Russell Simmons Quotes

What holds most people back isn't the quality of their ideas, but their lack of faith in themselves.

As long as you are passionate about your vision, you should keep moving forward.

It's all about the work. Nothing is going to fall into your lap.

Sitting in stillness has got to be the greatest asset I have in terms of attaining happiness.

I'm not a politician. I only want to help relieve the suffering in communities, and I want to help people see their community in each other.

Sometimes, a new toy, a new technology, will focus you. The world is always trying to draw you out, so you always have to remember to go in.

As I get, I give. Giving as you get is critical. It has everything to do with being happy for yourself, and making others happy is the cause of making yourself happy, and it’s the cycle of giving and getting.

There is no happiness until the mind is still. The cause of all sickness and sadness is the fluctuation of the mind.

Meditation helps everything.

You can be anything you want to be, and you can start today, instead of waiting for some opportunity.

You've got to keep reminding yourself of what's important.

The person who understands Dharma will have the opposite reaction to a "hard" job. That person will be eager to get started, no matter what kind of work is in front of her, because she understands that she's doing God's work. And when you're working for God, nothing is too hard.

The best way to protect both the policemen and the community going forward is by creating a system that's just, where everyone feels safe.

Actresses are kind of a little crazy.

I have a pilot called The Re-Education of Oliver Cooper starring the white kid from Project X where follows a black girl to a black university, like in Legally Blonde. I have so many fun projects.

I think Hollywood is incredibly segregated. I've never seen any place like it.

In the morning I stand up, scratch a little bit, then I light a candle and I meditate. Every morning. I've been meditating for maybe 20 years. I meditate so I can make choices; so I'm not a sheep all the time. So I can see better than what everyone else is doing.

I think that's what made rap such a stable footprint in culture, that it's so honest.

That was never my intention to compete with the Oscars.

Poverty and lack of knowledge must be challenged.

The poets who do this are uniquely conscious of this silence, this stillness.

Success is happiness. People say, "Oh that sounds corny." No matter how rich you are you can only sit your ass in one seat at a time. You have to be comfortable in that seat.

It's very simple: When you're working your hardest, the world opens up to you.

86% of its audience was made up of people of color. That tells you that the full potential of many black stars won't be realized until their audiences are fully integrated.

I feel the choices our president Barack Obama is making now are safer and better.

At the shock of a joke, everything disappears but the present moment.

I'm a big supporter of President Obama.

At the core of everything that is hurtful to humanity is a lack of consciousness.

Music is the noise that surrounds the stillness of the art form.

Reacting to the world with a smile instead of a curse, a wave instead of the middle finger, will actually help you live longer.

They're lacking culture in Hollywood. That gives me a big up, right? I know something about pop culture.

I don't fault business. If you run a corporation, your job is to maximize the return on investment for your investors. Good for you. But by the same token, we have to remember that corporations have no compassion. That's why legislation and regulations are necessary.

No matter how rich you are, you cannot transport yourself to the future or the past.

I mean people are sexist and racist and homophobic and violent. But I don't think of the rappers as being any more sexist or racist or homophobic than their parents. Certainly less, in all those cases, less homophobic or racist or sexist, and then less gangster than our government. It's stuff that people normally don't speak on, subjects they don't speak on, and ideas they kind of keep to themselves.

Nowadays, if you're a great artist, you don't have to leave the house, which is a really big difference. You're closer to the artist. And the artist can be closer to their artistry without having to always worry about branding themselves or building something image-wise.

Black actors on the road, flying around the country working as poets. Those people are inspirations for millions of kids who write.

The seconds of presence are where most inspiration comes. There are sunsets that promote it.

That happens to me everyday. I watch my thoughts, not only on the mat, but all through the day.

There's one overriding issue, namely, that we live in a police state so long as the police get to police themselves. And that is why cops go unindicted.

Quiet time is the key. We have hundreds of thousands of kids around the country meditating through the David Lynch Foundation.

I think if you're open-minded, the road will take you where it takes you. If you're closed, you might not get to go where the road is heading.

It is only through opening your hearts will you be able to see that by promoting freedom for all, you are unchaining yourself. I guess I'm an optimist. I have faith in people and our government ultimately to do the right thing. And to my brothers and sisters in California, I'm there with you every step of the way until that day comes...

Every day we all make mistakes ourselves, but, and we all sometimes have some...harbor some prejudices and all, but we have to know in our heart it's wrong. And we all want to remember that we are connected. And that any kind of racism is wrong.

I'm lucky that I have a platform that I can answer my own questions.

When you do good by the world, the world will do good by you

No matter where you're from or what you've done, you're never stuck in a particular circumstance, relationship, or cycle unless you say you are.

You'll see a lot of funny stuff, you'll see a lot of daddy knows best stuff, you'll see a lot of me and my wife trying to hold the family together.

Art allows people a way to dream their way out of their struggle.