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I think on some level, role models are overrated. Had I required that another black man from the Bronx had become an astrophysicist for me to become one, I'd still be in the Bronx.

Your inexperience is an asset and will allow you to think in original, unconventional ways. Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset.

Remember when life brings challenges — it also brings opportunity!

Passion, not profit, should always be your guide.

The road to success is a long, winding road that is littered with wreckages of promising careers that crashed and burned. It's not a pretty thing to see talent wasted, it's even sadder to waste it yourself.

Hang your diploma on the wall and do some traveling. It is time to see the world.

You can't control how smart you are, how funny you are, how good-looking you are. The one thing you can control in your life is how hard you work.

In this text, tweet, twerk world that you've grown up in, remember that just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Don't confuse movement with progress.

Hold on to your own. There will be compromises, but that's not one of them. The more you listen to your own instincts, the better you're going to serve yourself, the grander you will serve your industry, and the happier you will be in your work.

Adversity is a necessary and important part of life. Adversity strengthens each of us in ways that success cannot.

It's not even a question of ethics or self-sacrifice or moral high ground, it's actually totally selfish. Being with people, doing for people, it's going to bring you joy. Unexpectedly, it just feels better.

Providing care is every bit as important as providing cash.