If you've got hips, you can't be a gymnast or dancer. That ruled me out.

Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her.

My coach said I ran like a girl, I said if he could run a little faster he could too

Celebrate what you've accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.

A winner is that person who gets up one more time than she is knocked down.

Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.

I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.

The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.

I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down and I will not let myself down.

The backbone of success is...hard work, determination, good planning, and perserverence.

Without peace, we cannot be creative.

Sincerity and gravity, in Magnus's opinion, were highly overrated, as was being forced to relive unpleasant memories. He would much rather be amused and amusing.

If self-employment is the opposite of employed-by-other, than a job is outsourcing your freedom (time and talent) to a boss.

The religious idea of God cannot do full duty for the metaphysical infinity.

I led such a sheltered life I didn't go out with girls until I was almost four.

If I had been around when Rubens was painting, I would have been revered as a fabulous model. Kate Moss? Well, she would have been the paintbrush.

The media thinks that you have to make science sexy and concentrate on themes such as rivalry and the human issues.

It is a misuse of our power to take responsibility for solving problems that belong to others.

I need to have a reason why I'm doing something. Otherwise I'm lost.

God gives manhood but one clew to success,--utter and exact justice; that he guarantees shall be always expediency.