"I'd have to say losing the title to Ali in '74 was the lowest moment in sports for me. It was the most devastating thing in my boxing career, and it still hurts to this day."

"When I meet people, I no longer say 'Hi, I'm Derek Landy, pleased to meet you.' Now I say 'Hi, I'm number one bestselling author Derek Landy. Worship me."

"If you scared, say you scared, and if not then push yourself off of that wall and step into the darkness. That's where success is, get up out of that comfort zone, you'll be surprised what you can achieve!"

"Your success must never be left to others. You must be able to visualize it and see it through your own eyes, whilst others assist you to see it better and make it clearer."

"As if these daily humiliations and sacrifices mean something, are tallied by the ones who keep the books. Tomorrow we pick up where we left off. Sleep tight. Sleep deep. Sleep the sleep of the successful because somehow you made it through the day without anyone finding out that you are a complete fraud."

"I'd worked in the state senate in college and seen how important legal decisions were. And at the last minute, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said, 'Why don't you come do an internship?' That turned into almost 15 years in the government, in the White House, and at the State Department."

"If you live in a ghetto and really want not to just change your life and your family's life but change your ghetto's life, make your ghetto a good neighbourhood, learn science; try to be like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs."