To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.
Reba McEntire
I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy, happy and I am loved.
For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light, out of the darkness.
All the money in the world can't buy you back good health.
I don't think quantity time is as special as quality time with your family.
I treat myself pretty good. I take lots of vacations, I eat well, I take supplements, I do mercury detox, I get plenty of sleep, I drink plenty of water and I stay away from drama and stress.
Be different, stand out, and work your butt off.
I have learned a lot about myself and come to deal with a lot of things that, at first, bothered me.
It's very important to surround yourself with people you can learn from.
A good song has to have a great melody, and the lyrics have to touch my heart. Now, if it's just a little toe-tapper, got to make me feel good somehow or another, or when I sing it I can't make you feel good.
Being a strong woman is very important to me. But doing it all on my own is not.
Finding a good bus driver can be as important as finding a good musician.
You don't waste your entire life waiting to go back to dust.
I grew up in southeastern Oklahoma on a working cattle ranch, and it was always very romantic to me: The West, the cowboy, the Western way of life.
To me, being popular means I've got more friends. You've got to watch who your friends are, if you want to get close to them, but I've got a lot of acquaintances. And then, you've got to be real careful who your friends are, because you never know why they're your friend.
When I got into the music business in 1976, there weren't many women on the roster. As a woman, you don't complain; you work twice as hard, and you do your job.
I was singing a lot of waltzes. And I was with Jerry Kennedy, my producer, and he was playing me some songs, and he said, hey, I want to play you this song that I'm going to get Jackie Ward to record.
Besides, I'm a gypsy at heart and I like to travel around.
And I was mischievous. I was always into something. So when I got good attention from the singing, I knew that was probably where I needed to land.
Easter is very important to me, it's a second chance.
I just try not to judge. Don't judge me, and I won't judge you.
I'm open to any kind of situation in a song as long as it touches my heart.
To me, there's two types of songs, good and bad. And I just like to stick with the good ones.
My family, you know, are all still, you know, very close. We're all still very close. Mom and Daddy are still alive. So, what more can you ask for? Your kids are healthy.
I love to wear boots - and shoes, I don't like at all.
I always like story songs, Dolly Parton, Tom T. Hall, Mel Tillis, Red Stegall, when they'd do their story songs. I was totally enthralled.
Waiting makes me restless. When I'm ready, I'm ready.
Growing up is not being so dead-set on making everybody happy.
The upside to anger? Getting it out of your system. You got to express your anger. Then you have room for more positive things. If I hold something in a long time, and then I speak it, it's amazing how the light shines so much brighter.
I think it's a wonderful time for a woman.
You've got to stay current and up with the competition. The main thing, though, is finding the greatest songs you can possibly find.
I have talked to Debbie Hammond quite a bit, Jim Hammond's wife, his widow. I've seen their kids. And last time we played Dallas, a lot of them came over. It's hard for them to come see the show. It's still hard.
I totally love to act. I don't care if it's a musical, a comedy. I just like to work and interact with other people.
So, I took lessons, and I love to shoot now. It's a lot of fun.
I exercise at least five times a week with stretching, Pilates, push-ups, planks, sit- ups, squats and light weights.
I use all my skills that I can muster up, but the fun thing is that I find some untapped skills every once in a while. I get that from my daddy.
For no. 1, it's great writing, super writing. The second thing is that it's great chemistry with all the actors. We just all got along from the very start. Very get-go, we all got along. We just - it was just like we were all meant to be there together.
My goals have changed throughout my life. At one time it was winning awards, selling out concert dates, selling more albums than anyone else. Now, my goals are to see my grandchildren grown, live a long and healthy life with my family and friends and travel the world.
The biggest challenge in my life is getting all these kids raised. I've helped with nieces, stepchildren and my own son, so the biggest challenge is making sure the kids are raised and finding enough quality time with them.
When onstage, I always try to take my audience through as many emotions as I possibly can. I want them to go from laughter to tears, be shocked and surprised and walk out the door with a renewed sense of themselves - and maybe a smile.
And so we were asleep there in San Diego. And our pilot called us. And his brother was on one of the other planes. And when he was leaving the airport, he saw in his rear view mirror that there was an explosion.
When you're a very ambitious person, the things that are disappointing are when other people around you aren't as enthusiastic.
At this time when I turn 50, because so there's many of my friends and family who didn't get to see 50-years-old, and so, I'm celebrating for them too.
So, I think it has to do with the product and what you take to the public. If they like it, they're going to come see you, and if they don't, and if you're kind of getting out of the trendy line of things, then they won't come see you.
I've got CDs in my car, listening all the time for that next song, because everybody's looking.
You know, I get a lot of people pitching songs to me.
But I like to listen to demos. I like to hear the finished product. It's like listening to a song - I mean, a story. If you're going to sit here and tell me a story, I just like to listen. I don't want to make them up.
And the two planes that were taking the band and crew that we had taken out to San Diego were flying out after the show. And so I was never supposed to be on that plane.
Never have doubted it, even when the plane crash happened. I wasn't mad at God. I just knew that there was a reason that I didn't know about why it happened.
I had lots of breaks.
