[He] said don't let them take you over. Walk into the room knowing you are the best. Shoulders back, chin up. Their attitudes will totally change.

Success is not easy and I think everyone should know that hard work and perseverance and being open to giving back are so much more powerful than stepping all over people to get to the top.

You can do anything you want, even if you are being told negative things.stay strong and find motivation.

The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.

You can dream big and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from.

My body is very different from most of the dancers I dance with. My hair is different than most I dance with. But I didn't let that stop me. Black girls rock and can be ballerinas.

The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.

You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow.

I just try to approach every opportunity on stage, as if it's my first time and my last time.

I feel like I represent every young dancer, and even non-dancer, who felt they were not accepted by the ballet world. I'd like to think that they can see themselves in me.

There are muscles that we have in our feet that most human beings don't even know that we have. The strength that we have is so detailed.

But a lonely man is an unnatural man, and soon comes to perplexity. From perplexity to fantasy. From fantasy to madness.

Principles are meant to serve people, not people serving to uphold the principle, while harming the people.

None of this is your fault, ' I told him. 'None of it. You aren't responsible for what other people do, good or bad. Everyone is just making the choices they think will help them get by.

I determine my own worth. If I had to rely on others, I'd have lain down and died waiting.

If a guy hasn't got any gamble in him- he isn't worth a crap.

I was out training one black night when I heard a noise. I turned around and saw a leopard. I threw some stones at him and he went away, so I went on my way.

I don't know if anybody has moved up the ladder more quickly than I have.

In the art game we do our own cooking.

I believe in small government and people taking care of themselves.

I'm going to make a long speech because I've not had the time to prepare a short one.