"Anything's possible, you gotta dream like you never seen obstacles."
- J. Cole
Ambition
"I'm here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don't follow what you've been told you're supposed to do."
- J. Cole
Inspiration
"Never give up until you've given out all your very best. It's better to fail trying, than wondering what could have happened if you tried."
- J. Cole
Perseverance
"You have to hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain. Because most of life's lessons are learned in pain."
- J. Cole
Personal Growth
"I always feel like it's two key ingredients when it comes to following your dreams, making something happen that the average person deems difficult. If you truly believe it, that's step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it."
- J. Cole
Goals
"You are perfect exactly as you are. With all your flaws and problems, there's no need to change anything. All you need to change is the thought that you aren't good enough."
- J. Cole
Self-esteem
"If they don't know your dreams, they can't shoot them down."
- J. Cole
Aspirations
"I'd rather be happy being myself than sad trying to please everyone else."
- J. Cole
Self-awareness
"If you ain't aim too high, then you aim too low!"
- J. Cole
Ambition
"Keep grindin' boy, your life can change in one year, And even when it's dark out, the sun is shining somewhere."
- J. Cole
Perseverance
"Don't let bridges you cross be bridges you burn."
- J. Cole
Wisdom
"We got dreams and we got the right to chase 'em."
- J. Cole
Aspirations
"If you truly believe it, that's step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it."
- J. Cole
Belief in Self
"You have no control over what somebody else feels about you, but you have 100 percent control over how you feel about yourself and how you feel about the people around you and how you handle life."
- J. Cole
Self-awareness
"It's beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the success."
- J. Cole
Philosophy
"Life is a movie, pick your own role, climb your own ladder or you dig your own hole."
- J. Cole
Choice
"There's a story behind every person, a reason why they are the way they are. So, think about that before you judge someone."
- J. Cole
Empathy
"I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something's not good enough, and I won't stop until I feel like I've made it."
- J. Cole
Hard Work
"They say time is money but really, it's not. If we ever go broke, time is all we got."
- J. Cole
Time Management
"Take a chance, because you never know how perfect something can turn out."
- J. Cole
Taking Risks
"I keep my head high, I got my wings to carry me. I don't know freedom, I want my dreams to rescue me."
- J. Cole
Hope
"To appreciate the sun, you gotta know what rain is."
- J. Cole
Awareness
"No such thing as a life that's better than yours, no such thing – no such thing…"
- J. Cole
Gratitude
"The further I go, I still feel equally further from my eventual goal. Because as I grow, I get more goals. I'm never content."
- J. Cole
Ambition
"Sometimes our dreams come true, sometimes our fears do too."
- J. Cole
Philosophy
"I feel like this: Whatever is in your path and in your heart, you need to do."
- J. Cole
Belief
"I struggled with being a broke college graduate, and while all my friends were getting career jobs, I was working horrible part-time jobs. That's why now, even when I get tired, I think, 'This is what I asked for.'"
- J. Cole
Resilience
"I feel like I am officially in the game, but I also feel like I'm not where I want to be. I'm far from it. I got a lot more things to do. I got a lot more respect to get…"
- J. Cole
Ambition
"I'm really going out of my way to do it the right way. I'm taking very few cheats – very few cheat codes that I'm using."
- J. Cole
Integrity
"Nothing lasts forever, but at least we've got these memories."
- J. Cole
Reflection
"My life accelerated, but had to wait my turn. But then I redecorated, that means my tables turn."
- J. Cole
Perseverance
"I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing."
- J. Cole
Integrity
"Producing all my own songs and refusing to go to the hot producer. That's the biggest risk I've taken so far."
- J. Cole
Taking Risks
"Hard to move on when you always regret one."
- J. Cole
Reflection
"The same ones you love will bring you pain."
- J. Cole
Relationships
"In this life ain't no happy endings. Only pure beginnings followed by years of sinning and fake repentance."
- J. Cole
Philosophy
"I do put a lot of God in my music, but not because I'm super religious. There are a lot of demons in my music, too. I acknowledge both."
- J. Cole
Spirituality
"The music becomes more pure and soulful when it's true, and it has to be true…"
- J. Cole
Honesty
"I try to put all those positive things into a regular human character, which is myself."
- J. Cole
Self-awareness
"But there's a lot of stuff going on in the world. Whether or not you're aware of it, it's happening."
- J. Cole
Awareness
"School is a good place – it ain't for everybody, but I think it's for most people."
- J. Cole
Education
"I don't like to think of it as being fired. Instead, I prefer to think of it as being on indefinite leave with a sabbatical flair."
- J. Cole
Positivity