[It is] ... a sound maxim that it is better only sometimes to be right than at all times to be wrong, so soon as I discover my opinions to be erroneous, I shall be ready to renounce them.
Critics have their uses. They can crystallize a moment and bring into sharp relief the mistakes that have been made and what must be done to correct them.
I grew and learned, journeyed and understood, that someone who is afraid of failing won't get anywhere, and someone who dares to do it runs the risk of failure if they don't learn, correct their mistakes, and get back up.
There's nothing like doing something wrong to learn how it might be done better.
If you are terrified of making mistakes, you will be reluctant to acknowledge them when you do make them-and therefore you will not correct them.
Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes.
It is not a mistake to commit a mistake, for no one commits a mistake knowing it to be one. But it is a mistake not to correct the mistake after knowing it to be one. If you are afraid of committing a mistake, you are afraid of doing anything at all. You will correct your mistakes whenever you find them.
We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
The readiest and surest way to get rid of censure, is to correct ourselves.
Remember that to change your mind and follow him who sets you right is to be none the less free than you were before.
The people who are right a lot often change their minds.
America has this wonderful ability to recover from its own mistakes, which is why it's so hugely superior to China.
We can endure neither our vices nor the remedies for them.
When I was a kid, I really loved Indians. Native Americans. Pardon. Me.
I have an intense dislike of doctrines, because you will always end up eating your words.
It is no weakness for the wisest man to learn when he is wrong.
The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
A great nation does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and corrects them.
Sincerity must be bought at a price: the humility to recognize our innumerable errors, and fidelity in tirelessly setting them right.
I am tough. Sometimes I'm unreasonable. I have to catch myself every once in a while.
Most of the balls that I've dropped have been from a result of trying to run before I actually catch the ball. It's frustrating. I just have to go and fix them.
Guilt is not the best way to remedy your mistakes.
There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.
It is nobler to declare oneself wrong than to insist on being right --especially when one is right.
If I feel like I'm going too far in one direction, I just can it. It's a weird thing. Some of my songs might be cheesy; I try and keep it light. It's hard to explain.
