I want to own a network. I want to own a network where you can turn it on with your family all day long and get positive reinforcement.

The most important thing that I learned in growing up is that forgiveness is something that, when you do it, you free yourself to move on.

It's not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.

Forgiveness is important in families, especially when there are so many secrets that need to be healed - for the most part, every family's got them.

The heart of who I am as a person and as a man is forgiveness, after forgiving my father for a lot of things that were done when I was child.

If you look at everything I do - even in 'Boo!' there's a message, and it's always 'faith, family, forgiveness.' That's the greatest gift that I've been given. I can get a message to the very people I grew up with, the millions who love what I do.

Happiness for me is totally just being at peace knowing that, everything I'm doing, God is pleased with that. It's complete peace for me.

I don't think the dreams die - I think that people give up. I think it gets too hard.

There are a lot of people who have dreams, goals, and hopes, but there aren't a lot who get to see them realized.

Everyone can relate to love, hurt, pain, learning how to forgive, needing to get over, needing the power of God in their life.

My mother was truly my saving grace, because she would take me to church with her. I would see my mother smiling in the choir, and I wanted to know this God that made her so happy. If I had not had that faith in my life, I don't know where I would be right now.

Very early on, when I started doing these plays and live shows, I would travel from city to city, and there were a million shows out there... so I wanted to step out among it, and I started putting my name above the title.

I don't know about marriage as much as I do know that I'd be a great father.

What I've been able to do with my character, Madea, and the other characters, with the jokes, is use it as an anesthetic to get to the heart and soul of real issues. And what I've found on stage over the years is that, while making people laugh, I can drop in pearls of wisdom.

My family never went to a restaurant together; we never went to the movies together. Vacation, we never did that.

Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you're a janitor or taking your first summer job, because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.