Quotes About Adversity

Life's about dealing with adversity and solving problems.

The only way I see the world now is through coming out of and growing up and living in Somalia. In the time of war, everyone was basically trying to live and manage the best they could. But you also had another period which was not a hard time at all - it was just a beautiful time. I lived in both eras.

What happened to me in Somalia doesn't define me.

Somalia is very dangerous, and no one knows that better than I.

I think probably the scaredest I've ever been was in Somalia. I arrived there when the episode that became known as 'Black Hawk Down' was still taking place. The Americans were still pinned down under fire. And everybody else was basically going the other way, and I was the only one putting my hand up for a flight in.

I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22, and became a member of Parliament in Holland.

We all get where we're going by circuitous journeys, and some of the setbacks are warranted.

Some days you're the fire hydrant, and some days you're the dog.

What keeps you going isn't some fine destination but just the road you're on, and the fact that you know how to drive.

I like to think that even if we make some really bad choices and go down some bad paths, we'll eventually emerge from it.

You can't have self-pity. At some point, you have to say, 'These are the cards I've been dealt, and I'm going to play them.'

The way people receive our music is different and some people may say that our music is not metal. But I feel that those reviews allow us to challenge ourselves and gives us an opportunity to grow even more.

I think people are just haters. When they see people doing well, some people, if there's something wrong, they'll pick at that.

It's not what you go through, but how that experience affects you. For some people, it could be a near car crash that changes your life. For other people, it could take five years of going to prison for them to realize they need change in their life. So it's not really the experience but more how the experience affects you.

Some people need safety nets. Some people need two safety nets. I've grown up with no safety nets around me.

The way of life is not as easy as some people think... like me.

Some people get knocked down and they have a hard time getting back up. But when your mind is right and you have a goal and you're trying to achieve that goal, nothing can deter you from that.

I've done nothing wrong. Some people just don't like me. Maybe I'm somebody that's easy to dislike, but I don't get it. Whatever. I'll do what I do.

Give me a celebrity, I'll give you your haters. Some people shine, and some people don't like when they shine. Ask Barack Obama - he'll tell you.

When good things are coming, there are always some people who haven't been doing good who will try and stop it. But if you believe in what you are doing and are strong enough, then you achieve it. People know who I am and what I have done.

The reality is, some people don't want you to change or go anywhere different.

I will be honest, and I have no shame in saying that after 'Kai Po Che!', I did not get chances. Some people didn't understand what to give me, and some people went out of the way to not give me work.

Some people make their best music when life is horrible.

I just think that there are those people that their resolve is strengthened by what it is that's keeping them down, and there are some people that will buckle under it. You never know which one is which until you get into the eighth or ninth round of the fight.