“I don’t really want people looking to me for inspiration. I just want to be a sign along the way that points toward Heaven.”

I gave my heart to Jesus when I was five-years-old and since then it’s been a special relationship. To me it’s not a religion; it’s just talking to God, reading his word, and doing my best to honor him in everything I do.

I can’t change it, That was God’s plan for my life and I’m going to go with it.

We all need that extra friend outside of our immediate family to talk about that extra stuff you wouldn’t normally talk to your parents about.

I’m actually not star-struck… I like to give people their own space and admire them from a distance.

My strength came from my relationship with Christ and from the love and encouragement of my family and friends.

I wouldn’t change what happened to me because then I wouldn’t have this chance, in front of all of you, to embrace more people than I ever could have with two arms.

I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe He gave me the passion and determination to continue surfing. You fall off the horse, and you get back on. I had to go for it.

Life is full of what-ifs. You can’t let it hold you back. If you do, you’re not really living at all… just kind of going through the motions with no meaning

To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean – that’s scary to me. It was essential to at least try surfing again and get out there and see how it went.

God will give us the strength to be able to handle things. I mean, you can try to do it on your own, and sometimes you can pull off some stuff, but in the long run, it’s much easier with Him by our side.

Compassion can drive us to do amazing things and give us perspective.

Like, with one arm I know I can surf, but competitive surfing can be really frustrating, and sometimes you don’t do as well as you want to. It can be discouraging at times. But whenever I do get frustrated, I just focus on God.

It’s hard for me to describe the joy I felt after I stood up and rode wave in for the first time after the attack. I was incredibly thankful and happy inside. The tiny bit of doubt that would sometimes tell me you’ll never surf again was gone in one wave.

It’s been amazing to touch people’s lives.

My favorite thing [about surfing] is being creative on waves; it’s like an art form. You can do whatever you want on that wave if you work hard at it and just have fun out there.

Your looks do not define who you are.

If you take your inspiration from nature, you don’t invent anything, because what you want to do is to interpret something.

Inspiration does not come like a blot, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly all the time.

I am always looking for inspiration. I always live in big cities where I can go every day to a museum, see a lecture, meet people that are artists, go to the cinema. For me, it’s like food.

Anyone who has ever accomplished anything of any consequence, didn’t know how to get what they want, they only knew that they were going to get it.

I used to want to be fully observational, but I’m just not that kind of writer. My process always changes depending on how, when, and where inspiration stiles me.

You don’t know how to do something, until after you’ve done it. Our problem is, we set goals to do what we think we can do or what we’ve already done. There’s no inspiration in that.

Sri Chinmoy is truly unique and special. He has rediscovered the lost art of special strength feats and weightlifting.

I’m my biggest inspiration. And I say this in the most humble way. I’ve been through so much, just in my life.