“Whatever your dreams are, start taking them very, very seriously.”

Now is the operative word. Everything you put in your way is just a method of putting off the hour when you could actually be doing your dream.

The first step is to find out what you love – and don’t be practical about it. The second step is to start doing what you love immediately, in any small way possible.

Happy people have two things in common. They know exactly what they want and they feel they’re moving toward getting it.

Every time you have to make a choice about anything, think Does this go toward or away from what I want? Always choose what goes toward what you want.

The cure for sorrow is to learn something.

What you’re really supposed to be doing is whatever makes your heart sing.

A direct statement about yourself is considered objective only if it is negative. If it’s positive, it is considered subjective. And ‘objective’ means it is accurate, and ‘subjective’ means it is conceited self-delusion.

Wishing and dreaming are the beginning of all human endeavor.

A good work is a partnership between you and nature… Nature will help you every step of the way.

Real Dreams don’t require you to abandon your family, quit your job, and move to Tahiti with your paintbrush. They just require that you search your soul for that deep dream you put aside-and go for it. And watch your life light up.

You don’t need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating.

It’s only too late if you don’t start now.

Imaginary obstacles are insurmountable. Real ones aren’t.

Isolation is a dream killer.

Doing is a quantum leap from imagining.

Doing what you love isn’t a priviledge; it’s an obligation.

You can live in the world of myth and be taken seriously.

I tried to give my career a shot from Barranquilla, but the musicians would never show up. It was just not taken seriously.

I hated the company of other children. I wanted to be a grownup person, to be taken seriously. I hated the idea of childhood; I thought it was a moment of endless stupidity.

Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.

The world is an illusion, but an illusion which we must take seriously.

Toyin Falola has given us what is truly rare in modern African writing: a seriously funny, racy, irreverent package of memories, and full of the most wonderful pieces of poetry and ordinary information.

I’m sure all actors have trouble. The guy who always plays the funny guy, he wants to be taken seriously. And there’s the action guy who wants to do serious stuff. Everyone’s grass is greener.

If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.