1. “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” — Mark Twain
2. “My father said there were two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. The takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.” — Marlo Thomas
3. “Becoming a father, I think it inevitably changes your perspective of life. I don’t get nearly enough sleep. And the simplest things in life are completely satisfying.” — Hugh Jackman
4. “My father was a man of love…. I don’t ever remember a really cross, unkind word from my father.” — Johnny Cash
5. “My father lived by the philosophy, ‘Be yourself, because everyone else is taken,’ and he made sure I did, too. Whatever I wanted to do, he supported me… He watched my back while I worked to achieve things.” — Tommy Lee
6. “It’s only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it’s only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it. Pride reinforces love.” — Margaret Truman
7. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.” — Jim Valvano
8. “This is my most important role. If I fail at this, I fail at everything.” — Mark Wahlberg
9. “It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life.” — Dawn French
10. “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’” — Harmon Killebrew
11. “Nothing I’ve ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children.” — Bill Cosby
12. “I feel that my father’s greatest legacy was the people he inspired to get involved in public service and their communities, to join the Peace Corps, to go into space. And really that generation transformed this country in civil rights, social justice, the economy and everything.” — Caroline Kennedy
13. “I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” — Umberto Eco
14. “I always wanted to be a father and thought it would be great, but it just took the right woman and the right time to make it all happen.” — Matthew McConaughey
15. “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, ‘You never know what you can accomplish until you try.’” — Michael Jordan
16. “Being a father has been, without a doubt, my greatest source of achievement, pride, and inspiration. Fatherhood has taught me about unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back, and taught me how to be a better person.” — Naveen Jain
17. “Above all, children need our unconditional love, whether they succeed or make mistakes; when life is easy and when life is tough.” — President Barack Obama
18. “My father was my teacher. But most importantly, he was a great dad.” — Beau Bridges
19. “We never know the love of a parent, until we become parents ourselves.” — Harriet Ward Beecher
20. “I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father’s life.” — Sidney Poitier