“If I were to say, ‘God, why me?’ about the bad things, then I should have said, ‘God, why me?’ about the good things that happened in my life.”

Fear isn’t an excuse to come to a standstill. It’s the impetus to step up and strike.

From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.

Fear isn’t an excuse to come to a standstill. It’s the impetus to step up and strike.

There is a syndrome in sports called ‘paralysis by analysis.’

Throughout my formal education I spent many, many hours in public and school libraries. Libraries became courts of last resort, as it were. The current definitive answer to almost any question can be found within the four walls of most libraries.

I have always drawn strength from being close to home.

Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.

The best way to judge a life is to ask yourself, “Did I make the best use of the time I had?

A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.

Drummed into me, above all, by my dad, by the whole family, was that without your good name, you would be nothing.

One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.

Someone once told me that God figured that I was a pretty good juggler. I could keep a lot of balls in the air at one time. So He said, “Let’s see if he can juggle another one.”

If you’re paid before you walk on the court, what’s the point in playing as if your life depended on it?

Throughout my formal education I spent many, many hours in public and school libraries. Libraries became courts of last resort, as it were. The current definitive answer to almost any question can be found within the four walls of most libraries.

There is a terrific apprehension among some people that blacks will take over the sport… It will create problems because their behavior, speech and dress is just a completely different culture.

We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.

If you have the ability to turn bad situations into good ones, then you are lucky.

If it is good not to touch a woman, then it is bad to touch a woman always and in every case.

What white woman, however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet they say I am a bad Indian.

I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge regardless of their background or life experiences.

Mister, I’ve been in a really bad mood for the last few years, so I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave me alone.

Endeavor to have always in your hand a pious book, that with this shield you may defend yourself against bad thoughts.

If you start out looking at somebody, wondering whether he’s good or bad, I think you’re starting out in the wrong direction. I think we’re all good and we’re all bad.

Hollywood is Hollywood. There’s nothing you can say about it that isn’t true, good or bad. And if you get into it, you have no right to be bitter — you’re the one who sat down, and joined the game.