Nothing is as exciting - or as nerve-wracking - as being the new girl. Whether it's your first day of school or you're starting a dream job, if there's one thing that makes a first impression a lot less daunting, it's a really, really good hair day.
No time is better spent than that spent in the service of your fellow man.
But music can save your life sometimes. It probably saved me from working in a bank or something. That's a kind of salvation right there.
It's often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning. I think, if you're wise, you learn from both. You learn a lot from a loss. You learn what is it that we're not doing to get to where we want to go. It really gets your attention and it really motivates the work ethic of your team when you're not doing well.
I love TV now, and 'Modern Family,' but what draws me back to theater is that initial instinct of wanting to be a theater actor. I love the challenge of starting a play and not stopping until you finish. I love the immediacy of trusting your instincts.
You've gotta leave enough space for your actors to bring stuff to the table and whatever the weather's doing that day or what the light's like. Things can shift, and you have to be malleable. Every day is a different feeling and a change.
So then learn to conquer your fear. This is the only art we have to master nowadays: to look at things without fear, and to fearlessly do right.
I've always been absolutely appalling about the future, but I sort of think that was my childhood religion. We were future deniers. You did your best in the present, which was all around you.
I remember times when I was at shows and the person onstage locked eyes with me. And in that moment, everything was right with the world. I think that's part of my job, to create these thousands of moments every night. And for the rest of their life, they can say, 'You guys looked at me,' or 'You sweated on me,' or 'I got your gum.'
The lighthearted moments of 'Girls' are really not speckled throughout and that to me is just super exciting, to be able to delve into the darkness that you are greeted with in your early 20s and the fear and what that makes you do, the places that you can potentially go with that.
A smile is happiness you'll find right under your nose.
To be successful in real estate, you must always and consistently put your clients' best interests first. When you do, your personal needs will be realized beyond your greatest expectations.
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
You can always tell when a man's well informed. His views are pretty much like your own.
I very often get that question: 'What is your real profession?' That's because in Sweden, it is 'not allowed' to have more than one profession - there's something suspicious about it! But nowadays it's more accepted that one can do a lot of things.
A good story should make you laugh, and a moment later break your heart.
You can love and hate your family with equal measure, but the power of the bond you have to have with them, you can't really ever walk away.
I used to take it personally when a casting director didn't like me or I didn't get picked for something. Now I realize you can't do that. It'll mess with your self-esteem. Don't take rejection overly personally. If that doesn't work out, there's something else waiting for you.
If you stop exercising - which I did - and if you stop watching your caloric intake - which I did - you're gonna get fat.
Don't be intimidated by what you don't know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.
The club thing is a world people can associate with, letting your hair down at the weekend.
When I started writing, the deal was that publishers gave you a grand or two as an advance to buy some sweets, with the promise that they would make a big putsch with your fourth book when you'd built up a bit of a following. But by the time my fourth book came out, previously unpublished authors were the new big thing.
I like to work long-term on projects. It's fun to go in and out and get in there and do something and leave it behind, but to me, the real satisfaction is doing five years on a show, where you're really just up to your eyes in it. It's part of your life. That's what makes me the happiest.
Christianity affects your whole life. I feel I'm more competitive, a better player, but off the field is where there is always a battle.
I get kids who say, 'Oh, I love your movie, but my mum loves your dad.' It's really nice to be able to share that with him, but it doesn't define who I am career-wise.
Just because a romantic relationship ends doesn't mean that the other facets of your relationship have to end... or, indeed, doesn't mean they can't get better.
It's a very weird thing. When you see your house naked, you feel very protective of it and of the people who lived here before.
To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.
Honestly, it is not all about attitude; it is all about heart. You can have the attitude, you can have the swagger, you can talk your way, but it is all about heart.
Scheduling down time as part of your routine is hard but worth it, personally, even professionally.
Sometimes, to stimulate your imagination you have to be careful you don't have too much information. You can Google something, and it's in your face, pow! You don't have time to dream any more about it.
A good lesson in keeping your perspective is: Take your job seriously but don't take yourself seriously.
Don't limit your audience.
I'm a modern girl, but you should put your husband first. I like to think divorce is not an option.
He's a good tough producer, yes. But I don't think that he's unreasonable unless he feels threatened. And when somebody's in your home, I think everybody in the home gets threatened.
Don't go on American Idol, I think you'll spend the rest of your life living it down and I think it's getting kinda scary, isn't it?
