Make the most of what you’ve got

“I wish I could stay young forever. I’m 70 now. The number is a little scary, but I’ve got a good attitude and I’m making the most of every year. If I live to 800, I’m going to be the best 800-year-old you’ll ever want to meet. I just want to make the most of the years I’ve got and fill them up with as much good, productive, creative stuff as I can, and I’m going to try to leave as much as I can for my family. So I’ll continue to work. But there’s no way to stop time – you just roll away with it.

Grow old with grace – your way

“Cosmetic surgery is a way of making people realise that you ain’t stopped. If I need a little nip and tuck here and there, I’ll do that. I’ll do whatever it takes to look as good as I can and I’ll try to take as good care of myself as I can. You know, time marches on and sometimes you feel like it marches right across your face, but if you can get rid of a few wrinkles or whatever, especially if your face is going to be stuck on a movie screen, if you have the desire to do it, if you have the money to do it and you got the nerve to do it – why not? To me, it’s part of growing old with grace. Well, I wonder what Grace would have done – if she had the money, she’d probably have had her face done, too.”

Connect with the people around you

“When I sing I try to think about what it is I’m saying and I try to tag that into the energy of my audience. I try to sell it, to make them feel the emotions that I’m feeling, drawing them into whatever that source is. There are times when my mind will wander to my plans for the next day, to family… But I try my best to be right there in the moment.”

Age doesn’t matter

“I have no intention of ever retiring. The only way I’d ever slow down is if my health fails, or if my husband was not well. But even then, if he was healthy enough to travel I’d just take him on the bus and have a nurse with me. I can take care of him and still do my work.”

Dolly Parton’s life lessons will inspire you to be the best that you can be