Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

[There's] this idea of "I want to take care of myself," but at the same time I want to be brave, daring, and expressive.

It was probably years before I was confident enough in stand-up that I was able to talk about the things I wanted to talk about, the way I wanted to talk about them.

I was fooling everyone by surrounding myself with funny people. But then I put myself out there - writing my own sketches, going on stage with nobody surrounding me - and for some reason people were still laughing.

Don't ever try and be like anybody else and don't be afraid to take risks.

I love Lady Gaga. She's not afraid to take risks and be herself.

There are people we look up to, like Lady Gaga and what she's built. She's not afraid to own who she is.

Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

I admire Madonna because she always did whatever she felt like doing. She went through some controversial periods when people rejected her, but she kept on reinventing herself.

I've always been slightly afraid of coming out with my record because it's so personal to me. Now it doesn't feel as frightening as I thought it would.

Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.

The most daring thing is to be yourself and to do exactly what you want to do at that point in time and not to be worried with what other people are doing or what's popular.

If you really want to tell stories, do it and don't be dissuaded.

Write from your heart, and God will take care of the rest.

The kids that are different and out there and expressive and are bold with those choices, those are the people that grow up to be people we all want to hang out with, that become celebrities or become really successful in what they do because they believe in who they are.

I am not scared of anyone. I will write and publish my books.

Preaching is the most original thing I've ever done. There's nothing familiar about it. You have to be brave.

Be original; don't be scared of being bold!

Even within the last three or four years, I have a greater ability to communicate, I think. I have more courage to show the stuff... And it does take courage.

If people are making fun of you then you're probably doing something right.

Whatever I was doing, even when I was at school, I never repressed anything that I felt. I wasn't flamboyant; I was actually quite reticent most of the time. But if I felt I had to do something, I did it.

I'm always curious about anyone who has enough passion to go onstage and say, 'This is what I'm really passionate about.' It's always worth listening to.

I'm inspired by people who are unapologetically themselves, from Bill Cosby to Fahim Anwar. Just funny people.

You can't do your work worrying about what people will think of it - you kind of just have to do your work.

Go for broke with what you believe and what you think is funny and what you're good at.

I think if you have any fear or shame, it's really hard to want to express yourself.