Bruce Jenner Quotations

I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.

I spent twelve years training for a career that was over in a week. Joe Namath spent one week training for a career that lasted twelve years.

The biggest problem with dyslexic kids is not the perceptual problem, it is their perception of themselves. That was my biggest problem.

First of all, I try to be a positive role model.

Start early and begin raising the bar throughout the day.

We put so much pressure on kids to excel in school at such a young age.

If you're asking your kids to exercise, then you better do it, too. Practice what you preach.

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win - if you don't, you won't.

I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Back then they didn't even know what dyslexia was.

Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me.

Waving the flag at the 1976 Olympics wasn't my idea. It was too much apple pie and ice cream. Not that I don't love my country, but I felt it was my victory up there, I put all the time into it.

Nobody has milked one performance better than me - and I'm damned proud of it.

The first one of the girls I ever told was Kimberly.

Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie. I can't do it anymore.

To be honest with you, being Bruce isn't easy.

It caused more problems as a young kid, because the simple process of perceiving words on a piece of paper was hard for me. Many people think dyslexic people see things backwards. They don't see things backwards.

The truth is everybody does it from time to time. People dial telephone numbers and they get a wrong number only to find that they've read the last two digits backwards. Everybody does it, but dyslexics have this tendency to a higher degree.

When the time comes for your brain to process the information, the second word comes up faster than the first one. So when it's in your head, all of a sudden, it comes out backwards and you think of the word backwards.

I didn't only have a perceptual problem, I was also so nervous and so upset. The process just didn't work. I lost enthusiasm for school and I flunked second grade. The teachers said I was lazy.

I'm saying goodbye to people's perception of me and who I am, I'm not saying goodbye to me, because this has always been me.

I still have nightmares about taking tests.

A champion plays the game; a spectator observes, criticizes and never really gets to live. A champion knows what he or she wants and goes after it with carefully calculated goals and no-holds-barred action. A spectator feels that his or her life is not their own. They let others dictate their destiny. They become victims of life instead of masters of it.

Realize that the reason most people fail isn't because of the competition but because of the limits they place upon themselves, allowing defeat to take over. Take responsibility for your destiny. You can come up with a performance, if you can reach down and dig deep enough into your competitive soul. You can overcome tremendous obstacles.

I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self.

I'm the type of guy who fails and fails and fails, and then, as if failure has become sick of him, succeeds.

When you accept yourself you are free from the need for others to accept you.

Trans people deserve something vital: They deserve your respect. If you want to call me names, make jokes, doubt my intentions, go ahead, because the reality is, I can take it. But for the thousands of kids out there, coming to terms with being true to who they are, they shouldn't have to take it.

It's not just about me. It's about all of us accepting one another. We're all different. It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing.

If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, 'You just blew your entire life.'

There was a French activist and writer, Simone de Beauvoir, who said, 'You are not born woman. You become one' ... Words I live by.

I just barely got through school. The problem was a learning disability, at a time when there was no where to get help.

People are either driven to action or complacency, mission or rust. You're either participating in the Game of Life or you're watching it from the grandstands.

If you are dyslexic, your eyes work fine, your brain works fine, but there is a little short circuit in the wire that goes between the eye and the brain. Reading is not a fluid process.

What I'm doing is going to do some good and we're going to change the world.

Fear is part of the process. If you weren't scared, you'd be in trouble.

If I die, I'd be so mad at myself that I didn't explore that side of me.

I'm kind of more on the conservative side.

I am not gay. I am, as far as I know, heterosexual. I've never been with a guy.

Our mission for younger people is to do our best to make exercise cool, hip - the thing to do.

Have an open mind and an open heart. I'm not this bad person. I'm just doing what I have to do.

The most challenging aspect of the decathlon is not the events themselves, but how you train to become the best 100-meter runner you are on the same day that you're the best 1,500-meter runner.

I'm not stuck in anybody's body. I'm me.

I was scared to death, but I made fear score points for me. Fear is right behind me, fear is six inches off my back, that's where fear is. I can feel its presence. But it's not going to catch me... I'm going to take fear and use it to my advantage.

To me, the definition of focus is knowing exactly where you want to be today, next week, next month, next year, then never deviating from your plan. Once you can see, touch and feel your objective, all you have to do is pull back and put all your strength behind it, and you'll hit your target every time.

You have to train your mind like you train your body.

If you're going to dedicate every second to winning the decathlon, what are you doing wasting your time in bed?

If you are a kid, reading is really important stuff.

I was afraid the teacher was going to make me read in front of class and I was going to look bad. [But] if I wasn't dyslexic, I probably wouldn't have won the Games. If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily, sports would have come easily. And I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work.

I don't think I've ever been as scared in my life as I was to be extraordinarily honest with my kids.

I firmly believe that deep in their soul everyone has a champion that can overcome obstacles and do great things.

It hurts every day when you practice hard. Plus, when this decathlon is over, I got the rest of my life to recuperate. Who cares how bad it hurts?

If you want to take your mission in life to the next level, if you're stuck and you don't know how to rise, don't look outside yourself. Look inside. Don't let your fears keep you mired in the crowd. Abolish your fears and raise your commitment level to the point of no return, and I guarantee you that the Champion Within will burst forth to propel you toward victory.

The ability to grow is directly related to the amount of insecurity you can take in your life.

Remember, success is not measured by heights attained but by obstacles overcome. We're going to pass through many obstacles in our lives: good days, bad days. But the successful person will overcome those obstacles and constantly move forward.

For all intents and purposes, I am a woman