Mary J. Blige Quotes

I know who I am. I am not perfect. I'm not the most beautiful woman in the world. But I'm one of them.

I listen to gospel music.

I don't know. Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose and I choose to win.

I have to have lemon and honey. I have to have apple cider vinegar, Braggs. And I have to have either Red Vines or Twizzlers. These things, you know, are the things that help my vocal performance.

There's so many things that life is, and no matter how many breakthroughs, trials will exist and we're going to get through it. Just be strong.

If you're looking for inner peace from the outside world, you're not going to get that. The inner peace starts with looking at you from the inside.

Negative words are powerful boomerangs so be careful what you say about people and yourself.

When you come from so many damaged places you don't ever want to spiral back there, so you gotta continue to check yourself.

Believe in yourself when nobody else does.

When life is real, it's not going to be smooth.

God comes first - if I don't love him, I can't love anybody, and if I can't love me I can't love nobody.

When you tell your truth, you are coming from a real place, so you are automatically a leader.

You can hate me. You can go out there and say anything you want about me, But you will love me later because I told you the truth.

I wish I had known that education is the key. That knowledge is power. Now I pick up books and watch educational shows with my husband. I'm seeing how knowledge can elevate you.

I'm on my way to a place where I'd never dreamed I'd be, and that's perfection.

I blame my mother for nothing, but forgive her for everything.

My journey continues, because I've, you know, conquered a lot. And I know how to conquer the rest.

It hurts when you have to smile and you don't want to smile, but the best thing to do is to smile.

In your life there's peaks and valleys and sometimes we regress, and we don't even know we regress. You just have to learn how to accept all of your mistakes and learn to love yourself again.

I like hanging out with me, and I've accepted everything about me good, bad whatever it is. That's why I'm able to, that's why no one can tell me anything negative about myself.

For the first time in my life, I'm proud of myself

I believe there are certain things that God uses to get us out of a bad situation, and I believe music was one of the things he used for me.

My responsibility to God is to live. That's the gift he gave me. What I do with it is up to me.

You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.

Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go through so much pain. We have to live this perfect life when we are messed up inside. We all go through trials and tribulations.

I don't think I'll do foster care or adopt, to be quite honest.

I don't want no drama in my life, even though we have a little bit, but no more letting people control you. That's drama, because then you become something that you're not.

My God is a God who wants me to have things. He wants me to bling. He wants me to be the hottest thing on the block.

It's up to us to choose whether we win or lose...and I choose to win.

It's that first step-getting out the door-that's the toughest. If you can do that, you've already won.

It's OK showing yourself some love.

The music business is not a good place for people who don't know things.

We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.

I'm searching for a real love.

You know a lot, but you don't know everything.

I mean, I know my heart is not clean, and your heart is not clean, and none of our urban hearts are clean. But you can be washed again.

You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.

Love is wonderful, amazing, and the best thing that can happen to us.

Everything is scary if you look at it. So you just got to live.

I wish I had an extra day with my mom sometimes. Or another hour in the day with my family, husband and children.

I can tell you I didn't feel good when I could not articulate properly. Getting my GED was important and I want other women to feel that.

People in my neighborhood inspired me to sing. Believe in your ability no matter what, but be realistic with yourself and your ability.

Growing up, I was the preferred hairstylist for all of my friends.

That's the message I want to give to every up-and-coming artist: Do everything that is going to help you later. If you clone somebody else, that's all they're gonna keep wanting from you.

You can't get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it.

God loves me and sent his son to die for me so I have to live to please him because he saved me when everyone abandoned me.

I like French fries; I like mashed. I love potatoes.

You have to create different things, either through lighting or changing the format of the songs and how you're going to sing them, and even sometimes props.

There's not enough time to be disrespecting... Life is too short.

I didn't never have to go to a therapist. I just always put it in a song and you heard me.