One of the most important things that I have learned in my 57 years is that life is all about choices. On every journey you take, you face choices. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. And it is those decisions that shape our lives.
Don't tell your stories to anyone. You'll be more motivated knowing it's a prerequisite to having an audience.
If you listen to the way I speak, I have a lot of rhythm, use a lot of accents. When I'm playing my instrument, that concept comes through very clearly.
It's important for a villain to be as threatening as possible, whether physically, mentally or emotionally... however you want to do it. If you can combine all three, well, that's the ultimate villain.
Mourning is not forbidden, you know.
I thought, 'My God, I'm gonna make $15,000 a week for 13 weeks.' What would I do with that kind of money? You know, I had never seen anything like that before in my life.
Go to the depot here, now, and what will you see? A well-dressed colored lady, with her little children by her side, whom she has brought up intelligently and with refinement, as much so as white children, comes to the cars, and where is she shown to? Into the smoking car, where men are cursing, swearing, spitting on the floor.
If you are an investor, I hope that you will stay with me for three, four, ten years. But if you ask me to make profits in ways that I have to change my allure, I won't do that. I won't lose my identity.
A harsh reality of newspaper editing is that the deadlines don't allow for the polish that you expect in books or even magazines.
In poetry you can express almost inexpressible feelings. You can express the pain of loss, you can express love. People always turn to poetry when someone they love dies, when they fall in love.
I have zero desire, just so you know, to be in the limelight. I don't think it's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor. You're not going to see me giving my opinions in the public arena, until I start selling my book. I'm going to emerge then submerge.
When you're around the whole Dead scene, they're there as a tribal thing; they're there as part of a rendezvous and a pow-wow.
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
I remember when I got to 16, my mum was like, 'No, now you've got to go and get a proper job. We've indulged you long enough.' I don't think they ever thought I was going to be successful in entertainment at all.
Dancing - however you do it, even if it's in your living room - is a great workout.
If you listen to most of my songs, the lyrics are pretty kind of dark, but I like to put it behind happy music because then it evens it out... I'm really happy, actually. Obviously I have my bad moments, but I always challenge myself to not put negativity out there because there's already enough.
I think some aspects of writing can be taught. Obviously, you can't teach vision or talent. But you can help with comfort.
When you get pure joy out of 'being' rather than 'doing' or 'seeing', that's when you realize how big and unexplainable some things are and being a dad is one of those very few things.
I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and what you're willing to sacrifice to accomplish it.
I'd much rather see a world where, when you make some quirky comment on a blog or news story or you upload a video clip, instead of just a moment of fame for your pseudonym, you'll get 50 bucks. The first time that happens, you'll realise that you're a full-class citizen. You have the potential to make money from the system.
What is design? It's where you stand with a foot in two worlds - the world of technology and the world of people and human purposes - and you try to bring the two together.
Being in the studio is like painting, you know, you can really take your time, and try different things, and kind of go deep into it.
You watch some teams these days and you wonder if they just met on the playground and decided to choose up sides.
Remember that banks aren't markets. The market is amoral. The market doesn't care who you are. You're a trade to the market. The market will sell you if they think you're riskier.
I keep going because if you stop, you stop. Why retire? Inspire.
You can say you're sorry 5,000 times, but that doesn't mean you mean it.
When you're young, you need to be silly and be stupid and not be trying to do that when you're 40 in a red sports car.
It's not every day that you get to be affectionate around something, it just doesn't happen that often.
With an independent movie, it's like, 'Okay I know what I want, and I got to go for it.' I just got to get the A version of this. Occasionally we'll try a B version, but not often. We'll just get what's scripted and try to do that as best we can, so you sort of edit while you shoot an independent movie.
The coolest thing is that my sister and I, you know, we've done what a lot of people have not been able to do. Which is to have our own careers, together.
But hey, when you live in Watts, you need a little smack to get by, you know what I mean? You need something soft and comfortable in your life, 'cause you're not going to get it from what's around you. And society isn't going to give it to you.
Systematic theology - be careful how you tie down the Word to fit your set and final creeds, systems, dogmas, and organized theistic philosophies! The Word of God is not bound! It's free to say what it will to the individual, and no one can outline it into dispensations which cannot be broken.
This is a physical game, and that's how you have to play. When you do that, the defense eventually gets tired of tackling you.
Some amount of support from government and regulator is required when you are looking at resolving systemic issues.
There's only one rule in stand-up, which is that you have to be funny. Yet 99 per cent of comics look and talk exactly the same.
Your one certainty in life, your power as a human being, is that you have a choice in every situation about what you do next and about how you take what has happened to you.
