The moment someone mentions the name of Morgan Freeman, we immediately think of worldly wisdom and genial gravitas.  This June, one of the most inspiring people of the century turned 83, and he’s showing no sign of slowing down.

His soothing voice, charisma, humor, versatility, and emotional depth, keep charming audiences.

Morgan actually got into acting by chance in junior high school. Namely, he was punished to participate in the school’s drama competition for pulling out a chair from underneath a girl he had a crush on.

Yet, he proved to be natural on stage, and his performance surprised everyone!

Some of his earliest matinee idols were actors like Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and Sidney Poitier, the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

Yet, before his popular roles in ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’ ‘Glory,’ ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ and ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy,’ Freeman dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot.

In an interview, he later explained:

“I had this very clear epiphany. You are not in love with this; you are in love with the idea of this.” 

Therefore, Morgan Freeman left the Air Force and moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream of acting.

The talented man with the most iconic voice ever has been in the business for over 50 years. Time flies! He started acting in 1967, with a Broadway debut in an all-black production of Hello Dolly!

In the 1970s, he started appearing on screen. His portrayal of a hustler in Street Smart brought him the first Academy Award in 1987 for best supporting actor.

In 2004, Morgan Freeman again won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as a former boxer in Million Dollar Baby. He has also received many awards, like the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012.

Here are 22 inspirational quotes of this exceptional actor and America’s favorite narrator:

1. Don’t be different just for different’s sake. If you see it differently, function that way. Follow your own muse, always. 

2. If you wake up and the snow is knee-deep outside, you are not filled with rage. It’s just something that you’ve got to cope with. If you’re living in a situation it’s the only situation that you know, and you’ve got to deal with it. 

3. We humans are more concerned with having than with being. 

4. If your life turns out to be good and you have a tremendous amount of luck in your life, it’s a good thing to turn around and make it work for others. 

5. The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit. 

6. When you have made your choice, it is providence that is your guide. Good, bad, or indifferent. Your fate lies in that. 

7. I can say that life is good to me. Has been and is good. So I think my task is to be good to it. How do you be good to life? You live it. 

8. I once heard a wise man say there are no perfect men. Only perfect intentions. 

9. If you want to see a miracle, be the miracle. 

10. Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance. 

11. How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time. 

12. If you look back on your life and where you started from it’s like looking back down a mountain back to the desert floor. It’s like now I can’t believe I had whatever it takes or perceived whatever it took to get here. 

13. Very often, you know, you stop walking because you say, ‘Well, I’m tired of climbing this hill. I’m never going to get to the top.’ And you’re only two steps from the top. 

14. I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away the part of you that knows it was a win to lock them up does rejoice. 

15. One of the things you can always depend on – this is one of the truths of the universe, and you heard it first from here – whatever we decide we want to do is what we do. 

16. As long as you feel like a victim, you are one. 

17. I always tell my kids if you lay down, people will step over you. But if you keep scrambling, if you keep going, someone will always, always give you a hand. Always. But you gotta keep dancing, you gotta keep your feet moving. 

18. Was I always going to be here? No, I was not. I was going to be homeless at one time, a taxi driver, truck driver, or any kind of job that would get me a crust of bread. You never know what’s going to happen. 

19. Insanity is coasting through life in a miserable existence when you have a caged lion locked inside and the key to release it. 

20. Never let pride be your guiding principle. Let your accomplishments speak for you. 

21. Challenge yourself; it’s the only path which leads to growth. 

22. Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear. 

Source: www.biography.com