I'm laughing because I know the secret of life. And the secret of life is that I have validated my existence. I know that I am worth more than my house, my bank account, or any physical thing.

The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.

The guitar is your first wings. It's assigned and designed to unfold your vision and imagination.

There's never one sunrise the same or one sunset the same.

Your wrinkles either show that you're nasty, cranky, and senile, or that you're always smiling.

One day there will be no borders, no boundaries, no flags and no countries and the only passport will be the heart

Happiness is not a destination or an experience. It's a decision.

Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.

Everything is a battlefield. If you fight with anger, you are part of the problem. If you fight with joy, you're part of the solution.

Music rearranges your molecular structure.

My job in this life is to give people spiritual ecstasy through music. In my concerts people cry, laugh, dance. If they climaxed spiritually, I did my job. I did it decently and honestly.

The power to lead is the power to mislead, and the power to mislead is the power to destroy.

Ninja Mom's know that God has never left them!

Some people think that if they will do certain things, they will somehow earn the favor of God, but this misses the whole point of Christianity and ironically devolves into a me-centered approach.

It is better to control oneself, if one can, and not hit back. But on certain occasions, it is imperative to defend oneself. I don't think it's fair to ask anybody not to defend herself or himself.

Life is not for show, but for real.

They shaved my head, eyebrows. This is not a sci-fi picture. It's not a fantasy picture. You're dealing with something that's supposed to be in reality. But we had a genius makeup artist.

I think that black fiction authors have to work very hard to avoid being typed as seeking only a black audience.

He loved books; books are cold but safe friends.

They went in and out of each other's minds without any effort.

I used to ask for an easy life, now I ask to be strong.