Carmen Rasmusen quotes:

The best advice I could give is be yourself. Before I was on the American Idol show I made goals for myself. I said, "Who do I want to be, and what will I compromise, or won't I compromise?" And then, I stuck with that.

I think that Mormonism as a whole has been misunderstood. So, I think, it's neat that people just get to learn a little bit more about what our faith is about and what we believe in.

My parents always have taught me 'you're good enough'. So, whenever I got bad comments from the judges, or I'd get on the Internet and read what bloggers have written about me, I would get so down, and I would get so sad. The biggest support group was obviously my parents, and I'd call them. And they'd build me up.

Love who you are, and you're good enough, and you don't need to feel like you need to apologize for who you are, and you don't need to feel like you need to try to be someone you're not.

When you're on the show that's not the time to make decisions. It's before you get on it, so you won't be swayed by pressure. Mentally prepare yourself for the show, and set goals for yourself and stick to them.

I think that you have to prepare yourself mentally for show business, because it is such a tough world. You don't realize how hard it is until you're actually in it and you're actually on the show.

My religion is my whole life. I love sharing it with people and clearing up any misunderstandings people might have about our Church.

Give it your best shot. Go for it. If it's what you really want to do, go for it. Even if you don't make it, you will never look back and have regrets. You can always say, "Hey, I went for it. I tried my hardest. It was an awesome experience."

You have to realize that, if you don't get signed right away, it's not because you're not talented. It's not because you're not good enough. The stars have to align perfectly in order to get signed. And sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.

Of course, with showbiz there's a lot of negative things, along with the positive, and it's just what you choose to focus on. And I choose to focus on the positive.