Duke Ellington

"If it sounds good and makes you feel good, then it's successful."

"The biggest sin is the waste of time and talent."

"I fear no man except myself."

"Composition is like dreaming in colors and sounds."

"A beautiful woman is worth more than all the money in the world."

"Lead your own life, create your own path."

"Music is the only common language that doesn't require words."

"Your past does not have to determine your future."

"Believe in yourself and others will too."

"The test of a first-rate mind is the ability to hold contradictory ideas."

"Life is neither black nor white, but infinite shades of color."

"What we do today echoes through eternity."

"The only real limitation is the one you accept in your mind."

"Great achievements come from great patience."

"Every person has within them a song waiting to be sung."

"Remember that work should be a pleasure."

"The purpose of music is to elevate the human spirit."

"Truth is like the sun. It can make you warm, or it can burn you."

"Dreams without effort remain only dreams."

"In matters of principle, never compromise."

"Show me a man without kindness and I'll show you a man without joy."

"The future belongs to those who believe in it."

"Every note has a purpose and a place."

"Loneliness is not the absence of people but the absence of purpose."

"Character is destiny."

"The beauty of art is that it speaks what words cannot."

"Success is not measured in applause but in the satisfaction of your soul."

"Fear is the enemy of progress."

"Time is the greatest teacher, if you listen."

"To be alive is to create."