Quotes by Mary J. Blige

“You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.”

“I barely have time for my own children. To adopt more children and not have time for them, that would be poor parenting on my part.”

“You can't get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it.”

“Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped g...”

“I truly enjoy Bono. I think he is an amazing person I love him. ”

“When you finally understand who you are, ages 6 through 60 will understand who you are. Because when they see a person that's come through all that I've come through, still standing, it's amazing.”

“Just don't let the hype of what people are saying and how much they love you, y'know, just take the compliment and be thankful that people are complimenting you, but don't let it consume you; don't...”

“I don't know. Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose and I choose to win.”

“God comes first - if I don't love him, I can't love anybody, and if I can't love me I can't love nobody.”

“I wish I had known that education is the key. That knowledge is power. Now I pick up books and watch educational shows with my husband. I'm seeing how knowledge can elevate you.”

“I've just been growing right along. It's painful, but it's a great pain, and I like suffering for great results. It's like going to the gym. It hurts really bad at first, but after a couple of mont...”

“You can hate me. You can go out there and say anything you want about me, But you will love me later because I told you the truth.”

“Don't give up, be positive and if you know someone who knows someone at a record company don't stop beating down their door till you get heard. Don't ever say it'll never happen or it'll never happen.”

“I like to do interior design, I love to quilt, I love to see different colors together, and I love to match things up.”

“When someone comes up to me and says, 'Mary, you helped save my marriage', or, 'Mary, you helped me get out of this abusive relationship', I'm in it, really in their lives. And I'm so passionate ab...”

“I don't listen to people's opinions. I have people around me who I can trust, but most of all I listen to myself.”

“I had to learn how to trust my gut. Trust what I know to be right... not right, but not waver on who I am. Know who I am, know what I want, and know it. Not waver on it and be secure in that. And I...”

“I remember a time when all my fans were crying and sad and going through hell. Now, we're trying to uplift each other and accept ourselves for who we are, even if nobody else does.”

“I just want fans to walk away knowing that no matter what's going on, no matter how happy you are, no matter how sad you are, we did it. We're strong in this. We've come a long way, and life is not...”

“I wish I had an extra day with my mom sometimes. Or another hour in the day with my family, husband and children.”