Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.

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.

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

If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are.

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.

I'm not even kind of a lesbian.

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.

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.

I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.

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

I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.

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.

It isn't until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are - not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within - that you can begin to take control.

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

I am a woman in process. I'm just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.