I find it odd that suddenly people believe the United States is this Islamophobic country. I think this is the most tolerant country in the world.

We need to move beyond the idea that girls can be leaders and create the expectation that they should be leaders.

Great leaders never accept the world as it was and always work for the world as it should be

You might not be able to control your circumstances but you can control your response to your circumstances.

The first step for a leader is to be right with yourself. Integrity is the basis of leadership.

In America, with education and hard work, it really does not matter where you came from; it matters only where you are going.

Self esteem comes from achievements. Not from lax standards and false praise.

You will make a difference in the world, but not immediately. Your first obligation is to find something you like doing, because if you like doing it, you'll do it well.

When somebody underestimated me, it made me want to prove them wrong.

Education is of no value and talent is worthless - unless you have an unwavering aim. Never find yourself without a compass.

Differences can be a strength.

Women have eyes in their hearts that see what men cannot.

The fastest that human spacecraft are likely to achieve in the twenty-first century, I think, is 300 kilometres per second.

I like food too much to go on some crazy diet. French fries are my favorite downfall.

Our atmosphere can't tell the difference between emissions from an Asian factory, the exhaust from a North American SUV, or deforestation in South America or Africa.

As for how I feel about any success I've had, I just feel extremely lucky. Writing is a tough racket, and there are a lot of writers out there better than me who can't seem to catch a break.

There is no greater crime than desire.

I have this propensity to just come out and say things. That's how I am in real life.

I tend to think things are love and then look back and reevaluate.

Beware of geeks bearing formulas.

I looked at my father and looked at those dry fields [in Malawi]. It was the future I couldn't accept.