Jay Asher Quotes

It's a great story. It's available for anyone else who wants to try it. We're not brilliant. We're not unbelievable. We're just two people who hit a nerve. I think it can be done again and again and again. More people should try it.

Because when I go places and I talk to kids and I talk to parents and I talk to athletes all over, and they look at my story and they see a person, African-American or not, they see something that they can relate to.

There are thousands of inspirational stories waiting to be told about young women who yearn for a great education. They are stories of struggle and stories of success, and they will inspire others to take action and work to change lives.

Encouragement from my high school teacher Patty Hart said 'you need to focus and theater might be your route out of here.' I created the program, went to college and graduate school and now here I am.

I didn't corner the market on great stories. I'm not the only one who can do something like work at a grocery store and then win a Super Bowl. Other people can do it. You hope people will see that and say, 'Hey, that will be me.' They're going to chase after it like I did. And they're going to be the next one.

Before the music and before the fame, I loved Apl for Allan Pineda, for being a brother that he is and for the inspiration - for him to actually come to the States from the Philippines and make something of his life. That's inspirational.

I haven't done any of the things I have done to inspire others, but I am sure that if I am watching my story from the outside I would be joining the club saying, 'Wow, that guy really gets you going.'

Wu-Tang was going through it. They didn't come from great homes or families. They really came from hard beginnings so it just made me reflect on my own situation. If Wu-Tang was able to make it, why can't I?

I had to overcome a lot of things, but with that, I've inspired a lot of people.

Wally Amos is the classic example of a man who gets up again and again.

I think a big part of our attraction to sport movies are the stories contained within the sports.

I just want people to know you can get through stuff. I hope people can see that in what my life has been and where it is going.

I would love to do Tammi Terrell's story. I love stories of the underdog coming out on top and stories of survival.

Giving a true speech, a true, passionate speech, is old-school football.

My personal story has always been about perseverance and always getting up when I fall. Maybe I'm not Olympic champion, but I can teach the world about that.

I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.

On Sundays when I speak, I hopefully give somebody something that they can use the next day at work or at home.

Any book is a self-help guide if you can take something from it.

I cannot save the world; that's not what I'm trying to do. I guess I'm just trying to walk the walk and be an example to those that want it. Not everybody does, but if Mary J. Blige can come out of that same hole you were in, then you can do it, too - that's my goal: to do that without saying it, but actually live it.

In my era, where I'm from, I only had Donald Whiteside. He's from Englewood and he's the only one that came out of Englewood. Other than him, I really didn't have anyone else to look up to that was from my area. So in seeing him, I never gave up hope, just kept playing and then I realized that I might have a future in basketball.

If you can draw something from my life that helps, more power to you.

I was learning the craft; I didn't study writing in school. Rejection was my motivation, and failure is what taught me.

I told as much of my life as I could to encourage people: to encourage others to get to where they should be, where they want to be.

What I like about graduation speeches is that they're an opportunity for someone to make sense of their life and to impart that wisdom to someone else. It's like a sanctioned self-help moment.

I struggled to get through high school. I didn't get to go to college. But it made me realize you can do anything if you want to bad enough.