Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.

Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God.

Everything in the world exists to end up in a book.

Life is a matter of really tough choices.

All things truly wicked start from innocence.

I used to like to set different film clips to classical music, not even my own songs, but make little movies.

When people are around us, they should leave better off than they were previously. Rather than feeling discouraged or defeated, people should feel challenged and inspired after spending any time with you and me.

My focus is to forget the pain of life. Forget the pain, mock the pain, reduce it. And laugh.

To see things in the seed, that is genius.

Bravery never goes out of fashion.

For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival, liberty is human rights, the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants.

Thou know’st the first time that we smell the air we wawl and cry. When we are born we cry, that we are come to this great state of fools.

Each life makes its own immitation of immortality.

I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.

Everywhere I go I find that people… both leaders and individuals… are asking one basic question, ‚Is there any hope for the future?‘ My answer is the same, ‚Yes, through Jesus Christ.‘

You know, as a writer, I’m more of a listener than a writer, cuz if I hear something I will write it down.

My songs are the door to every dream I’ve ever had and every success I’ve ever achieved.

Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

We have the resources to build room for a trillion humans in this solar system, and when we have a trillion humans, we’ll have a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts. It will be a way more interesting place to live.

Why should poetry have to make sense?

The astronomer will believe that the most erratic comet will yet accomplish its journey and revisit our sphere; but we give up those for lost who have not wandered one-half the distance from the centre of light and life.

I used to – my earliest memory of waking up with a melody in my head was, you know, 8, 9, 10. I’ve always heard kind of melodies in my head.

All of my writing is God-given.

You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not – silence is the sharper sword.

Existence really is an imperfect tense that never becomes a present.

I like to be creative.

Life’s a bit like mountaineering – never look down.

I’m not a big believer in trying to jam stuff down somebody’s throat: ‚You’re going to do it my way.‘ I’d rather show by example and live my life and have people say, ‚You know what, I want to live like Joel has. He’s got peace and joy, and he seems content.‘

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

We allow no geniuses around our Studio.

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

I love inventing names, but I also collect unusual names, so that I can look through my notebook and choose one that suits a new character.

Susceptibility to the highest forces is the highest genius.

I have rules for a lot of areas of my life. Love is not going to be one of them.

When it’s your time, it is your time.

In art, at a certain level, there is no ‚better than.‘ It’s just about trying to operate for yourself on the most supreme level, artistically, that you can and hoping that people get it.

I love the name of honor, more than I fear death.

We think that life develops spontaneously on Earth, so it must be possible for life to develop on suitable planets elsewhere in the universe. But we don’t know the probability that a planet develops life.

One who does not know when to die, does not know how to live.

The road to perdition has ever been accompanied by lip service to an ideal.

A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.

The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

Just because you like my stuff doesn’t mean I owe you anything.

Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.

One word from the Lord is like a piece of gold to a believer, who is like a jeweler, shaping and hammering out the promise for a number of weeks.

Art was, seriously, the only thing I’d ever wanted to own. It has always been for me a stable nourishment. I use it. It can change the way that I feel in the mornings.

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

You know those things that you throw the twigs into and it spits them out? That’s what I do. The branches are like life, and I throw them into my head and some of it comes out as humor.

Bad people are, from the point of view of art, fascinating studies. They represent colour, variety and strangeness. Good people exasperate one’s reason; bad people stir one’s imagination.

Since I was old enough to understand what a songwriter/producer is, I’ve had a curiosity about how Max Martin creates what he creates. I wanted to see that happen. I wanted to be there. I wanted to learn from him.

Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.

Every man in his lifetime needs to thank his faults.

I’m honored that everybody’s inspired off my inspiration.

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.

When you seek the presence of your creative Spirit and are filled with passion about virtually everything you undertake, you’ll successfully remove the roadblocks from your life and enjoy the active presence of Spirit.

I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.

I can get where some scientists would say comedians are crazy. What you have to understand: A lot of comedians are dealing with a dark passion. A lot of these are guys coming from a tumultuous life, including myself. Some people need outlets, a way to express yourself.

Those who do not know how to live must make a merit of dying.

The technology keeps moving forward, which makes it easier for the artists to tell their stories and paint the pictures they want.