“Those of us who are blamed when old for reading childish books were blamed when children for reading books too old for us.”

“there is nothing, right or wrong, which belief, plus burning desire, cannot make real. These qualities are free to everyone

“We have no right to prejudice another in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church.”

“The thing about secrets is they keep you in a prison. Once you share, WHOOSH, there is a release.”

“Leaders say "no" to corruption. Anyone playing a role in governance, and is not ready to do this is not a leader.”

“It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.”

“It is not about whether you call yourself a leader or not. It is about what you have to show to people as a leader. Leadership is contagious, you carry it and share it.”

“You don’t have to be great to start. But you do have to start to be great.”

“Be persistent no matter how slowly you may, at first, have to move. With persistence will come success.”

“GROWING UP changes one’s definition of what is fun — maturation does that, thankfully — so I hate to admit now that as a boy I thoroughly enjoyed throwing rocks at cars. It was a thrill to wait in hiding, ambush the car driving by, and then make our escape. Occasionally, a driver would stop their vehicle and get out to yell at us. But if we were really fortunate, they would chase us. We would run just far enough ahead to encourage them, but when they got close, we would turn on the afterburners of youth, leaving them far behind while we laughed hysterically. Once in a while, the police would come by — usually in unmarked cars — and the chase would be much more dramatic until we reached the ten-foot-tall fences at the end of the neighborhood field. To the police, it must have appeared as if they had us trapped. They had no idea, however, how practiced we were at vaulting those fences. We treated it like an Olympic event, running at full speed toward the fence and then leaping high into the air, grabbing the chain links, and allowing the momentum of our feet to swing us over the top and down on the other side. We would laugh at the police as we ran off, knowing there was no way they would follow us. Today I have great admiration for the police, who risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our lives, freedom, and property.”

“If you fail to control your own mind, you may be sure you will control nothing else.”

“Don't think small when you pray. God has a way to bring your dreams to pass if you'll dare to be bold enough to ask.”

“Let me tell your something. I'm from Chicago. I don't break.”

“Every man, knowing to the smallest detail all the complexity of the conditions surrounding him, involuntarily assumes that the complexity of these conditions and the difficulty of comprehending them are only his personal, accidental peculiarity, and never thinks that others are surrounded by the same complexity as he is.”

“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”