There's something about the idea of writing, and thinking about writing as a form of prayer - the way as a writer you call out into the world and throw your words into the world. You're not praying to a god, but you're almost conjuring a reader to arrive. That's what books do: they're an invitation to readers.
When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly the way they are.
You believe happiness to be derived from the place in which once you have been happy, but in truth it is centered in ourselves.
It's difficult to have any animosity towards someone if you recognize that on so many levels they're exactly the same as you.
You know, if I wrote the arrangements two years from now, they would probably be a lot slicker.
So many people comment that I'm much more mature than average. In this business, you can get taken advantage of if you're not aware and you're not tough.
Growing up in Alaska, they don't really teach you to swim there. I learned to swim just a few summers ago with Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard. She did great, and right after that I went to get scuba certified. I had fun with it. I didn't really get scared, but some people thought that was a risk.
When you have little girls, you're the coolest person in the world. I know at some point that's going to end; in their adolescence I'll become the opposite of that, especially if I'm parked outside a high school party.
Look at how many North Carolina kids have played for me or tried out for me or coached with me. I've had Dennis Wuycik, Steve Previs, Billy Chamberlain, Donald Washington, Darrell Elston, Tommy LaGarde, Bobby Jones. You name it, I've had them. Whatever Coach has ever asked me to do, I've done. Because I love the school, and I worship him.
There's danger in just shoveling out money to people who say, 'My life is a little harder than it used to be.' At a certain place you've got to say to the people, 'Suck it in and cope, buddy. Suck it in and cope.'
Flying dreams mean that you're doing the right thing with your life.
When you take a drug to treat high blood pressure or diabetes, you have an objective test to measure blood pressure and the amount of sugar in the blood. It is straight-forward. With autism, you are looking for changes in behavior.
I like doing comedy, I like doing drama. Naturally I like to do, I like doing dramas, I like conflict, and when I do a comedy, you know, I've found that, like, romantic comedy is the trickiest one, because often it's neither: it's not romantic and it's not funny. So, like, I like a comedy that's biting. It's biting humor or really quirky humor.
I've been at this for a while, and to a very real extent, you look at cover art with the same sort of expectation you have for playing slot machines in Vegas. That is to say, you hope to break even and promise yourself not to flinch when all you get is the same sort of mix of fruit that you get in a cup of generic fruit cocktail.
I think what's dangerous about marriage is the way it can make you feel like you've got it all wrapped up. Like you're done: you've found your spouse, you've married him or her, and you don't need to think too much more about it.
When you have a highly divided society, it's hard to come together to make investments in the common good.
But I say these things in an objective dispassionate manner because, you know, and I can't explain why, but being one of the greatest guitarists in the world simply is not very important to me.
Indian women love to dress up like princesses. In India, people still go to the market to buy fabrics, garments are made-to-order, and friends come with you to the fittings.
If you can get an out on one pitch, take it. Let the strikeouts come on the outstanding pitches. Winning is the big thing. If you throw a lot of pitches, before you know it, your arm is gone.
Women often are so focused on getting their jobs done well that they forget that building relationships is a key part of being a leader - and increasingly so, the higher you go.
If you've got an idea, start today. There's no better time than now to get going. That doesn't mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100% from day one, but there's always small progress that can be made to start the movement.
You can be enticed by food, wooed by food, sex, money, or instruments.
I do think that despite my best efforts to resist it, I am now a grown-up. It's due to lots of very difficult decisions that you make over a long period of time - about motherhood, wifehood, and work, and all the things that one has to make decisions about.
When you become a parent, you start loving diapers.
My dad is a bank president and my mom was an accountant and they didn't think that seeking the life of a freelance writer was very practical, you see. Of course, I was just as determined to do it.
If you want to go somewhere, goto is the best way to get there.
Let me tell you a little secret: There are no bad actors. There are none. You have to find the right role. I never give up on people. For God's sake, look at me.
Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.
In any area of human endeavour, there is going to be mediocrity. You're going to find people who get money that they shouldn't get.
I don't feel isolated on a film set. In a way you do because you don't really mix with the outside world; you're just sort of working non-stop for a few months, but you've got so many people around you.
The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet.
I think about terrorism in terms of popcorn. You can't tell which kernels are popcorn and which are not, but you assume you'll always have some kernels that are going to pop.
If you're going to paint extremely, you need a big piece of canvas.
Standup keeps me grounded and keeps me in touch. I get to go from small towns to big cities, across Canada and the U.S., and you're out there and talking to people. You get a sense of what they respond to.
I come from Texas. We're a different brand of people. You're not changing who I am.
How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.
