Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They're really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

We look at science as something very elite, which only a few people can learn. That's just not true. You just have to start early and give kids a foundation. Kids live up, or down, to expectations.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin even, or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I think science fiction helps us think about possibilities, to speculate - it helps us look at our society from a different perspective. It lets us look at our mores, using science as the backdrop, as the game changer.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

The biggest challenge we all face is to learn about ourselves and to understand our strengths and weaknesses. We need to utilize our strengths, but not so much that we don't work on our weaknesses.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I want to make sure that that future that we're creating is one that is the best it can be for people around the world, and also one that includes the full range of our talent and our skills - and, you know, gender and ethnicity, geography - to solving the world's problems.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

People put themselves in difficult situations in lots of different areas. What you count on is people taking every precaution. The aerospace industry is unique in this aspect because a thousandths-of-an-inch mistake can cause spectacular failures.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I've gotten this advice at different times, and it distills down to one word: purpose. Why are you here? When you start to get distracted by thoughts such as 'Do I fit in? Does this person like me?' - remember why you're there and what you want to accomplish.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

What we find is that if you have a goal that is very, very far out, and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

Timidity does not inspire bold acts.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

My perspective is the Earth will be here. It just may not be habitable to our life form. We get confused. We think we're the center of everything.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

We are all tasked to balance and optimize ourselves.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I wanted to be a scientist, but I wanted to go into space. They are not mutually exclusive.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I was a science fiction geek. That lets you know that they come in all sizes and styles, right?

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

There are individuals who can support you, but frequently, you have to risk putting yourself out there - and sometimes you just have to push.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

I had great mentors in my parents who always sought to understand the world around them. And they would push me to really think things through.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

Sometimes parents squash students' interests because they are afraid of science or math. So they don't participate. You don't have to know the answers to engage kids; you just have to let them know it's important.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

When I left NASA, I was looking at how you could use space technologies for developing countries' work.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison

The level of confidence women are able to build in women-only groups is important.