Russell Simmons Quotes

If you are a good giver, you will be great getter. The less you need, the more you attract.

Last year my wife got a Rolls-Royce.

A large portion of American citizens, especially people of color, have lost confidence in our criminal justice system. Many have called for appointing special prosecutors when a police officer kills or injures a civilian. If you were elected president, would you publicly support special prosecutors in these cases and what is one other thing you would do to fix our broken justice system?

[Performing artists] are making greater percentages. People are going to live events more and it's a big success story for everyone - except the music industry itself.

In the yogic tradition, this principle of using intense effort to burn through life's distractions is called Tapas. It's another Sanskrit word, roughly defined as "heat" or "essential energy." The concept is that through a disciplined approach to work and self-sacrifice, Tapas will burn away the negativity that separates us from God. By working our hardest and happily enduring the hardships of life we are able to create a sense of peace and clarity in ourselves.

There's something about the authenticity that Hollywood is missing when it comes to urban culture.

The imagination is how things get done. You have to cultivate creativity.

There are poor white people who hear rap music and feel it is about them, because it is. That's why you have an Eminem and a Bubba Sparxxx and rappers like that.

Urban pop culture is its own phenomena that is for some reason is left out of Hollywood. It's the most mainstream thing there is.

I've been thinking a lot about gay marriage. I'm a big supporter.

There are so many urban pop ideas that are underserved, and I think Hollywood doesn't see us and misses the opportunity to integrate.

I couldn't guarantee that someone could get off their medication. But I suspect that meditation instead of Ritalin would change the life of any kid with ADD.

The research shows that if you meditate, the mind becomes still, and they can see the functionality and gray matter in the brain increase, the nervous system calm, the immune system improve and a reduction in stress.

There is no religious or any kind of a gender that should separate you from any religious ideas.

I used to think anxiety and insomnia drove me to success, but it was the stillness that let me be good at anything. When you extend the seconds of stillness, that's when you're able to think and learn.

Hip-hop is such a wide statement of culture that everyone is not the same, and it's impossible to put it into one box.

People build themselves up before you even have to deal with them.

The word mantra comes from two Sanskrit words man, ("to think") and tra ("tool'). So the literal translation is "a tool of thought." And that's how mantras are used in Buddhist and Hindu practices, as tools that clear your mind of distractions. Because when you focus on repeating that mantra over and over again, soon the noise will die down and all you will hear is your inner voice.

Coming out of my first yoga class, I was astonished that there were nothing but hot girls there. Just 55 girls, Bobby Shriver, who's a buddy of mine, and myself. I came out of class, I was so high. I been sober 26 years, but I'm an ex-druggie.

The greatest tool to eliminate the noise is meditation.

Gratefulness is a practice, just like happiness is a choice.

Hip-hop took some lessons from rock 'n' roll, and rock 'n' roll took some lessons from hip-hop.

I think when you're very dedicated to something and you're engaged fully, you become a giver.

I don't miss my prayers and I don't miss my yoga. Those things are important to me.

You have to learn to laugh all the time. It's a practice of life. It's a practice of happiness.

When I started the diamond business, no black person, period, was in it to do what we're trying to do to change the industry. So I like to do things that I see clearly that are in my, you know, scope. And then, I had to figure how I get talented or smart business people around me to execute. That's what I have to do.

I'm a full disclosure kind of person.

I kind of think that artists throughout history, poets throughout history have been criticized for sharing what's on people's minds and I don't think it's any different now.

Those who need nothing attract everything.

You don't expect a 94-year-old white guy to pick "Dope," which was an awesome movie not even close to being considered by the Academy. And that's what it's all about, like, promoting people who might not otherwise get promoted and celebrating people who might not get celebrated.

Every time I go into a new venture, I find a "rabbi" who has the business acumen to help me understand the mechanics of that industry, the costs involved in developing a product, and what you need to do in order to make a profit.

Nowhere in the Bible, Koran, or Torah does it say, "If you curse, then you're going to hell." But everywhere it says that if you kill, you're going to wherever they send you, depending on the religion.

You just have to smile and breathe. You do the best you can with what you have and that's it.

If you play basketball, you get into the zone. You can't miss. That's the expansive mindset we're all seeking. But that only comes when the mind is quiet and separate from the noise. And the greatest tool to eliminate the noise is meditation.

Decide that no matter what is happening around you, the sun will always be shining in your world.

There is a subject - there is a research that says a man thinks about sex every 12 seconds. And so when an artist expresses something that's sexual in music it is a reflection of our reality. If we want that reality changed, then we have to do things that affect the core.

The always-connected culture isn't as much a contributor as Grace might think. The nervous mind, the monkey mind, will create its own noise. It doesn't need a new toy.

When you're a good giver you're a good getter.

I ask everyone - white Hollywood and black Hollywood - to get outside of your comfort zone and make friends. That's where they're going to learn from each other, and that's where they're going to make better movies and make Hollywood a better place.

You've got to do things that promote what's important.

Always focus on your effort, instead of the results of that effort.

I can't pay my [bills]. I can't go to work. My car is out of gas.

I look for people who have insight in places where I don't.

Respect your parents. What they tell you is true. Hard work, dedication and faith will get you anything. Imagination will drive itself. You can get anything you want, but you have to have faith behind all your ideas. Stick to your goals and have an undying faith.

My little girls are the most beautiful women in the world. I am a lucky, lucky man. I will spend every day making sure that they know this.

Service is the key to everything in life.

You will be a great entrepreneur if you operate with a real sincere wanting to serve.

If it feels like your life has become a nasty, brackish puddle of water, never forget that you do possess the power to transform it into a beautiful, rushing stream that will carry you to enlightenment.