How do you grow up in the shadow of a guy - I want to talk about the movie in a second - but how do you grow up in the shadow of a guy who really is a legend in his own time? Tavis Smiley More Quotes by Tavis Smiley More Quotes From Tavis Smiley My role on television is one of helping people reexamine the assumptions that they hold. I regard Dr. King. You would never hear me get up and speak without in some way, shape or form, referencing, Dr. King. Tavis Smiley roleskingspeople Take your focus off how others see you. Cease being obsessed with the need to impress your friends and your foes. Keep your concern on the vision you see in the mirror. Don’t allow the approval of others to obstruct your view of you. Tavis Smiley approval-of-othersmirrorsviews Poverty and wealth inequality are a form of instability into the future. Tavis Smiley wealthpovertyform We come to know who we really are in life during the dark and difficult and desolate days of our journey. Tavis Smiley difficultjourneydark Jamestown changed the world in many ways, but perhaps it shaped our nation most profoundly the day Africans arrived. I can't think of a more relevant place to talk about the issues facing our community today than the place where African culture became American culture. Tavis Smiley issuescommunitythinking What determines your altitude in life is your attitude. Tavis Smiley determinelife-isattitude This is not a skill problem, this is a will problem. Does America have the will to make education a priority? We know the things that work. Why don't we scale up those things that do work. Tavis Smiley prioritiesskillsamerica When it comes to the president, we have to respect him, we have to protect him, and we have to correct him. And in my career, since he'd been on the national stage at least, I've had - I've always respected the president. Tavis Smiley stagecareerspresident We give you the facts. I told you information is power - knowledge is power. We can't be in an ideological battle to redeem the soul of this country if we don't have the facts. Tavis Smiley information-is-powergivingcountry I believe there is nothing we endure in life that you can't recover from. Failure is not fatal. Everyone has the capacity to fail up. Tavis Smiley failingcapacitybelieve Loving your enemy is a radical concept. Tavis Smiley loving-youradicalenemy The City of Angels is a microcosm of the world, and so living in L.A. makes me feel like a citizen of the world. Tavis Smiley citizensangelcities There are really only two types of people. Either you're running scared or you're running free. I choose to run free, and you can, too, no matter what your circumstances in life. Tavis Smiley runningtwopeople I believed that President Obama was a good choice a couple of years ago because I felt that, as a black man, if he could win, it would open up progressive possibilities in this country for a lot of people. That was my major reason for believing his candidacy was a good thing. However, I don't endorse candidates, given the type of work that I do. My job is to hold people accountable. Tavis Smiley couplebelievecountry Life is about committing ourselves on a daily basis to the best in us. Freedom is a state of mind. Freedom is an attitude. Freedom is a spirit. You may be behind bars, but you still have the capacity to be free. I've visited some people behind bars who are freer than Negroes I see running around every day. Being in jail, or poor, or uneducated doesn't determine how free you can be. There are really only two types of people. Either you're running scared or you're running free. I choose to run free, and you can, too, no matter what your circumstances in life. Tavis Smiley runningattitudepeople I'm talking about France and Germany and Italy and Spain - new friend Germany - and I love that story, how they lead the world in some things that the world needs leadership in. Amongst them we're the only ones without national healthcare. Can't go to a hospital and not worry about falling into bankruptcy. They go to university free. We're killing our students with debt. That scares me. Tavis Smiley worrytalkingfall Music is the soundtrack of our lives, it's essential for our lives. Tavis Smiley soundtracksmusic-isessentials I think the issue of women's choice is essential for a woman being able to have their lives - if they cannot control their own bodies by choosing if or when to have a child, then they cannot control their working life or anything around them. Tavis Smiley issueschildrenthinking I can't count the number of people I've talked to over the course of my career who have said to me that the thing that they most regret is the one time they did something just for the money. Tavis Smiley regretcareersnumbers We're all cracked vessels, and we're always in process, I think, every one of us. Tavis Smiley vesselprocessthinking
