Quotes about Opportunity

Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can testify: but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim for himself.

He who forecasts all perils will never sail the sea.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

On the occasion of every accident that befalls you ... inquire what power you have for turning it to use.

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.

To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his right and left hand. He uses both.

We are very near to greatness: one step and we are safe; can we not take the leap?

He who hesitates is last.

Hope works in these ways: it looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst; it discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot; it regards problems, large or small, as opportunities; it pushes ahead when it would be easy to quit; it "lights the candle" instead of "cursing the darkness."

Anytime we step out boldly to make changes, we take a chance that we might fail. But the only way to get better is to try.

I've certainly done some turkeys along the way and made some dumb choices in my career, mostly early on. I'm one of the lucky ones who got to make a lot of mistakes very early when no one was paying attention.

I remember the first time I saw the 'Sugarhill Gang' on Soul Train. I was 11 or 12. I was like, 'What's going on? How did those guys get on national TV?' And then, when I was a little older, a rapper from the neighborhood got a record deal. I was shocked.