Dave Pelzer
To help yourself, you must be yourself. Be the best that you can be. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.Collection: Moving
I work 338 days a year, 16 hours a day.Collection: Work
You kick a dog long enough, that dog is going to bite you or die.
You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It's a mindset.
I had an attachment disorder.
When you please others in hopes of being accepted, you lose you self-worth in the process.
Something good comes out of every crisis.
'A Child Called It' was a story about resilience, it was never about boo hoo hoo, it was about a kid that didn't quit.
What distresses me at times is that I meet a lot of people in their 40's, 50's, 60's, who still say they're a victim of child abuse.
The thing is, at the end of the day you still have to face yourself.
Everyone picked on me in school because I was in foster care.
Ask yourself: was there anything I could have done to prevent the situation? If the answer is yes, do something now and become a better person for it.
If people have a basic understanding of right from wrong, possess a strong desire to better themselves and persist in their cause, they can break the chain of any negative environment.
Whatever you do for the sole purpose of having others admire you, your efforts will most likely be in vain.
My mom obviously had a problem.
Everybody makes mistakes.
I know I can be very standoffish.
I am not the most eloquent guy in the world.
Even when I lecture per se, I am a joke comedian, I can do the voices.
I am a very shy, introverted guy.
I plan my life in 15-minute sections.
My message has always been about resilience.
My fans are buying the DNA of Dave.
I buy thousands of books a year.
I learned from Arnold Schwarzenegger, too, that it's O.K. to be pluggish.
There's a lot of Dave mania when I speak.
I couldn't lie to get myself fame and fortune.
I'm always looking for a story of survival.
I still love my former wife, I won't call her my ex-wife.
Everybody has a tragedy or two in their lives.
I really believe I'm no different from anyone else. I just had a few challenges I had to learn from at a very early age.
I became a war hero before going on to critical acclaim as a professional victim.
Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.Collection: Inspirational
In life you are going to make mistakes, you're going to fall down, but it's the getting up that counts. Just like in baseball: you'll get a few hits, but most likely, you'll strike out more than you'll get on base. But don't quit. Find your focus, relax, take a deep breath and give it a good swingCollection: Baseball
It is important for people to know that no matter what lies in their past, they can overcome the dark side and press on the a brighter world.Collection: Lying
Even in its darkest passages, the heart is unconquerable. It is important that the body survives, but it is more meaningful that the human spirit prevails.Collection: Meaningful
Inside, my soul became so cold I hated everything. I even despised the sun, for I knew I would never be able to play in its warm presence. I cringed with hate whenever I heard other children laughing, as they played outside. My stomach coiled whenever I smelled food that was about to be served to somebody else, knowing it wasn't for me.Collection: Children
You have to understand that in a person's life there are a few precious moments in which decisions, choices that you make now, will affect you for the rest of your life.Collection: Choices
Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive.Collection: Mother
I believe that no matter how many mistakes weve made; how badly weve really, really screwed up; how old, worn out, or dejected weve become; as long as there is true, steadfast ambition, all of us have an opportunity for greatness.Collection: Mistake
Build on past successes, be grateful for what you do have, and know that this, too, shall pass. It's only for the now. Whatever we're facing, it's not forever.Collection: Grateful
One could come from less than humble beginnings, to become a winner from within.Collection: Humble
I'm so alive. As I stand facing the beauty of the never-ending Pacific Ocean, a late afternoon breeze blows down from the hills behind. As always, it is a beautiful day. The sun is making its final descent. The magic is about to begin. The skies are ready to burn with brilliance, as it turns from a soft blue to a bright orange. Looking towards the West, I stare in awe at the hypnotic power of the waves. A giant curl begins to take form, then breaks with a thundering clap as it crashes on the shore.Collection: Beautiful
David what your mother did to you was wrong. Verry wrong.No child deserves to be treated like that. She's sick.Collection: Mother
If people have a basic understanding of right from wrong, possess a strong desire to better themselves and persist in there cause, they can break the chain of any negative environment.Collection: Strong
I know I can be very standoffish . . .Collection: Knows
I told myself no matter what she did i would not let the b**** take me downCollection: Matter
I just don't want to forget this first day of the rest of my life!Collection: Want
The Stovepipe is a memoir full of laughter and tears and a moving story of sisterly love as well as their will to survive.Collection: Laughter
...and deliver me from evil." "Amen.Collection: Evil