Terry Crews > Quotes

“You telling everyone what to do does not make you the boss. You doing everything you told yourself to do makes you the boss.”
― Terry Crews

“Because I was not superhuman, I was just a human, and my attempts to be this superman, this Telon star, someone infallible who everyone could look at as the perfect man, were eventually my downfall.

Of course, I still write down my goals, I still see the value in being fit and doing my job well. But trying to be perfect will leave you empty-handed, whereas trying to do your best will keep you fulfilled. The best you can do is always good. I realized you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be faithful in your attempts.”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man - or Just Live with One

“It's impossible to love someone and control them at the same time”
― Terry Crews

“I took in all of the stuff I could absorb about how to be a better husband, how to be a better father. As I did, I was struck by something. As men, we will study how to be the best architect, the best football player, the best actor. We’ll spend all the time we can find on our careers. But we need to be spending more time studying how to be a great husband, how to be a great father, how to be a great man.”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“There is no right way to be black or white or anything else. There are literally thousands of different ways to be in this world, so ultimately all you can be is yourself.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“My message to all men is that you have to kill pride. You’ve been taught that pride is a manly thing, that pride is a good thing. But the problem with pride is that it stops you from growth. When you’re so proud that you won’t change, you’ve got problems. Male pride causes wars; millions of people have died because of male pride, because one man would not back down. Male pride will say, “I’d rather blow up my whole family than have everyone look at me as though I’ve lost.” That is so dangerous.”
― Terry Crews

“Learning to live without shame gave me genuine empathy for the first time. I look at every person in the world, and I understand that we've all got issues and we're all in the process of becoming. If someone hasn't vanquished their demons, or doesn't know how to vanquish their demons, or isn't even aware that they have demons to vanquish - I get it, because I lived that way for the first forty-two years of my life, and I've been unlearning it every day for the last ten.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“You don't work for money. You work for appreciation. You work to create value and to be valued. What we're seeing at this moment, with millions of people leaving their jobs in the wake of COVID, is telling. People are reevaluating their lives because of this tragedy we've all been through. Businesses can't stay open because they can't find workers. They're begrudgingly raising the wages they're willing to pay, which is a good thing, but at the end of the day, it isn't about the money. It's about being valued in your job and believing your work creates value.”
― Terry Crews

“The purpose of being tough is not to attack, but to protect. The purpose of being strong is not to dominate, but to support. The purpose of having power is not to rule, but to serve. What I've learned is that to be a true man is to be the ultimate servant. With any talent or advantage that life has give you, whether by birth or by circumstance, your duty is to use that advantage in the service of others.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“I had no use for anyone telling me the odds.”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“I always seek to provide value in the entertainment that I create, but in addition to that, tithing makes every dollar I earn valuable no matter what, because 10 percent of every dollar is going to someone in need. When the Bible speaks of giving back, it tells the story of farmers who, when harvesting from their orchards, always leave something on the vine for those who have nothing. If you have ten apples, you pick nine and leave one. That's what I do. Ten percent of every dollar I make goes to pay for a shelter to help a woman like my mom escape a man like my dad. Ten percent of every dollar I make goes to helping a kid like my childhood friend Chris stay off the streets. Ten percent of every dollar I make goes to helping students get the kind of scholarship that would have allowed me to follow my dream of going to art school. Because I tithe, everything I do has value.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“A healthy faith empowers you by giving a sense of meaning and purpose to go out and be good and do good in the world. A cult does the opposite. A cult robs you of any agency and power you might have outside the group.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“IT'S ME!”
― Terry Crews

“I'm getting angry because I have an unrealistic expectation of how other person should be acting. I need to let that go.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power

“Old Spice Body Spray will make you smell like power!”
― Terry Crews

“What are you doing? Listen, if you were supposed to do this, you are going to do it. You did the whole walk-on thing in college, and you can do it again. I don’t care if you have to try out. Or if you have to go free agent, that’s what you’re going to do. If this is your dream, it’s yours. God did not take you this far to leave you here, so you get yourself together, and understand that this is not the end, ever.”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“That was such an important moment for me, because I learned that I truly have the power to reframe anything. Every experience I have in my life begins in my head, and it’s up to me”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“That job was a breakthrough for me. Before that, I’d been so concerned about my ego, and how I looked, and how people saw me. My main concern was preserving my image, no matter what. Rebecca had constantly been on me to put our family first, but I was just too immature and self-centered.”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“Now stop it, and understand there is something bigger for you. Get yourself together right now, and we’re gonna believe the best is yet to come, okay?”
― Terry Crews, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man-or Just Live with One

“we always have a choice. Even if you have a gun to your head, you have a choice. We have agency. Every minute of our lives, we can choose how we feel and how we respond to events and what we want to do. We don’t always get to choose our circumstances, but we always get to choose what to do with the circumstances that we have.”
― Terry Crews, Tough: My Journey to True Power