Motivational speaking became my career. Who would ever have thought it?

Earl Nightingale has inspired more people toward success and fortune than any other motivational speaker on the planet.

Speeches? I don't ever feel like I'm giving a speech. I don't look at myself as a motivational speaker.

Give Obama a script he has made his own, and he is the motivational speaker to end all speakers. Tony Robbins cloned with Honest Abe.

I'm a motivational speaker, so I'm going to look at something in as much of a positive way as possible.

I go to this motivational page on Instagram and save some of the important quotes that I see. In my spare time I go to my saved items and read the quotes - it inspires me.

My first book was called, 'Mountain, Get Out of My Way,' where I did an autobiographical sketch, if you will, looking back at myself and looking back at things in my life, and juxtaposing them against things that are happening in other people's lives and trying to be motivational.

Stoking fears of a potential shutdown is a strong motivational tool to get members on board with legislation that they don't want to support. Both parties are guilty of this.

One day, I got so disgusted that I sat down and wrote a list called 'Justin's list of things to do before he kicks the bucket.' I wrote it for myself and shortened it to 'Justin's Bucket List.' It was there on the wall, not as a story idea but as a motivational tool for myself, which actually ended up working pretty well.

The Village Voice gave me an outlet. They encouraged writers to publish idiosyncratic, intellectually ambitious journalism in voices that ranged from demonic to highfalutin. And they paid me well once the magazine was unionized. Getting paid is motivational.