Alicia Keys

I feel the presence of a higher power. I believe that what you give is what you get. It’s universal law. I believe in the power of prayer and of words. I’ve learned that when you predict that negative things will happen, they do.

I love learning about different religions, and discovering the different ways to worship, and to love the greatness and the higher being that surrounds us all. I definitely believe in a bigger presence, and I really respect all religions; at their core they all teach the same message – community and kindness and looking out for each other.

One thing a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’m a driver… I love driving.. I’m driven.

Have you watched Snow White lately? I get real funky about the classics; I don’t like (my sons) watching it. It’s totally sexist, misogynistic – she’s cleaning for seven dwarfs. There’s nothing wrong with a woman who chooses to stay at home with her family, it’s a hard-ass job, but it’s the way it’s spoken about.

I want to make sure all the issues about race are addressed

First I was working on classical music that didn’t move me at all. I hated it. So I decided to discover the kinds of classical music that did move me—like Chopin, Satie, Beethoven, and certain Mozart songs. Mozart would play a counterpart with his left hand while using his right to mock it. It was blue, dark, shadowy and it made me feel something. That’s when I realized music was inside me.

I wrote these words for everyone who struggles in their youth, who won’t accept deception instead of what is truth.

I’m just a broken person looking for other broken people who may have gotten shards of me stuck in their feet and aren’t too concerned about pulling them out.

I’m really an old-fashioned girl, and I think I’m totally sexy.

It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.

You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn’t mean you’re defective – it just means you’re human.

No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you are beautiful.

I intend to be me. Whatever that is.

The mirror can lie, doesn’t show you what’s inside.

It’s important so you stay in touch with yourself. If you lose touch with yourself, no one’s going to want to talk to you or listen to anything you’re f**king doing. They’ll just point at you and laugh. At you, not with you.

Because of the self-confidence with which he had spoken, no one could tell whether what he said was very clever or very stupid.

I am always with myself, and it is I who am my tormentor.

I had some beautiful pictures taken in which I had a big smile on my face. I looked happy, I looked content, I looked like a very nice person, which in theory I am.

To be your own person, you need good friends. Friends are the treasure of your life.

Age wrinkles the body; quitting wrinkles the soul.

Loving yourself…does not mean being self-absorbed or narcissistic, or disregarding others. Rather it means welcoming yourself as the most honored guest in your own heart, a guest worthy of respect, a lovable companion.