Denzel Washington Quotes

Put God first in everything you do ... Everything that I have is by the grace of God, understand that. It's a gift ... I didn't always stick with Him, but He stuck with me.

Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.

Be careful what you ask for because when you pray for rain, you have to deal with the mud as well.

Don't aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference.

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss, or dream? Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt by the heart.

At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what you've done with those accomplishments. Its about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It about what you've given back" (23).

The chances you take… the people you meet… the people you love...the faith that you have - that’s what’s going to define your life.

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.

I pray that you all put your shoes way under the bed at night so that you gotta get on your knees in the morning to find them. And while you're down there thank God for grace and mercy and understanding. We all fall short of the glory, we all got plenty.

Fall forward. Here's what I mean: Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his career - the most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. Fall forward. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't either - because number 1,001 was the light bulb. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand?

I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially.

A man once told me that you step out of your door in the morning, and you are already in trouble. The only question is are you on top of that trouble or not?

Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

In marriage, if you're a guy, learn two phrases. One is "yes, dear" and the other is "honey, you're right." Be patient. Be good friends first. And stick together. You gotta work at it. It's not all a honeymoon, it's not all flowers and roses, but if you're friends and partners and committed, you'll be okay. And everybody's got advice for you - don't listen.

Just stick with your kids. There's no set of rules on how to be a parent. No handbook. Just hang around your kids and ask them a lot of questions. You have to stay involved in your children's lives and monitor everything they're doing whether they like it or not. You're not in the job of making them like it. You're there to protect them in a world that can be troubling.

You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. ... Now, I've been blessed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in my life. I can't take it with me, and neither can you. It's not how much you have but what you do with what you have.

My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don't need another plaque.

Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what.

I'm very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic make-up, but it's not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I answer every question.

I don't concern myself with award. I'd been to the party enough times to know it really didn't matter.

If you don't fail, you're not even trying.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Some people say it's a heck of a down payment, though.

The greatest lesson I've learned in life is "Who knows what's good or bad?" Things come along that you really want, and they turn out to be the worst thing in the world. And some of the worst tragedies that you can conceive turn out to be the best things, the exact medicine you need in that moment.

The secret to a happy marriage? Do whatever your wife tells you. 'Yes, dear.' And breathe.

Some said America took a step forward electing a black president. In light of the unconstitutiona l expansion of powers, lack of transparency and fueling the fires of unrest that clearly hasn't been the case. Vote based on merits, not to fill a racial quota.

Success? I don't know what that word means. I'm happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody's eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That's a good day for me.

Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

I believe in God. I don't fear man, I fear God.

My faith helps me understand that circumstances don't dictate my happiness, my inner peace.

You can’t break me because you didn’t make me.

You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it.

True desire in the heart for anything good is God's proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it's yours already.

Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do.

Dreams without goals, are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment.

Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.

Writing is a weapon and it’s more powerful than a fist could ever be.

For me, success is inner peace. That's a good day for me.

A film is just like a muffin. You make it. You put it on the table. One person might say, 'Oh, I don't like it.' One might say it's the best muffin ever made. One might say it's an awful muffin. It's hard for me to say. It's for me to make the muffin.

When we shot "Cry Freedom," I wasn't even allowed in South Africa. They told me I could come but I wasn't going to leave. I had heavy death threats at that time. So we shot in Zimbabwe. In 1995, I had the privilege and the honor to meet Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela the same day: I had breakfast with Desmond Tutu and lunch with Nelson Mandela. Then I had the good fortune to have Mr. Mandela actually come to my house in California. There's been a tremendous amount of change.

I've worked in a factory. I was a garbage man. I worked in a post office. It's not that long ago. I like to think that I'm just a regular guy.

Cursed be the ground for our sake. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us. For out of the ground we were taken, for the dust we are and to the dust we shall return.

There's always got to be room for what you might call benign corruption. Nobody blames a man who steals food to feed his starving children, but on the other hand, somebody who picks up a badge and takes an oath to serve and protect; we do expect a certain level of essential honesty.

The Bible says "faith without works is nothing" so destiny is great, fate is great, faith is great - but you still have to work at it. I don't just sit at home and wait for it all to unfold.

For whatever reason, God has blessed me with the ability, put me in a position to make these leaps and bounds. I'm fulfilling my part of the bargain, which is to give back and be a positive influence on others.

My mother never gave up one me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back.

Thank God in advance for what's already yours.

I think that we all at some point are in search of something - a higher power, whatever you want to call it, the meaning of life. I know I was, especially at even my son's age in my 20s, and dabbling in Eastern philosophies and yoga and Buddhism and Christianity and Islam. I kind of touched them all, you know, just trying to figure out the meaning of life or if nothing else, figure myself out.

There's a book called "The Sociopath Next Door." I thought most sociopaths were violent. In fact, they aren't. But almost all sociopaths want to win, no matter what.

I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it.