matter to them. Vikram Seth My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the ...

I stand here today as the first woman first minister of our country. Every day I hold this

office, I will work to ensure that every woman, every wee girl across this country, gets a chance to do what I've done and follow their dream. Nicola Sturgeon When a president was elected with foreign policy experience, it was usually less about his foreign policy experience than other things. H. W. Brands The result may not be perfect. But our forefathers wanted us to compromise to get things done for America. Gene Green I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity. Angelina Jolie Tennis has opened a number of possibilities for me, and in future, it would be great to give something back. Ana Ivanovic No good writer ever merely cheered us up. But there's an unblinking stare into the darkness of things we have to go elsewhere to find. Jane Austen was made of strong stuff. She was too satiric for D. H. Lawrence's taste and too u...

We all live in a free Poland, and there would be no free Poland without

you, Twenty-five years ago, I did not stand on the same side together with you, but today I have no doubts that it was your vision of Poland which led us in the right direction. Aleksander Kwasniewski And to Shakespeare I owe my vision of the world as a theater, wherein all humans are acting out their parts. James Broughton If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a teacher, a history teacher. After all, teaching is very much like performing. A teacher is an actor, in a way. It takes a great deal to get, and hold, a class. Richard Dreyfuss I don't know what the future holds, but I have to be confident about it. It's just the way I am. Dawn French English is taking over the world. I just wrote a piece about it. And it's not by design. The United States dominates because it's the biggest market. Norman Spinrad There's a cardinal rule that you don't talk about sharks. If you don't see it, it's not there. Mark Warkentin I had so many freckles t...

I read 'The Bell Jar' as an adolescent and, like most teenagers, had no

problem identifying with a young woman who had everything going for her - looks, talent, opportunity, with her 'whole life ahead of her,' yadda, yadda, yadda - yet was spiraling into misery. Lionel Shriver I always wanted to write a book. Not a romance novel. Maybe a crime thriller. Something with action. Maybe that will happen some day. Becky Sauerbrunn I began to study martial arts because it was a great form of exercise, and I knew it would help my acting career. Martial arts reminded me of dancing. It has helped me learn fight sequences quicker. Olga Fonda I told my team, 'I don't want to go out for Asian roles anymore.' Ross Butler The Wodehouse language is so rich and detailed and hilarious. John Lithgow The Corbynista brand of politics representing metropolitan, middle class, pro-open border values is far removed from millions of Labour voters, especially those who voted Leave in the referendum. Nigel Farage What comes into...

I feel like every time I start up, it's like a truck you have to

get into 15th gear, so you very solely crank into that mental space where you feel really immersed in the world of the book and then you can just kind of go. But there's just that few days of frustration to get to that point. Chad Harbach It's important for a parent to learn to take delight in a child whose behavior might seem mystifying. In the case of an extroverted parent with an introverted child, it can be learning to see the inner riches of your child that may not always be expressed on the surface - but are there. Susan Cain After guest appearances, I got the offer to do the show as the successor of Arthur Schwartz. It's so much fun. Rocco DiSpirito The Whitney is a museum that has a great rapport with younger artists and the community. Jeff Koons Is only a tennis match. At the end, that's life. There is much more important things. Rafael Nadal I have to tell them that last night was a shameful train wreck filled with blind cuddly puppies. Charlie...

I hadn't played any music since freshman year of college, more than thirty years ago,

so I had to relearn everything. I started writing songs. Some were dance and trance songs (I listen to them a lot while I'm writing), and some were love songs, because that after all is what music is about - dancing and trancing and love and love's setbacks. Nicholson Baker People first concern themselves with meeting their basic needs; only afterwards, do they pursue any higher needs. Abdolkarim Soroush I didn't want to just be another girl singer. I wanted there to be something that set me apart. Taylor Swift I came to Hollywood and nobody knew me. I was on a coupla TV shows. Peter Falk I am against any reconciliation with Israel. Hassan Nasrallah It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge. Enrico Fermi We had some problems - my children were kidnapped during that time, and it just changed my whole way of thinking, from being in show business and everything else. Solomon Burke With 'Girls,' it ...

It's a radical time for musicians, a really revolutionary time, and I believe revolutions like

Napster are a lot more fun than cash, which by the way we don't have at major labels anyway, so we might as well get with it and get in the game. Courtney Love We have to learn again that science without contact with experiments is an enterprise which is likely to go completely astray into imaginary conjecture. Hannes Alfven I think complexity is mostly sort of crummy stuff that is there because it's too expensive to change the interface. Jaron Lanier The rest, called literature, is a dossier of human imbecility for the guidance of future professors. Tristan Tzara The London dialect as it is spoken in educated circles. Henry Sweet At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. Jane D. Hull Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving. Henry Ford

It's not hard to assume that voters do not have deeply considered views on

each and every policy issue before them but instead, perhaps, have one or two strongly held views and then allow their favored political leaders to fill in the gaps on the rest of the issues. Kristen Soltis Anderson I've been given this amazing platform as an Olympic athlete, and there are so many people out there who don't feel like their voice is being heard. I feel it's my responsibility to speak out on issues that are important. Adam Rippon That's all TV acting is. Like, let me find my mark and seem like I'm still acting. Sometimes they'll put sandbags there, but then it's even funnier because you're walking and you're, like, stepping into sandbags, so now you look like you're having a seizure. Laura Benanti I've always wanted to be a woman who isn't afraid to tell her story. Andra Day I'm happy where I'm at now, but I want to show the world that I'm the No. 1 fighter. I want to prove it the wor...

I do think that there are certain parts, if you are lucky enough to play

them, that are bigger than you, and they stretch you. I don't think you become a bigger person, but you develop certain muscles you didn't have before. Harriet Walter I've always envied girls having Ugg boots, so when I found some for men, I had to have them. Marc Warren I've met big-name actors doing Hollywood films, and they've said that all they want is an in at HBO and their own show. Chris Lilley Everything is very individual for me in the way that I work; I don't just show a rotating rack of clothes. Brad Goreski There have been a lot of critiques of the finance industry's having possibly foisted subprime mortgages on unknowing buyers, and a lot of those kinds of arguments are even more powerful when used against college administrators who are probably in some ways engaged in equally misleading advertising. Peter Thiel Every public company depends to some extent on the trust of its investors. Alex Berenson Niaqornat particularly seeme...