Alicia Keys Quotes

Love me like you'll never see me again.

He broke my heart, and now it's raining, just to rub it in...

I think we deserve people who really, really love us.

Falling down ain't falling down, If you don't cry when you hit the floor, It's called the past cause I'm getting past, And I ain't nothing like I was before, You ought to see me now

Why give up before we try?

Sometimes I feel like I don't belong anywhere, & it's gonna take so long for me to get to somewhere, Sometimes I feel so heavy hearted, but I can't explain cuz I'm so guarded. But that's a lonely road to travel, and a heavy load to bear. And it's a long, long way to heaven but I gotta get there Can you send an angel? Can you send me an angel...to guide me.

Yes I was burned but I called it a lesson learned. Mistake overturned so I call it a lesson learned. My soul has returned so I call it a lesson learned...another lesson learned

No matter how far you are. No matter how long it takes him. Through Distance And Time I'll be waiting ..

Everything's gonna be alright.

Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you baby If I ain't got you baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, Yeah

If you don't believe it, go down to your local karaoke bar on a busy night. Wait until the third hour, when the drunk frat boys and gastropub waitresses with headshots are all done with Backstreet Boys and Alicia Keys and locate the slightly older Asian businessman standing patiently in line for his turn, his face warmly rouged on Crown or Japanese lager, and when he steps up and starts slaying "Country Roads," try not to laugh, or wink knowingly or clap a little too hard, because by the time he gets to "West Virginia, mountain mama," you're going to be singing along, and by the time he's done, you might understand why a seventy-seven-year-old guy from a tiny island in the Taiwan Strait who's been in a foreign country for two-thirds of his life can nail a song, note perfect, about wanting to go home.

Why give up before we try Feel the lows before the highs Clip our wings before we fly away I can't say I came prepared I'm suspended in the air Won't you come be in the sky with me

Every moment is beautiful; delicious even!

It’s hard to pinpoint the precise moment when we internalize others’ assessments; it’s usually not just a single experience but rather a series of moments that bruise the spirit and lead us to distrust ourselves and those around us.

Growth requires movement. And often, the only way forward is through an exit door.

Hand me the world on a silver platter, and what good would it be?

The most important thing to remember is that you can wear all the greatest clothes and all the greatest shoes, but you’ve got to have a good spirit on the inside. That’s what’s really going to make you look like you’re ready to rock the world.

Death is a gift meant to wake up the living, to nudge us toward a life of purpose and intention.

Everything you want to be, you already are. You're simply on the path to discovering it.

The path to self-discovery is not a straight line. It’s a zigzag. We move in and out of awareness: one step forward, three steps to the left, a baby step back, another leap forward. A lightbulb moment might shine brightly one day, but then flicker the next. It takes work to hold tightly to a certain consciousness, to live in its wisdom. Every day, I have to intentionally maintain an awareness of my value.

It has been about realizing that in order for the truth to set me free, I must first be brave enough to birth it.

Keep dreaming in color And drawing your dreams On cement floors Until they are realized. —Alicia Keys

But from this side of life, I can see how every moment, every experience, every pivot, even my supposed missteps have been life’s way of getting me where I have always been meant to go. Rather than resisting the current, I’ve learned to surrender.

We adjust ourselves to fit, to adapt to others’ ideas of who we should be. We shift ourselves not in sweeping pivots but in movements so tiny that they are hardly perceptible even in our view. Years can pass before we finally discover that after handing over our power, piece by small piece, we no longer even look like ourselves.

The world can be a challenging place for us women to navigate. We often find ourselves feeling burned out, incapable, and lonely and yet we’re still so resilient.

But there’s still more I can do, other ways for me to grow and — as I keep relearning — it’s okay to own a desire for more. In fact, it’s how we honor those who have paved the way for our place at the table. “You don’t want modesty,” Maya Angelou once said, “you want humility. Humility comes from inside out. It says someone was here before me and I’m here because I’ve been paid for. I have something to do and I will do that because I’m paying for someone else who has yet to come.” When we dim our light we don’t do anyone a favor. It’s a disservice because when you’re in the presence of someone who knows his or her worth, like the extraordinary Maya did, you want to shine brighter. Self-honoring energy is contagious.

Nothing but uncertainty is certain. Circumstances come together, only to fall apart moments or months later. And then, in a flash, we must rise up and regain our footing. In the rearview mirror, I now see so clearly what escaped me then: It’s not that the ground underneath me was suddenly shifting; it’s that it is never still. That’s part of the work of my journey—getting comfortable with life’s groundlessness.

There’s also the multicultural side of me, the biracial ancestry that allows me to connect with a wide spectrum of people. And then there’s my spirit, that blend of glass-half-full optimism, introverted reflection, and outward-facing social activism.

It's okay to Evolve and Change, and become more of who you really are. It's okay to Become More Yourself.

often, the only way forward is through an exit door.

It has been said that a girl grows up to choose a man who either bears a striking resemblance to her father, or one who is nothing like him. Both choices are, at their core, reactions.

The talk was supposed to be about gender and sexuality in music videos. Those who know how I usually flow were tripping at the title [Alicia vs. India], but I had to remind them that had I called the talk "Gender and Sexuality in Music Videos," wouldn't nobody be up in the room.

For as long as I am alive, I will be growing and improving, wielding my pen as the author of my own forever. But even as I lift my life to the next level, I hope to always recognize my reflection. I want to know who I am and accept every part of that identity. I am frightened and I am fearless. I am weak and a warrior. I am uncertain and I am confident. And by learning to embrace the paradox in all of it, I am more myself.

We adjust ourselves to fit, to adapt to others’ ideas of who we should be. We shift ourselves not in sweeping pivots, but in movements so tiny that they are hardly perceptible, even in our view. Years can pass before we finally discover that, after handing over our power piece by small piece, we no longer even look like ourselves.

It’s hard to pinpoint the precise moment when we internalize others’ assessments; it’s usually not just a single experience but rather a series of moments that bruise the spirit and lead us to distrust ourselves and those around us. And then we wake up at age seventeen or twenty-five or thirty-seven and realize we don’t know the last time we’ve lived life only to please ourselves.

In Metaphysics, Aristotle wrote that Egypt is the “cradle of mathematics—that is, the country of origin for Greek mathematics.” Some historians believe that when European societies eventually began enslaving Africans, they also started downplaying the major contributions of both the ancient Nile River Valley civilizations and the kemetic culture, as well as concealing its African lineage.

For my friend Fong,” he says, and begins singing John Denver. If you didn’t know it already, now you do: old dudes from rural Taiwan are comfortable with their karaoke and when they do karaoke for some reason they love no one like they love John Denver. Maybe it’s the dream of the open highway. The romantic myth of the West. A reminder that these funny little Orientals have actually been Americans longer than you have. Know something about this country that you haven’t yet figured out. If you don’t believe it, go down to your local karaoke bar on a busy night. Wait until the third hour, when the drunk frat boys and gastropub waitresses with headshots are all done with Backstreet Boys and Alicia Keys and locate the slightly older Asian businessman standing patiently in line for his turn, his face warmly rouged on Crown or Japanese lager, and when he steps up and starts slaying “Country Roads,” try not to laugh, or wink knowingly or clap a little too hard, because by the time he gets to “West Virginia, mountain mama,” you’re going to be singing along, and by the time he’s done, you might understand why a seventy-seven-year-old guy from a tiny island in the Taiwan Strait who’s been in a foreign country for two-thirds of his life can nail a song, note perfect, about wanting to go home.

We don't draw loved ones into our lives coincidentally. They're there to shine a light on our unfinished emotional business, to reveal to us our deepest tendencies. And as my life is proving to me even now, those patterns appear time and again, often cleverly disguised. And they'll keep right on showing up until we're willing to truly look at them.

When you’ve chosen the right path for yourself, you usually know it immediately. The choice just sits right in your spirit. You’re not second-guessing your decision or thinking about turning back. You realize there are challenges ahead, but you’re not looking over your shoulder, wishing you’d gone left instead of right at the last fork in the road.

An aha moment is not a happy ending—it’s an open doorway, one you have to choose to walk through.

I definitely wanted freedom, but I wasn't yet ready to step into it, embody it, breathe it, own it.

a twenty-year-old with braids and beads, with a large helping of soul and a sprinkle of classical.

When you don't speak the truth for years at a time, the words left unspoken slowly leak the air out of your connection. Even if, years later, you are ready to say what you couldn't earlier, the moment has passed. The details and circumstances have faded from memory, and yet the emotions linger. And then the day finally comes when you no longer recognize the person you first loved.

key invitation of our spiritual journeys is to be emotionally honest about our uncertainties. Questions such as the one asked by John are signs of a living, growing, active faith, not evidence of a dying one.

I now see so clearly what escaped me then: It’s not that the ground underneath me was suddenly shifting; it’s that it is never still. That’s part of the work of my journey—getting comfortable with life’s groundlessness.

That though passageway came with a surprising revelation. When life forces you to face yourself, what awaits in the mirror is a gift: vulnerability. Your heart is pierced. You're broken open. You're hyper-aware of what you're feeling.

There's too much darkness in the world. Everywhere you turn someone is trying' to tear someone down in some way. Everywhere you go, there's a feeling of inadequacy, or a feeling that you're not good enough. I want to bring a certain light to the world.

Sometimes Some lies Can take a minute To fully realize His tears Your eyes Thirty seconds to apologize You give it one more chance Just like the time before But he already know you'd give a hundred more Until that night in bed You wake up in a sweat You're racing to the door Can't take it anymore

Those who liked the pages of Democratic candidates had markedly different musical tastes from those who liked the pages of Republican candidates. Some of the differences can be explained by race and region. African American musicians, such as Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé, are favorites of Democrats but not Republicans. The fans of noted Jamaican pacifist stoner Bob Marley lean particularly strongly to the left. But Democrats are attracted to more than just performers of color. Acts as diverse as Lady Gaga, Adele, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles are also especially popular in more-liberal precincts.

The year Alicia Gris arrived in Madrid, her mentor and puppet master Leandro Montalvo taught her that to keep your sanity, you must have a place in the world where you can lose yourself if necessary. That place, that last refuge, is a small annex of the soul, and when the world reverts to its absurd comedy, you can always run there, lock yourself in, and throw away the key.

The new normal is rarely an easy adjustment and never truly feels, well, normal. Let’s be honest. Plan B is never preferred. Detours and alternate routes are never quite as scenic. The darkness of being gifted a second chance is that it means something went wrong in the first place. And yet, I would rather have a few speed bumps slow me down, causing me to spill coffee on my dress, than ever hand someone else the keys to my life.

If I Ain't Got You" Some people live for the fortune Some people live just for the fame Some people live for the power Some people live just to play the game Some people think that the physical things Define what's within And I've been there before But that life's a bore So full of the superficial [Chorus:] Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you Some people search for a fountain That promises "forever young" Some people need three dozen roses And that's the only way to prove you love them Hand me the world on a silver platter And what good would it be? With no one to share With no one who truly cares for me [Chorus:] If I ain't got you with me, baby So nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing If I ain't got you with me, baby

All my best decisions in life have come when I tuned into what felt like the best moves for me. I’d spent much of my life looking to others for answers, allowing their opinions to drown out my instincts. My default was to substitute others desires for my own. In fact, I’d done that so much that it became a habit, one I’m still unlearning. I’ve needed a lot of practice at putting my own ideas and intuition at the forefront and Oprah was encouraging me to again rehearse. ... That afternoon Oprah articulated the lesson to me in a way that turned on the lights. “You know what a resounding ‘yes’ feels like,” she said, “it’s undeniable. Nothing’s going stop you from doing it. You’re excited. You don’t have to convince yourself to move forward. You simply know this is the right thing.” And that is what I live by. I’ve made a lot of decisions from my head. I’ve chosen to go in this direction or that one based on finances, or because something seems like a great opportunity, or because I don’t want to hurt peoples feelings or disappoint them, or because someone is pushing me toward an agenda that serves them. But when I’ve listened to my heart, when I’ve trusted what my spirit is telling me, that ‘yes’ has always steered my right.

The story begins with the revelation Alicia murdered her husband. Why do you think the author made this admission at the very start?   2.  Alicia’s diary plays a key role in the book. What purpose do you think it serves? And does your perception of Alicia change the more you read?   3.  Alicia’s silence is related to the Greek myth of Alcestis. How do you feel about the story of the myth? Why do you think Alicia is silent?   4.  Theo’s motives to work with Alicia are complicated. Do you think he wanted to help her?   5.  Both Alicia and Theo had difficult childhoods. Early on, Theo says no one is born evil. That who we become depends on the environment into which we are born. By the end of the novel he appears to change his mind, saying that perhaps some of us are born evil, and, despite therapy, we remain that way. Which do you think is true?   6.  Weather plays a large role in the book, such as the heat wave during the summer. What purpose do you think the description of the weather serves in the novel?   7.  Do you think the world of a psychiatric unit was convincingly portrayed? How do you feel about Diomedes and the other psychiatrists?   8.  We never enter Kathy’s mind in the book. Do you have any sympathy for her?   9.  What do you think happens at the end of the book? The last line is ambiguous. 10.  It’s a psychological thriller with a twist. The author has said he was influenced by Agatha Christie. Did you feel this was simply a detective story or are there any other influences you can spot?

Sometimes you just have to do whats best for yourself.

I swear that I’ll never again let someone rob me of my power. It’s a promise I still work to keep.

I’m a person in process, from the me I once was to the me I am now.

I can show weakness. I can be real. And when I reveal my true heart, not everyone is going to approve. What I know now is that I don’t need them to.

On this part of my journey, I’m at last quieting the noise of our world—removing all the external distractions and opinions and judgments and tuning in to my own voice. I’m recognizing my own power and owning it. I’m finally trusting myself, believing I already have inside me the answers I most crave. And above all, I’m discovering who I am at my core—and becoming, day by day, more myself.

All I knew was that I needed to flee as far away as I could from the pressure cooker my life had become. A few days at a local spa would not suffice. My spirit was demanding a complete and total eject, a force powerful enough to propel me five thousand miles across the Atlantic. In fact, this was not a vacation. It was a prison break.

The path to self-discovery is not a straight line. It’s a zigzag. We move in and out of awareness: one step forward, three steps to the left, a baby step back, another leap forward. A lightbulb moment might shine brightly one day, but then flicker the next. It takes work to hold tightly to a certain consciousness, to live in its wisdom. Every day, I have to intentionally maintain an awareness of my value. I know I’m worthy. But you don’t cross over into the Land of Self-Worth and just become a permanent resident. You have to keep your passport current. You have to work to preserve your status.

I don’t have to fit in. None of us does. Our uniqueness isn’t a scar, but a beauty mark. What makes us different is also what makes us wildly, boldly, and marvelously who we were born to be.

Elaine Brown’s book A Taste of Power. Elaine rose up from an impoverished childhood in North Philly to become the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party, the ’60s political organization formed to challenge police brutality, fight systemic racism, and empower black communities.

all of whom shared my intention to deeply impact the

Beijing shows off a new Template, a white Lotus.

In a single session, with the brand of rapid-fire energy that had fueled our work together thus far, we wrote “We Are Here.” Two lines of the song conveyed the message I most hoped would resonate: “We are here for all of us … Our souls were brought together so we could love each other.

I cared more about watering the roots of our connection than I cared about our age difference.

Keep your love life to yourself," she told me. "Keep some of you for you." One of her greatest mistakes, she said, had been allowing her own relationship to become fodder for relentless tabloid coverage. "That kind of media attention is unfair to anyone who hasn't committed to life in the public eye," she said. Also, she'd interviewed one too many women who'd swooned about being in love, only to be left looking fickle and foolish when the romance was over a few months later. Best to hold your tongue from the beginning. Best to hold tight to Oprah's wisdom.

In life, we don't get what we ask for. We get what we believe. And what we believe about ourselves shows up in our energy.

I don't have to fit in. None of us does. Our uniqueness isn't a scar, but a beauty mark. What makes us different is also what makes us wildly, boldly, and marvelously who we were born to be.

Who are we really? What are all the various pieces that form us? Which parts of ourselves do we embrace or dismiss, and what does that mean or not mean? Most of us are comfortable with expressing certain aspects of ourselves, while other sides might get left in the shade by default. For me, the latter was apparently happening on an unconscious level.

I want to know who I am and accept every part of that identity. I am frightened and I am fearless. I am weak and a warrior. I am uncertain and I am confident. And by learning to embrace the paradox in all of it, I am more myself.

you don’t value me, then I must not be valuable.

life, we don’t get what we ask for. We get what we believe. And

If you don’t value me, then I must not be valuable.

life, we don’t get what we ask for. We get what we believe. And what we believe about ourselves shows up in our energy. It’s how we walk into a room. It’s how we communicate, through body language, I don’t deserve to be here. It’s whether we sit up straight or hide out in the back of a meeting. At times, my own energy has been saying, “I’m cool with the bare minimum. Don’t give me more.

You don’t want modesty,” Maya Angelou once said. “You want humility. Humility

be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, day and night, to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight … It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. —e. e. cummings, poet and playwright

When you love someone, you love their journey—

don’t believe in the word slave because no one chooses to be owned by someone; an enslaved person is a human being whose freedom has been stolen.

It's hard to pinpoint the precise moment when we internalize others' assessments; it's usually not just a single experience but rather a series of moments that bruise the spirit and lead us to distrust ourselves and those around us. And then we wake up at age seventeen or twenty-five or thirty-seven and realize we don't know the last time we've lived life only to please ourselves.

I don't believe in regret. So I never looked back on my choice to leave Columbia and wish that things had turned out differently. Life's current was so obviously carrying me in the direction of music, and rather than trying to swim back upstream, I simply let the tide carry me forward. At the time, I wouldn't have described it that way, nor did I truly understand that there was a flow with my name on it. But from this side of life, I can see how every moment, every experience, every pivot, even my supposed missteps have been life's way of getting me where I have always been meant to go. Rather than resisting the current, I've learned to surrender.

Nothing but uncertainty is uncertain. Circumstances come together, only to fall apart moments or months later. And then, in a flash, we must rise up again and regain our footing. In the rearview mirror, I now see so clearly what escaped me then: It's not that the ground underneath me was suddenly shifting; it's that it is never still. That's part of the work my journey - getting comfortable with life's groundlessness.

We don't draw loved ones into our lives coincidentally. They're there to shine a light on our unfinished emotional business, to reveal to us our deepest tendencies. And as my life is proving to me even now, those patterns appear time and time again, often cleverly disguised. And they'll keep right on showing up until we're willing to truly look at them.

When you've chosen the right path for yourself, you usually know it immediately. The choice just sits right in your spirit. You're not second-guessing your decision or thinking about turning back. You realize there are challenges ahead, but you're not looking over your shoulder, wishing you'd gone left instead of right at the last fork in the road.

I wanted so badly to make the group happen. We'd dreamed our dream in unison, and the thought of us disbanding made me wilt inside. But what's true in the music industry is also the case in life: Growth requires movement. And often, the only way forward is through an exit door.

Dear Lord, can you take it away... This pain in my heart that follows me day by day, and at night it stalks me like the shadows on my wall.

Like I said, I wish this world were different. But that doesn't mean I can change it for the better. This year nearly broke me. But it wasn't just the powers that got me through. I found something inside me. I found my voice, and I'm not afraid to use it. So here I am with my head to the sky and my feet on the ground. And I'm not backing down!

When you don’t speak the truth for years at a time, the words left unspoken slowly leak the air out of your connection. Even if, years later, you are ready to say what you couldn’t earlier, the moment has passed. The details and circumstances have faded from memory, and yet the emotions linger.

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, day and night, to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight … It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

longed for solitude, for space and breathing room without the thought of how someone else might be impacted. Traveling with others comes with a daily series of negotiations: Is the room temperature okay? What sites should we visit? What time should we have dinner? Can I sit quietly and read while you go out shopping? On and on. By default, I cater. And rather than feeling the need to accommodate, I wanted the beautiful freedom to choose, to please only myself.

I don’t want to make any assumptions. Is Mr. Right definitely a Mr.?” Stef asked me. “As much as I would have zero qualms making out with Alicia Keys after she serenades me with a ballad, I can’t live without the dick.

Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys

As much as I would have zero qualms making out with Alicia Keys after she serenades me with a ballad, I can’t live without the dick.

The new normal is rarely an easy adjustment and never truely feels, well, normal. Let's be honest. Plan B is never preferred. Detours and alternate routes Are never quite as scenic The darkness of being gifted a second chance Is that it means something went Wrong in the first place. And yet, I would rather have a few speed bumps slow me down, causing me to spill coffee on my dress, than ever hand someone the keys to my life.

Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan,

It’s hard to pinpoint the precise moment when we internalize others’ assessments; it’s usually not just a single experience but rather a series of moments that bruise the spirit and lead us to distrust ourselves and those around us. And then we wake up at age seventeen or twenty-five or thirty-seven and realize we don’t know the last time we’ve lived life only to please ourselves

The world can be a challenging place for us women to navigate. We often find ourselves feeling burned out, incapable, and lonely. And yet we‘re still so resilient. I’d carried that idea around for a couple of weeks when the words flowed out of me while we were in the studio one afternoon. ...Hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway She's living in a world and it's on fire Filled with catastrophe But she knows she can fly away She got both feet on the ground And she's burning it down... The lyrics perfectly captured what I’d been feeling — the idea that women, even in our vulnerability, continue trudging forward. We still make our moves, we still rise to the moment. Like the words of Superwoman the message was as much a celebration of others as it was a reminder to me.

The point isn’t that wealth should be feared or disregarded — my family is successful and we plan to build on that — but as we move in that direction, I work to stay mindful of what I most value. For me it comes down to capacity. What kind of life do I want to build and what sacrifices will that require? What commitments can I let go of so I can remain a conscious partner and parent? What works for me is extreme weed pulling on my to-do list. Clearing out the unnecessary creates the space and conditions for me to nurture my connection with family and the soil beneath it all is acceptance. I do everything I can to be a present mother and partner and then daily I make peace with what has had to go undone. It’s all any of us can ask of ourselves.

It dawned on me how often I’d suppressed myself over the years, how I dim my light so it wouldn’t blind others or make them uncomfortable around me. ... At certain moments, I even dumbed myself down or chose not to talk about the many blessings I had received. I feared that if I shared my experience in its entirety, if I took the lid off my joy, it would push others away or make them feel small. ... Some part of my spirit was always signing up for less because that is what I believed I deserved. For so many years I thought I was just being modest. I never wanted to come across as self absorbed or as someone with a big head. It’s how we women are brought up; don’t ask for more, don’t take credit, don’t outshine others. ... My alleged modesty was just a disguise, a mask for a lack of self worth. It was a huge revelation. For me, that seed of worthlessness was planted in childhood.