"I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly."

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."

"In the mist of Difficulty lies Opportunity."

"I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself."

"Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism."

"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams."

"I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call."

"Mr. Right is coming, but he's in Africa and he's walking."

"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you I the best place for the next moment."

"You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it."

"We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are."

"The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be."

"Turn your wounds into wisdom."

"I don't think you ever stop giving. I really don't. I think it's an on-going process. And it's not just about being able to write a check. It's being able to touch somebody's life."

"Say "Thank You" because your faith is so strong that you don't doubt that what ever the problem, you'll get through it. You're saying thank-you because you know that even in the eye of the storm, God has put a rainbow in the clouds."

"It's much easier for me to make major life, multi-million dollar decisions, than it is to decide on a carpet for my front porch. That's the truth."

"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."

"Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility."

"I have a special pair of poop shoes under my desk. Whenever I need to drop a deuce, I slip them on and scurry to the restroom, and no one ever knows it's me. Like, if I'm wearing Louboutins that day, and my producer sees Earth shoes in the stall....well, you get the idea. It was truly a lightbulb moment when that came to me."

"I'm black, I don't feel burdened by it and I don't think it's a huge responsibility. It's part of who I am. It does not define me."

"If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit."

"Being human means you will make mistakes. And you will make mistakes, because failure is God's way of moving you in another direction."

"God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself and your role on Earth is to attach yourself to that divine force and let yourself be released to it."

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

"I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain."

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."

"Listen. Pay attention. Treasure every moment."

"I think that when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself."

"She is the mother I never had, she is the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don't know a better person."

"We should no longer allow a mother to be defined as "just a mom". It is on her back that great nations are built. We should no longer allow any woman's voice to be drowned out or disregarded. As we affirm other women, and as we teach our sons, husbands and friends to hold them in the highest regard, we honor both the mothers whose shoulders we've stood on and the daughters who will one day stand tall on ours."

"Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself."

"I'm sick of people sittin' in chairs stating their problems. Then we roll the videotape... then we have our experts on the topic... I'm in the 'What's next?' phase of my career."

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

"Opportunity may knock only once but temptation leans on the door bell."

"One of the greatest gifts you can give isyour undivided attention."

"I don't believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process."

"Difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper. Life always whispers to you first, but if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream."

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."

"Don't back down just to keep the peace. Standing up for yourself builds self confidence and self esteem."

"The struggle of my life created empathy - I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me."

"Every stumble is not a fall, and every fall does not mean failure."

"I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good."

"Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi."

"Self-esteem comes from being able to define the world in your own terms and refusing to abide by the judgments of others."

"There is a sacred calling on your life, and the question is: Will you spend your life flittering and fluttering about or take the time and really heed that call and create your own path to your highest good?...You cannot let other people define your life for you. You are the author of your own life...Real power is when you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, the best it can be done. Authentic power. There's a surge, there's a kind of energy field that says, "I'm in my groove, I'm in my groove." And nobody has to tell you, "You go, girl," because you know you're already gone."

"When I look into the future, it's so bright it burns my eyes."

"When people show you who they are, believe them."

"You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world."

"You get in life what you have the courage to ask for."

"I would like to thank the people who've brought me those dark moments, when I felt most wounded, betrayed. You have been my greatest teachers."