The best revenge is massive success.
Nashville, there's people that are ten times more talented than me, ten times better singer than me, song writer than me, but for some reason you get the ball, and now - and now you run with it. And you do the best you can.
I have never had the ambition to be famous for nothing. You have to do something with your life.
The reality is you don't have to be the No. 1 pick to make it big anymore.
You move to New York. You want to be the biggest, most fully realized version of yourself you can be. A lot of that is fueled by this desire to not feel small, and to make a name for myself and establish myself in a way that wasn't expected of me.
I wanted to be the next Dana Carvey. This was my ultimate goal. If I ever cut into a birthday cake and made a wish, I would wish to be on 'Saturday Night Live.' If I threw a coin into a fountain, I would wish to be on 'Saturday Night Live.' If I saw a shooting star, I would wish to be on 'Saturday Night Live.'
I tell people, 'I was born in a little house at the dead end of a dirt road that had no name and no number, and you can go anywhere from nowhere.'
I wasn't featured in NXT. I never had a TakeOver match. I never held a title. I wasn't a featured athlete. I knew, going in to SmackDown Live, I had to kick down the door and take every opportunity for what it was, and sometimes in WWE - and in life - those opportunities don't come back.
It's so hard to make noise coming from a small town that by the time you start branding yourself, you've grown in a certain way.
The whole thing about me being The Showstopper - and Mr. WrestleMania - is that it was something I said once, and it took on a life of its own from there. Truthfully, I think the idea of going out and stealing the show is something you ought to do every time you wrestle. But if you focus only on that element, you end up doing almost too much.
I've been acting since I was 15 years old professionally, and I've never been asked on the 'TODAY' show or anything like that. And now here I am on the 'TODAY' show, it's bizarre!
There is a very difficult period in a comedian's career - it's that window of time where you're good enough to draw tickets but nobody knows you yet.
I could have gone to a bigger school. I use it as motivation going to a school that loved me. I wanted to put them on the map and show everyone that you don't need to go to a top school to make it in the NBA.
At the same time most people were getting out of college, I was offered a buttload of cash to star in a movie. I don't think most students would have said no.
Nobody wants to get into controversies, especially in the film industry. I do not wish to be a controversial girl. But sometimes you have to take tough decisions that might eventually help your career.
Snoop ain't never cosigned me, but I know everybody is like, 'That's the next Snoop.' Nah, I'm Nipsey, and I got to work to define myself.
I've never been asked to do a collaboration. I guess I just don't give off that come-and-get-me vibe. I wouldn't be adverse to doing one with Coldplay or U2 - anyone who sells 50 million albums.
I would take up any small job on the sets, just so that I could hang around with the hope of getting noticed.
It isn't easy being a star kid that way when you have to tackle all the pressure and still make your mark.
I quit it because at the end of seven years in an ensemble show with one leader, I thought: 'I will be known as 'Dallas' starring Larry Hagman and the cast.' And at this point in my career - I was in my mid to late 30s - I thought, 'Now is the time when it's hottest for me to go out and establish my thing.'
I think that every boxer should understand he's on the pedestal for a short span. It's best that you use boxing and don't let boxing use you. Use boxing to sell, because people are selling you through your boxing career, so you have to learn to sell yourself, and you'll never starve.
Show business is a struggle. I certainly wish that I had just blasted on the scene and not had quite such a hard time. But there's a great sense of the relief in that you don't have to prove yourself anymore.
Because I think in order to get famous you have to be known for something. Like 'You're the romantic comedy girl' or 'You're the Oscar-winning whatever girl.'
I wasn't star struck, but you know you're in the game when you're eye-to-eye with Nicki Minaj. It means you made it.
I have always said you only get one shot in life as a footballer.
