He that rises late must trot all day.

There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living.

Most of the time, songs that I write end up being finished in 30 minutes or less.

The only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it.

I would venture to guess that the biggest reason creative types don’t produce isn’t because they don’t have vision… or talent… in most cases, it’s a lack of discipline.

As you get older, the questions come down to about two or three. How long? And what do I do with the time I’ve got left?

I like the cold weather. It means you get work done.

If you’re going to wake up early all the time, and you’re working hard, and you’re working out, sometimes you’re going to get tired. It’s OK. It’s acceptable – somewhat. We’re all human, unfortunately.

I tend not to look back and dwell on a project once it is finished.

To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune.

A creation of importance can only be produced when its author isolates himself, it is a child of solitude.

Haitian rice farmers are quite efficient, but they can’t compete with U.S. agribusiness that relies on a huge government subsidy, thanks to Ronald Reagan’s free market enthusiasms.

I am so busy doing nothing… that the idea of doing anything – which as you know, always leads to something – cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.

Just on a practical side, if you wake up early in the morning – like at 4:30 in the morning – you’re going to have some free time to yourself to make things happen, to take care of things that are important to you.

He that won’t be counseled can’t be helped.

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.

Like every man of sense and good feeling, I abominate work.

The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.

Leisure is the time for doing something useful. This leisure the diligent person will obtain the lazy one never.

I only live in my music, and I have scarcely begun one thing when I start on another. As I am now working, I am often engaged on three or four things at the same time.

The Internet is a big distraction.

Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

I believe you never get tired by doing work. You get tired when you don’t work. When you clean your house, you don’t get tired; it gives you satisfaction.

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.

We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.

Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.

In twenty years I’ve never had a day when I didn’t have to think about someone else’s needs. And this means the writing has to be fitted around it.

The future is purchased by the present.

Literally wrote ‚Starboy‘ in 30 minutes.

You know, if you are kind of rich, the best thing is that you don’t have to think about money. The best thing you can buy with money is freedom, time. I don’t know how much I earn a year. I have no idea. I don’t know how much I pay in taxes.

We don’t thrive on military acts. We do them because we have to, and thank God we are efficient.

It’s an offseason. These days are valuable for everybody.

Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.

The end of labor is to gain leisure.

A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man’s life as in a book. Haste makes waste, no less in life than in housekeeping. Keep the time, observe the hours of the universe, not of the cars.

I want the concentration and the romance, and the worlds all glued together, fused, glowing: have no time to waste any more on prose.

I’ve noticed that when I am selling a lot of records, certain things become easier. I’m not talking about getting a table in a restaurant.

I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.

The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.

I don’t pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being.

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

About half my time is spent on business operation type stuff.

Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.

I don’t do meetings.

The society based on production is only productive, not creative.

Learn to say ‚no‘ to the good so you can say ‚yes‘ to the best.

I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.

One today is worth two tomorrows.

Effective philanthropy requires a lot of time and creativity – the same kind of focus and skills that building a business requires.

I explain the law of compensation like this: ‚Returns are minimal in spite of massive effort at the start, yet returns can be massive with minimal effort over time.

My problem was my inability to spend much time at home. I thought my family was secure, so I went running around everyplace else. I guess I had more of an effect on other people’s kids than I did my own.

On my desk I have three screens, synchronized to form a single desktop. I can drag items from one screen to the next. Once you have that large display area, you’ll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.

If there was nothing wrong in the world there wouldn’t be anything for us to do.

I’m a day-to-day-type person.

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive.

The truth is, anyone can start projects. The world is full of just-started projects that looked great at the time but were never completed.

It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.