“A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.”

All things are already complete in us. There is no greater delight than to be conscious of right within us. If one strives to treat others as he would be treated by them, he shall not fail to come near the perfect life.

Those who follow the part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow the part which is little are little men.

Friends are the siblings God never gave us.

Only those who develop their minds and spirits to the utmost can serve Heaven and fulfill their own destinies.

To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

Heaven sees as the people see. Heaven hears as the people hear.

He who goes to the bottom of his own heart knows his own nature; And knowing his own nature, he knows heaven.

Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.

Human nature is good, just as water seeks low ground. There is no man who is not good, just as there is no water that does not flow downward.

Let not a man do what his sense of right bids him not to do, nor desire what it forbids him to desire. This is sufficient. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman.

Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.

Incessant falls teach men to reform, and distress rouses their strength. Life springs from calamity, and death from ease.

There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.

If the prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the empire.

People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.

Human nature is disposed to do good.

I was raised orthodox Muslim. Very sheltered, very conservative.

You’ve got to be twice as good to get half as far.

One of my strongest gifts is that I’m pretty straightforward.

There are times when I am so unlike myself that I might be taken for someone else of an entirely opposite character.

If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.

Ninety-nine percent of leadership failures are failures of character.

You can get to know me through my music.