“If one’s reputation is a possession, then of all my possessions, my reputation means most to me.”

I may not be walking with you all the way, or even much of the way, as I walk with you now.

Seven out of 10 black faces you see on television are athletes. The black athlete carries the image of the black community. He carries the cross, in a way, until blacks make inroads in other dimensions.

It’s an abnormal world I live in. I don’t belong anywhere. It’s like I’m floating down the middle. I’m never quite sure where I am.

A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.

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

I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments. That’s no contribution to society. Tennis was purely selfish; that was for me.

It is not just the more talented player who wins. Some players may try a little harder.

You really are never playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.

Let me put it this way: I think Republicans tend to keep the ball in play, Democrats go for broke.

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

If I don’t ask “Why me?” after my victories, I cannot ask “Why me?” after my setbacks and disasters.

I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.

I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.

You come to realize that life is short, and you have to step up. Don’t feel sorry for me. Much is expected of those who are strong.

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

Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.

I am, as I am; whether hideous, or handsome, depends upon who is made judge.

Use your brains, your common sense, and do not become an object. The way you look is important, but who you are and how you project it is eventually who you will become and how you will appear.

We grew up founding our dreams on the infinite promise of American advertising. I still believe that one can learn to play the piano by mail and that mud will give you a perfect complexion.

If you can learn to like how you look, and not the way you think you look, it can set you free.

Look closer and you’ll see something extraordinary, mystifying, something real and true. We have never been what we seemed.

All power appears only in transition. Permanent power is stuff.

Animals don’t even try to look any different from what nature intended. They humbly wear their shells, scales, spines, plumes, pelts, and down. The conscious impulse to change one’s appearance is found only among humans.

Women can be vivacious. We are allowed more varieties of facial expression and gestures. Men must be rocklike.