Russell Simmons quotes:

Respect your parents. What they tell you is true. Hard work, dedication and faith will get you anything. Imagination will drive itself. You can get anything you want, but you have to have faith behind all your ideas. Stick to your goals and have an undying faith.

My little girls are the most beautiful women in the world. I am a lucky, lucky man. I will spend every day making sure that they know this.

My financial service business is the absolute best thing I have done to empower the poor. I run many charities and fight many political causes, but my financial service company is the greatest gift I've given.

Hip-hop is a voice for voiceless poor people.

Poverty and lack of knowledge must be challenged.

I want to promote poetry to the point where you got all the baldhead kids running around doing poetry, getting the music out of the way and having only words, the spoken word, and then see what happens.

Art is a way to express yourself and through that you can escape a bad situation.

The reason that I have Global Grind is to communicate ideas to people who might otherwise not be listening.

If you wake up deciding what you want to give versus what you're going to get, you become a more successful person. In other words, if you want to make money, you have to help someone else make money.

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.

I try to keep a positive intention and use whatever resources I have to benefit others. I try to create businesses that I think are not hurtful. I try to do things that I think are helpful to the environment, to the animals, and to the planet.

People are afraid of failure - they don't like to work so hard and have people keep saying, 'No.' I think that's what people fear most.

If you give a good thing to the world, then over time your karma will be good, and you'll receive good.

I go to yoga every day. I meditate every morning.

My experiences have been, from the very beginning, cultural and creative. And my business has been a way of exposing the culture, exposing the artists so that the world could hear and see them.

I try to make my life about service, and hope that one day we can all 'see' a little better because God is with everyone and everywhere.

I think the idea of getting money out of politics is critical.

There was a moment when I was watching Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in 'Badboys' that I felt, you know, inspired. I don't know if I was proud, because so many people do the work. Everyone's part of a team that develops over the years and gives people chances. There have been some good moments watching people develop.

I don't spend any time thinking about my place in history, ever. If people say I changed things, it's nice, and I take it - but if I could give it to a charity it would be useful. I really believe now that my only job in life is to achieve a state of comfort and happiness.

American democracy is spoiled by people buying everything in sight and then selling and buying everything in sight, including our politicians.

If you wake up deciding what you want to give versus what you're going to get, you become a more successful person.

Service is the key to everything in life.

I mostly eat healthy. I just do. I'm not a vegan for health reasons - although obviously I'm 20 pounds lighter than when I started. I stayed 20 pounds lighter. I feel better. My friends say I look better. All that's true. But I'm a vegan for compassionate reasons.

To be awake is to be fully present, no noise, just you and God. Most of us only have seconds of full consciousness. To live in a state of Samadhi - that's what we're here for.

You can't jump to vegan if you're not. Some people are absolute. Some people are able to be gradual.

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.

The conditions of suffering that exist today in our impoverished communities are not acceptable. The reflection of those conditions are less concerning to me. And I work everyday about changing the conditions.

I want to get involved in things that makes a difference in peoples lives and lifts them up. I don't want to be a part of anything that's not inspiring or helpful to the community that I'm serving.

When I started the diamond business, no black person, period, was in it to do what we're trying to do to change the industry. So I like to do things that I see clearly that are in my, you know, scope. And then, I had to figure how I get talented or smart business people around me to execute. That's what I have to do.

Most people believe that results matter. The idea that results matter is one that you have to keep letting go of. And most of the time, I believe it.

I don't use my brain about the creative thing. From a business standpoint, I instinctively do things: when I get something right, it's never because I use my brain.

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

Well, it's the last step of the civil rights movement: You know, wrap your hands around some money, right?

I think I'm less afraid of failure than some others.

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you."

Every time I go into a new venture, I find a "rabbi" who has the business acumen to help me understand the mechanics of that industry, the costs involved in developing a product, and what you need to do in order to make a profit.

I don't want to appease everyone. It seems very difficult to be steadfast on truth and be a politician.

Whatever you chase will run away from you. So, stop chasing success and realize you already have it all.

Be encouraged. Stay on your hustle. You can't fail until u quit.

Look at all the billionaires. If I know 15 billionaires, I know 13 unhappy people.

There are poor white people who hear rap music and feel it is about them, because it is. That's why you have an Eminem and a Bubba Sparxxx and rappers like that.

My wife Kimora once told me while we were watching "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that it's a vegetarian movie because the way that the woman was screaming, "Aaaahhh," and trying to run away is how every animal you eat reacted at the slaughterhouse.

A large portion of American citizens, especially people of color, have lost confidence in our criminal justice system. Many have called for appointing special prosecutors when a police officer kills or injures a civilian. If you were elected president, would you publicly support special prosecutors in these cases and what is one other thing you would do to fix our broken justice system?

Whatever obstacles appear in your path, put your head down and get past them. Those obstacles aren't real. They're just God's way of testing you. He's asking you, 'Do you want to make it or not?'

No matter what you're doing, try to work at that task like it's your dream job.

I know some people say "Keep your eyes on the prize," but I disagree. When your eyes are stuck on the prize, you're going to keep stumbling and crashing into things. If you really want to get ahead, you've got to keep your eyes focused on the path.

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.

That really is the best part of being a dad. You remember what's important in life.

Hip-hop is about tearing down the system to better it, tearing down the system to better themselves. No matter how flimsy it might seem, they always wanted the finer things in life.

Gratefulness is a practice, just like happiness is a choice.

No matter where you want to go, as long as you follow your path with faith, dedication and hard work, you are going to get there.

The thing about hip-hop is that it's from the underground, ideas from the underbelly, from people who have mostly been locked out, who have not been recognized.

Being a thoughtful vegan makes our time on this Earth more peaceful and joyous, because you get to have a hand in promoting and increasing the happiness, good health and well-being of others -- both animal and human -- rather than being an instrument of their suffering and death.

Antisemitism is just another form of racism. It's the same sickness, whether it's about Christians, about Islamophobia, which is horrible. It's all wrong. It's all the same.

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

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

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.

There are no failures, only quitters

The word mantra comes from two Sanskrit words man, ("to think") and tra ("tool'). So the literal translation is "a tool of thought." And that's how mantras are used in Buddhist and Hindu practices, as tools that clear your mind of distractions. Because when you focus on repeating that mantra over and over again, soon the noise will die down and all you will hear is your inner voice.

It is crucial that rappers have the chance to express the truth that is in their heart.

The difference between blues, jazz, rock n' roll and rap is that rap stayed poor. Even the white rappers are poor. It's scarier to look at poor people; it makes everyone uncomfortable. Their pain is something that people would like to see swept under the rug.

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.

Nowhere in the Bible, Koran, or Torah does it say, "If you curse, then you're going to hell." But everywhere it says that if you kill, you're going to wherever they send you, depending on the religion.

I think people instinctively know that their job is to give service and that they are part of a community. It had a great impact on me when my father walked the picket lines and I walked with him during the civil rights movement.

In my experience, there's only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That's to have a vision and to stick with it... Once I have a vision for a new venture, I'm going to ride that vision until the wheels come off.

You know, I love all kinds of activism. I certainly think blacks deserve to have something whether it is affirmative action or an opportunity that should be opened up to them. But at the same time I believe that people of color are not the only poor people in America and all over the world.

I have 2 million Twitter followers. Some of those people are also yogis and activists and people who really go out and make a difference. I do as much as I can with my voice. It's effortless in some cases. I try to remind everybody that they have that kind of voice.

I run a bunch of charities and I say this line to people: 'I am somebody who has always been helped.' A little thing like that can make people believe it.

The book 'Do You!' is about your inner voice. And when you connect to that voice then you - then the freedom comes. And we're only here to be happy. So happy makes money. Money doesn't make happy.

Judgment of the people in the situation is not helpful. How can you help them is the question.

I am very lucky that I have talented and creative people around me. Also, mediation has been a very big part of my freedom, because it allows me to watch all the things going on and allows me to focus.

You know, the diversity that America has is so special. It's starting to really become a cool thing for young people.

I think when you're very dedicated to something and you're engaged fully, you become a giver.

I've been blessed to find people who are smarter than I am, and they help me to execute the vision I have.

Young people, when they're left alone, always want to have compassion, and they always want to give. They always want to help people who are less fortunate.

People will always blame the poets for society's ills. But these are the true artists.

"...piling up zeros in your bank account, or cars in your driveway, won't in and of itself make you successful. Rather, true success is based on a constant flow of giving and recieving. In fact, if you look up affluence in the dictionary, you'll see its root is a Latin phrase meaning "to flow with abundance". So in order to be truly affluent, you must always let what you have recieved flow back into the world."

...if we are open and we prepare for promoting dialogue and love, and a better understanding of each other, and tolerance and so forth, that's what the world will become, a more tolerant, loving place.

[Performing artists] are making greater percentages. People are going to live events more and it's a big success story for everyone - except the music industry itself.

[T]here's nobody Black in charge of anything in Hollywood.

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.

A clear and focused mind will last a lifetime. Getting your mind in shape is nothing less than the key to sustainable success in the world.

A more happy mind leads to quietness and clarity. And that clarity helps you have a greater capacity to do more and to become more successful and more giving.

A person's strength is to know their weaknesses.

A poet or a comedian can say what's on the mind of people. They should be funny. They should make you laugh. It may be so truthful that it hurts, but it makes you laugh.

Actresses are kind of a little crazy.

Always focus on your effort, instead of the results of that effort.

Always try to be yourself.

America, you know, they always separate people because of race. They've been able to convince, 'The niggers are coming.' You know, the diversity that America has is so special. It's starting to really become a cool thing for young people. Not only because there are more mixes of people, but because people are more open-minded about each other. So I think in the future, America has a great, great opportunity, and mostly because of hip-hop.

An animal products diet is like smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

And the more people meditate, the more it increases the positive vibrations turning the planet into a positive, happy place. The more you do that, the greater service you are to God.

Anyone whose mission is keeping people apart is swimming against a very strong tide.

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

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

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

Being materialistic is part of the hip-hop community's nature, because jazz and blues and rock 'n' roll, when they started out in the urban communities, were about the American Dream, and the lack of opportunity in that structure. So they talked about everything - uplifting and getting what is perceived as success in America.

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

But rich or poor, black or white, none of us are entitled to anything.

By listening to your higher self, or Atman, you can return to the truth that's already inside of you and in the process change not only yourself, but the entire world, through positivity and love.

Coming out of my first yoga class, I was astonished that there were nothing but hot girls there. Just 55 girls, Bobby Shriver, who's a buddy of mine, and myself. I came out of class, I was so high. I been sober 26 years, but I'm an ex-druggie.

Compassion is the ultimate expression of your highest self

Cruelty is cruelty, whether it's cruelty to children, to the elderly, to dogs and cats, or to chickens.

Culture in America and everywhere else comes from the suffering, from those who don't want the old ways. They want to bring in the new, whether it's the ballet, when it started, or Shakespeare.

Decide that no matter what is happening around you, the sun will always be shining in your world.

Donald Trump's not politically correct. Although you are running for president, you should be politically correct. But there is also the expression of an artist.

Don't ruin a good today by thinking of a bad yesterday, Let it go!

Don't worry what others are doing. Do you!

Embrace struggle... It is your greatest teacher.

Every day set the simple goal of trying to be more awake and less distracted.

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.

Everyone's goal is to be happy. Happiness is achieved by promoting happiness to others.

Everything you need to know about success is inside of you, because I believe it is inside of all of us. That is, all human beings have potential for infinite success.

Fortunately, Hollywood is open to change. It's just a question of how to go about doing it.

Gangsta rappers, they call them. Not nearly as gangsta as the things that inspire them.. you know, a gangsta government that we operate under.

Get unstuck from whatever it is you perceive is holding you back from realizing your dreams.

Get your hustle on... Hard work is easy, working out is hard.

Give what you want to receive. If you want happiness, make others happy.

Good givers are great getters.

Happy can make you money, but money can't make you happy.

Hip-hop is such a wide statement of culture that everyone is not the same, and it's impossible to put it into one box.