Russell Simmons Quotes

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 soundtrack in the poetry is the soundtrack from your own heartbeat.

The beautiful thing about meditation is that it allows you to access that cool guy or girl inside of you that's waiting to come out. You'll be able to access the part of you that people like to be around. The part of you that feels upbeat about things. That feels like you're moving toward your goals without frustration and anxiety. That feels ecstatic to be alive! The more I meditate, the more I have these moments.

People are murdering each other without any recourse ... So we need to get in our communities and work from the inside out.

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

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.

You know, sometimes people never get to learn how successful they could have been because they give up too easily. If I've learned one thing in all my years in the business, it's that often things don't work out the way you want at first. But that doesn't mean you should give up.

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.

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

Self-Development Quotes on: Courage, Honesty
Any kind of lasting success is rooted in honesty.

A person's strength is to know their weaknesses.

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.

In the morning I stand up, scratch a little bit, then I light a candle and I meditate. Every morning. I've been meditating for maybe 20 years. I meditate so I can make choices; so I'm not a sheep all the time. So I can see better than what everyone else is doing.

Needing nothing attracts everything.

I mean people are sexist and racist and homophobic and violent. But I don't think of the rappers as being any more sexist or racist or homophobic than their parents. Certainly less, in all those cases, less homophobic or racist or sexist, and then less gangster than our government. It's stuff that people normally don't speak on, subjects they don't speak on, and ideas they kind of keep to themselves.

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

There is a subject - there is a research that says a man thinks about sex every 12 seconds. And so when an artist expresses something that's sexual in music it is a reflection of our reality. If we want that reality changed, then we have to do things that affect the core.

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

The stuff I do, I do every day, and I've been doing it for long periods of time. I don't start and quit-ever. I start and stay on it.

The seconds of presence are where most inspiration comes. There are sunsets that promote it.

There's one overriding issue, namely, that we live in a police state so long as the police get to police themselves. And that is why cops go unindicted.

Compassion is the ultimate expression of your highest self

True happiness lies in being compassionate and appreciating the world and our circumstances, rather than being coldhearted and greedy. We often realize too late that our favorite moments are those spent simply with the people we love. In seeing the miracles that unfold around us every day. Eventually we all come to understand that our happiness is derived from being present in the moment. Why wait until the end of your life to discover this Truth?

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

I'm a creative guy. And I only do businesses as a result of like I've - I'm try to find what my gifts are and give them immediately. As soon as I get them and I understand, I give them back.

I look for people who have insight in places where I don't.

When you're a good giver you're a good getter.

Good givers are great getters.

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

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

Service is the key to everything in life.

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

The pain that's created by avoiding hard work is actually much worse than any pain created from the actual work itself. Because if you don't begin to work on those ideas that God has blessed you with, they will become stagnant inside of you and eventually begin to eat away at you. You might seem OK on the outside, but inside you will be ill from not getting those ideas out of your heart and into the world. Stalling leads to sickness. But taking steps, even baby steps, always leads to success.

You just have to pay attention to what people need and what has not been done.

There are no failures, only quitters

I would never condone violence against women in any form, and for all of those I offended, I am sincerely sorry.

I applaud what the Oscars are doing to promote diversity. I think it's great.

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.

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.

I don't like to say, Oh, this is my favorite record because there was a moment that that record made me feel a certain way. The one on the radio at the present moment could be the one that's most inspiring, because it's at that second that you're aware of "the infinite everything."

We need to hear everyone. We need dialogue between police and the community. They're angry. They're hurt. A dialogue can cause a shift in consciousness in the person if he's understanding you and listening.

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.

No matter what we've done or where we've been, every single one of us can change.

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

Quit taking, start giving.

The poets who do this are uniquely conscious of this silence, this stillness.

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

There is no religious or any kind of a gender that should separate you from any religious ideas.

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

Stay in your lane. If you're good enough, people will move to you.

Those who need nothing attract everything.

You cannot find it anywhere, because it is located inside you ... happiness is your natural state.

I just try to, in my own way, contribute to making a better Hollywood, to move Hollywood to be a leader in social justice, as it always has been, and not to have any holes in their own backyard while they continue to push for equality and all the things that they always stand up for.

Last year my wife got a Rolls-Royce.

I produced Run DMC. I produced some early records, lots of records early on.

I think if you're open-minded, the road will take you where it takes you. If you're closed, you might not get to go where the road is heading.

I try to create businesses that I think are not hurtful.

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

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.

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

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.

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

If you learn late, you pass it on to people so they can learn early. It's a step process.

I've been thinking a lot about gay marriage. I'm a big supporter.

Music is the noise that surrounds the stillness of the art form.

In the yogic tradition, this principle of using intense effort to burn through life's distractions is called Tapas. It's another Sanskrit word, roughly defined as "heat" or "essential energy." The concept is that through a disciplined approach to work and self-sacrifice, Tapas will burn away the negativity that separates us from God. By working our hardest and happily enduring the hardships of life we are able to create a sense of peace and clarity in ourselves.

There are songs and melody that make you really happy. And there are spiritual gifts that you have - giving these gifts away sometimes gives you that feeling of inspiration. These seconds of awareness make you realize that any second can be your favorite one, and it really is up to you.

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.

Your purpose is to act on the resources God gives you. If God gives you a bucket of fish, you have to distribute those fish. If you don't, they're going to rot, attract a bunch of flies, and start stinking up your soul.

When you do good by the world, the world will do good by you

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

The most aggressive views governing this country speak a lot about inclusion. We still have some people in this country who don't really get that we all have the same agenda, aspirations, hopes, and fears. I want people to be free and to be able to express themselves, to find the best ways to say things so that people can digest them.

I had too many businesses that are frivolous. I have enough. What interests me most is under-served communities. We need a new style of empowering these people, and new approaches.

You have to learn to laugh all the time. It's a practice of life. It's a practice of happiness.

I think the rap community always tells the truth. And I think that it's important that we listen to their voices so we can have a roadmap, because artists - almost every single artist in hip-hop, they paint a picture of society that's overlooked. The misogyny, the racism, the violence, the homophobia, these are things that we try to avoid instead of dealing with. All of that I see it so often.

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

In my heart, I know that marriage equality for every human being isn't a question of if, but only a matter of when. I ask those who feel that giving freedom to others somehow binds you, to please take a good look at what you are standing behind

If you don't break a hole through the brick wall, don't just start digging a new hole. Keep going until you break through that wall.

I try to use my voice. I know that celebrity is valuable, and people do listen.

I ask everyone - white Hollywood and black Hollywood - to get outside of your comfort zone and make friends. That's where they're going to learn from each other, and that's where they're going to make better movies and make Hollywood a better place.

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

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.

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.

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.

Meditation can reintroduce you to the part that's been missing.

Not every move you make has to be a great leap

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?

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.

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.

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

I'm a big supporter of President Obama.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

I just said let's get some poets on tv. And when they said that sounded unlikely, I made it worse. I said, no man, I want to put a bunch of black poets on stage, too. Some Latino poets who barely speak English and Asian poets who can't believe how discriminated against they are. It was luck nad being in the right place. I wasn't saying nothing somebody else wasn't saying but they wouldn't hear it from them.