Vivek Murthy Quotes

I lived below the poverty line when I was young and starting out as a writer. But my wife and I kept trying to do things better, as anyone with ambition does. But just because you're trying doesn't mean you're always going to succeed.

My father came from a very poor background, but I was very fortunate in the sense that we were never in need. My dad was determined to make sure that we didn't want for things. He wanted to give us more opportunity than he had, a better shot at a better life.

I train like I never had nothing 'cause I ain't never had nothing.

I grew up poor, but I didn't have poor dreams

The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on.

You have to keep going and pursue your dreams.

For aspiring actors out there, I would say stay focused and don't let anyone pull you away from your goals. Shoot for the stars so that if you ever fall short you can land on the clouds.

My mother's passion for something more, to write a different destiny for a dirt-poor farmer's daughter, was to shape my entire life.

A lot of times when people become successful, people don't really understand what they had to do or the sacrifices they made to do that, or they assume that they had money. This is coming from, like, a kid who was broke and lived with roaches and a single mom in Dorchester.

Philly gave me my ambition and drive to get more. It's a reminder to stay on top of my game. That's not a place I want to go back to.

Well when I was young, actually not just me, but we were all poor. Korea used to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite such circumstances, I was very, very fortunate to be blessed with having parents who always instilled in a spirit of can-do spirit.

My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor, and all her kids got an education. And my mom grew up poor. And they both worked so hard and cultivated so much of their own happiness. I wanted to have that like an amulet. Not like armor, but like a magic feather. Like Dumbo's magic feather.

For me life is a challenge. And it will be a challenge if I live to be 100 or if I get to be a trillionaire.

I'm not the type to pat myself on the back and all that, but somebody has to be lucky, right? When I got to Dallas, I was struggling - sleeping on the floor with six guys in a three-bedroom apartment. I used to drive around, look at the big houses, and imagine what it would be like to live there and use that as motivation.

If you're from a poor background, you have to work even harder. But that's what makes you who you are.

Passion is different than desire. People that are successful recognize passion. You have to be willing to work at it. I love the image of pushing a boulder uphill - it will flourish you.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

All I know is what I have been given and what opportunities lie before me. Try to make the best of them, and I'm not going to give up until I make it to the top.

You can make something out of nothing. I proved that with my career, making it out of the city that I'm from.

I come from zero and I've had to push myself up to where I am today. I'm not going to give up and I'm going to keep pushing.

My mum had me when she was just 18 and she worked three jobs, including bar tending, to put food on the table and she also went to night college. She worked really hard for us and I kept myself busy with football.

For any child growing up, anything is possible. We were poor growing up and you had to work hard and make it happen for yourself.

It's not the way I threw the football - it's not particular games that I won - but that they remember that here's a guy that believed, that worked hard. Although things didn't always go in his favor, he continued to press through, and with his faith in himself and his faith in God, he was able to accomplish great things.

I've always had big dreams and very little means.

I want to motivate people because I know how it is, struggling, and coming from a place where you have nothing. So my thing is to motivate people to let them know whatever you put your mind to, or whatever you love to do, then stick with it and don't give up.