It is not possible to erase racism just because African-Americans have reached a level of financial success and crossover appeal.

Never duck responsibility, its like running from the rain only to fall into the river.

Always define your area of excellence. Establish the area where you will be the best.

I'm a strong supporter of comfort breeds complacency. Growing up poor I wasn't comfortable, and my mom had to work so hard and I woke up one day and decided I was not going to come home until I could help her pay the bills.

We have to learn to face our fears and push ourselves. If you're living on earth and you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room. When you push past the fear and realize that what you feared was not a big deal, you gain more confidence.

Being an impatient person, I wanted to do what my grandmother said: "Do as much as you can as fast as you can; be as productive as possible." But you must be patient. So I have struggled to balance patience with being an impatient person, and trying to find a happy medium.

We have to find areas in our lives that we feel most uncomfortable about and want to change. I decided to push myself because it allowed me to give back. I have a scholarship program. When I found out the average age of a homeless person is 9½ years old, I said there must be something that I can do. Now, I am the spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless.