I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It's seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It's seeing what other people don't see And pursuing that vision.

We're at the crossroads. Down one road is a European centralized bureaucratic socialist welfare system in which politicians and bureaucrats define the future. Down the other road is a proud solid reaffirmation of American exceptionalism.

The future which we hold in trust for our own children will be shaped by our fairness to other people's children.

Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past which can bridge to the future.

In each action we must look beyond the action at our past present and future state and at others whom it affects and see the relations of all those things. And then we shall be very cautious.

Girls are the future mothers of our society and it is important that we focus on their well-being.

I think the future of psychotherapy and psychology is in the school system. We need to teach every child how to rarely seriously disturb himself or herself and how to overcome disturbance when it occurs.

I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.

I know why I am here and my only real focused goal is to live each day to the fullest and to try and honor God and be an encouragement to others. What the future holds is firmly in God's hands and I am very happy about that!

A mother's happiness is like a beacon lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.

Once I knew only darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.

They gave each other a smile with a future in it.

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present but it is a source of inspiration of vitality and hope where others have resigned it enables a man to hold his head high to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.

Let others lead small lives but not you. Let others argue over small things but not you. Let others cry over small hurts but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands but not you.

I think one of the basic tasks in life - one of the nice things we can do for each other - is to take things that are horrible and scary and make them acceptable and less frightening and if possible funny. It feels great to succeed at that.

You know if I started worrying about what the critics think I'd never make another comedy. You couldn't pick a less funny group than critics - you couldn't find a more bitter group of people!

It's a funny thing because you look at the careers of other filmmakers and you see them sort of slow down and you realize maybe this becomes harder to do as you get older. That's sort of a cautionary thing. I hope it doesn't happen to me.

I like the hot-cold the sugar-salt being able to play over-the-top and dramatic things - in the same film. Just as in my life I can be very funny and at other times almost extinguished.

The Islam of the 18th 19th and first half of the 20th century was a poor thing. Nobody bothered about it. Islam was that funny sort of pure system of beliefs that depressed people in the Middle East held as their religion.

I watched a lot of silent directors who were absolutely great like John Ford and Fritz Lang Tod Browning and also some very modern directors like The Coen Brothers. The directors take the freedom within their own movies to be melodramatic or funny when they chose to be. They do whatever they want and they don't care about the genre.

I can do comedy so people want me to do that but the other side of comedy is depression. Deep deep depression is the flip side of comedy. Casting agents don't realize it but in order to be funny you have to have that other side.

I remember listening to the radio as a kid and finding that the songs always made me feel more peaceful. Funny but the more hurtin' the music was the better it made me feel. I think of that now when I write my songs. I may not be feelin' the blues myself but I'm writing them for other people who have a hard life.

I would love to play 'Funny Girl' or 'Evita ' but I idolize the women who have played those parts. I don't know if there needs to be another version of those shows.