“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.” 

“Blessed is the man who has come to know that our muted thoughts are our sweetest thoughts. “Blessed is the man who, from the blackest depths, can see the luminous figure of LOVE, and seeing, sing; and singing, say: "Sweeter far than uttered lays are the thoughts I have of you.”

“BE THE COMMUNICATOR YOU WANT TO HEAR”

“We must take responsibility for our responses to daily events, especially the little offenses that tempt us to be angry.”

“I don't want to hold you hand!”

“Some one dear to one can be loved with human love; but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.”

“If you overspiritualize prayer, you are in danger of not doing it. Remember, prayer is simply talking to God, worshipping and praising Him, and being thankful at all times.”

“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge

“Have you noticed that the most effective worker is generally the busiest?”

“Imagination is everything”

“Find a target. Know where your influence is heading towards. Find out those who will be interested in what you do and “why”. Now work hard to answer the question “why?”

“You cannot score a goal when you are sitting on the bench. To do so, you have to dress up and enter the game.”

“There is thing you can do but I can not and there is thing I can but you can not; so let us make something beautiful together”

“Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst mood

“Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.”