“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”

I believe that we’re as happy in life as we make up our minds to be.

I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.

Whether we’re prepared or not, life has a habit of thrusting situations upon us.

I regret the passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent.

I hate failure and that divorce was a Number One failure in my eyes. It was the worst period of my life. Neither Desi nor I have been the same since, physically or mentally.

Use a make-up table with everything close at hand and don’t rush; otherwise you’ll look like a patchwork quilt.

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

Love yourself first and the rest of your life will fall into place.

In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.

Ability is of little account without opportunity.

It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.

How I Love Lucy was born? We decided that instead of divorce lawyers profiting from our mistakes, we’d profit from them.

A man who correctly guesses a woman`s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright.

I was shy for several years in my early days in Hollywood until I figured out that no one really gave a damn if I was shy or not, and I got over my shyness.

Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead.

I’m not funny. What I am is brave.

Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.

I would advise young artists to paint as they can, as long as they can, without being afraid of painting badly.

I went through a long period where I was afraid of doing things I wanted to do, and you get your courage back, which is what’s important.

It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.

Who would you be if you were not afraid?

It’s when we become afraid of everything and worried about everything that you are never going to reach your highest potential.

The way to defeat fear: decide on a course of conduct and follow it. Keep so busy and work so hard that you forget about being afraid.

And once you’re unafraid with death, I think your capacity for violence is immediately increased. Once you’re unafraid of death, you are a very, very dangerous adversary.