Quotes About Aspiration

As a high-school drop-out, I knew I wanted to write, but I wasn't overly confident that I was going to be writing anything serious. I was happy enough with the idea that I could be a penny-a-word guy and survive.

I loved 'Survivor Series' as a kid. It's one of our biggest pay-per-views, and I would love to be part of that, just for the bucket list!

'American Idol' is sometimes lumped with reality shows and it has that element - folks-next-door battling it out in a contest. But instead of fighting leeches, bugs, parasites and each other, as on CBS's 'Survivor' and other shows that imitate it, the 'American Idol' contestants, of course, sing.

You know how kids dream of being soccer players or actors? Well, my dream was to be a sushi chef.

I longed to be bright and most certainly never was. I was rather hopeless, I suspect.

In this fallen world, I suspect we will never achieve perfection. But that won't stop me trying.

As a young African, the sense of opportunity that fills my head on a daily basis is, I suspect, reminiscent of how young Africans felt at the cusp of independence.

My mother always wanted me to be in the best environment that I could be in. She wanted me to go to the best schools. Every now and again she'd save up enough for us to get a nice apartment in downtown Chicago, but we were never able to sustain it.

I obviously want to win a grand slam, but whatever I do, however long I play, I hope I sustain a really long career, a healthy one, just a pretty consistent career. I obviously want to win a grand slam.

Glamour is an imaginative process that creates a specific emotional response: a sharp mixture of projection, longing, admiration, and aspiration. It evokes an audience's hopes and dreams and makes them seem attainable, all the while maintaining enough distance to sustain the fantasy.

My own personal goal is I just hope to still write songs and kind of let that sustain me as a job. If I could never have a 9-to-5 job, and making a living doing this, it'd just be incredible.

For most of America's history, people typically aspired to acquire 'a competency' rather than great riches. A competency meant the ability to comfortably sustain a household without depending on others. 'Competence' also meant being capable and reliable. The American Dream was that people who worked hard and capably could support their families.

The reason immigrants come to America is to provide their kids with opportunities, but when they say 'opportunity,' they mean a prestigious job and career. When I had the epiphany that I could do music and sustain myself, they were like, 'OK, son, we need to talk to you.'

I always wanted Han Solo's confidence and swagger. My personality is way more C-3PO, but Han was always who I wanted to be.

I just have to accept that I won't ever be Al Green, which is a hard pill to swallow.

Yes, I don't think I shall ever become Prime Minister. Hard as that is to swallow, I tell you one person who is very happy always to see me say that, and that's my wife.

I am excited to partner with American Swan and to be able to connect with the youth and inspire them to chase their dreams and script their destinies.

I've done a lot of comedy recently, so I would really like to explore something else. I am hankering after a really meaty, dramatic role... like Natalie Portman's part in Black Swan.'

Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.

I wish I could swap closets with Diana Vreeland, but I think only my left thigh would fit into her clothing.

I honestly think I would swap all that I have won in my career to win something with the Argentine national team.

I swear to God, if my kids, when they're 18, if they come to me and say, 'Dad, I love pumping gas. I love getting up in the morning, I love grabbing the handle, I love the smell of the gas station,' I'd say, 'Go for it,' because if you love it that much at 18, he's probably going to end up owning 25 gas stations by the time he's 30.

I'd love to be 'People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, but I think that that's a ways off. I have to stop wearing sweat pants, and then we'll work on that.

It took me years to get out of the bargain basement. I always wanted to walk into a men's store and buy a cashmere sweater.