The true artist is not proud: he unfortunately sees that art has no limits; he feels darkly how far he is from the goal, and though he may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun.

I hardly ever go into the studio with a work complete in my head. It emerges from communal activity.

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life.

When you face a ‚performance‘ that might provoke the ‚I’m scared‘ response, choose love and approach your opportunity as a chance to dance with God. It’s more fun than ‚Dancing with the Stars!‘

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band – or at least in a Pixies cover band.

We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him a proper security is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.

The greatest pride, or the greatest despondency, is the greatest ignorance of one’s self.

Work aside, we come to New York for the possibility of interaction and inspiration.

I definitely don’t plead guilty to being a heartthrob.

I’m an inventor.

I’m not talent. Not considered ‚talent‘ by Lifetime. I’d like to say I’m their savior, but that would be cocky.

I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.

It is always your next move.

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.

We’re always looking over our shoulders, ‚what they will think, what the press will think, what will this one – am I making the right career move?‘ When you’re young you have to do all that to survive, I suppose.

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.

Obviously, the cinematography of films is art, just as a still shot can be art. If I’m watching a Wes Anderson movie, the colour palettes alone, and the way they’re painted, could be art. With music, you’re a little bit limited, of course, because it’s only audio.

To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.

I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.

What makes a song last is real content from a mind that is thinking a little bit harder about certain things. A lot of artists don’t really think that hard.

I wish I could play bass like Larry Graham or Bootsy Collins. My God, I’d give up just about everything else for that.

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true.

When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

Nothing can come of nothing.

At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself.

The more you practice, the better you get, the more freedom you have to create.

Can the mind see the truth of its own incapacity to know the unknown? Surely if I see very clearly that my mind cannot know the unknown, there is absolute quietness.

Because of its phantom nature, and despite elaborate defense mechanisms, the ego is very vulnerable and insecure, and it sees itself as constantly under threat. This, by the way, is the case even if the ego is outwardly very confident.

If you want to be a good writer, be the best writer in the world. That’s what I’ve done.

Fiction is based on reality unless you’re a fairytale artist.

When I am working on a book or a story, I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you, and it is cool or cold, and you come to your work and warm as you write.

I always try to be smart. I try to treat all the money I’m making like it’s the last time I’m going to make it.

You have to like the present; if not your life becomes secondhand, if you think it was better before. Or that it will be better in the future.

I know how fiction matters to me, because if I want to express myself, I have to make up a story. Some people call it imagination. To me, it’s not imagination. It’s just a way of watching.

I have an existential map. It has ‚You are here‘ written all over it.

The first duty of man is to conquer fear; he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then.

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.

Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.

Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it.

The most important thing is to read as much as you can, like I did. It will give you an understanding of what makes good writing and it will enlarge your vocabulary.

Music is well said to be the speech of angels.

People always say when they meet me that I’m not what they expect. I assume they think I’m this super dark and depressing guy, but I like to channel all of those emotions into my work.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

When new turns of behavior cease to appear in the life of the individual, its behavior ceases to be intelligent.

There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing.

Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching.

Good ideas are free – or at least they should be.

You are the universe, you aren’t in the universe.

Forget the past.

I’ve never had writer’s block.

If four things are followed – having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance – then anything can be achieved.

Music belongs to the people. To no one else. To no one else.

I vividly remember a conversation I had many years ago in 1974, which marked a turning point in my leadership journey. I was sitting at a Holiday Inn with my friend, Kurt Campmeyer, when he asked me if I had a personal growth plan. I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t even know you were supposed to have one.

Unless and until you inspire the people, you will not get results. Imposition will never give you the results. Inspiration will always give you the results.

At the core, one of my original goals is to redefine what the streets expect.

Pride is still aiming at the best houses: Men would be angels, angels would be gods. Aspiring to be gods, if angels fell; aspiring to be angels men rebel.

Yes, there is a terrible moral in ‚Dorian Gray‘ – a moral which the prurient will not be able to find in it, but it will be revealed to all whose minds are healthy. Is this an artistic error? I fear it is. It is the only error in the book.

Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm.