Explore Quotes by Mary J. Blige

I was inspired to create 'My Life' so I could finally share a personal part of my life beyond my music.

I do consider myself part of black history.

I believe there are certain things that God uses to get us out of a bad situation, and I believe music was one of the things he used for me.

You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.

It's challenging to find an identity as a young person if you don't have the sustenance of love, because you're being shipped around.

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

There's not enough time to be disrespecting... Life is too short.

I'm a child of God. God is my mommy, my daddy. That's the only thing that'll keep my head up. If I don't remember who I am in him, I'm done.

In the inner city, there's a mentality that the government owes you something. My breakthrough came when I stopped feeling sorry for myself and took responsibility for every part of my life. No more pity parties. I've gotta love me more than anybody else loves me.

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'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 months and after that diet, you're looking so hot.

One day I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere by blaming other people for my circumstances. I finally understood: Even if you feel someone has wronged you or owes you something, no one is going to give you anything for free.

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.

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.

Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go through so much pain. We have to live this perfect life when we are messed up inside. We all go through trials and tribulations.

I know who I am. I am not perfect. I'm not the most beautiful woman in the world. But I'm one of them.

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 give them renewed strength. That's the power music has.

It's up to us to choose whether we win or lose...and I choose to win.

In your life there's peaks and valleys and sometimes we regress, and we don't even know we regress. You just have to learn how to accept all of your mistakes and learn to love yourself again.

It's that first step-getting out the door-that's the toughest. If you can do that, you've already won.

Negative words are powerful boomerangs so be careful what you say about people and yourself.