Truth is the baby of the world. It never gets old.
Dick GregoryRead
We thought I was going to be a great athlete, and we were wrong, and I thought I was going to be a great entertainer, and that wasn't it either. I'm going to be an American Citizen. First class.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal identity and finding fulfillment beyond societal expectations of success.
Dick Gregory reflects on the pressures of pursuing greatness in athletics and entertainment, ultimately realizing that true success lies in embracing his identity as a dedicated citizen. Instead of adhering to external definitions of success, he champions the value of contributing to society and being true to oneself.
In practice
In a motivational speech to a group of young athletes about personal identity.
Truth is the baby of the world. It never gets old.
I never thought I'd see the day that I would see white folks as frightened, or more so, than black folks was during the civil rights movement when we was in Mississippi.
Just being a Negro doesn't qualify you to understand the race situation any more than being sick makes you an expert on medicine.
We used to root for the Indians against the cavalry, because we didn't think it was fair in the history books that when the cavalry won it was a great victory, and when the Indians won it was a massacre.
Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life. We shouldn't be a part of it.
Fear and God do not occupy the same space.
Okay, listen to me, you're stronger than they are. You are. They just want a good show, that's all they want. You know how to hunt. Show them how good you are.
Setting up a system that rewards you for meeting your goals and has penalties for failing to hit your target is just as important as putting your goals down on paper.
Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.
I hope I work effectively, but I never feel I have exhausted what I should be doing... I believe we have a responsibility to be a good influence on others.
... all things are possible if you are willing to put yourself on the line. You cannot stand back and hope for the best. You have to act.
Either you set your goals and, in doing so, have your life governed by choice or you do nothing and have your life governed by chance.
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