“It’s crazy to think of myself as a musician. It’s ridiculous that I get to do it, and I don’t necessarily mean music. Getting to do something you really enjoy as a job is an incredible privilege, I think. I still don’t really feel like a musician outside of the actual music.”

Other [artists’] music is really what you get most inspiration from, whether consciously or subconsciously. I like a lot of old music and a lot of soul music. I also really like a lot of new stuff.

I definitely would love to transition into being more of a writer at some point in my career. I love playing shows and traveling, but I also love writing for other people, and that’s something I’m investing my time in more when I’m home.

Life is not the mountaintops, it’s the walking in between.

I have learned that you’re not perfect, and that sometimes the one you love can burn you. But it’s just the fool that’s looking backwards: a bitter heart turns the love we made to ashes.

I never knew that I could love someone the way that I love you.

I really value the freedom I have as a Christian that’s an artist but not necessarily a Christian artist. I think it can be hard to express certain things about faith when there are a pretty specific set of expectations around what you need to talk about and how you’re talking about it.

Recording can be enjoyable, but the hard thing is that you don’t get any direct or immediate feedback like you do when you play live. Getting to see people’s excitement and see them engage in the show makes me excited to get back out and play.

Most people who work with me can tell you I’m a bit of a pessimist about business stuff. Not because I don’t believe in what I’m doing, I just don’t like feeling presumptuous. Like, ‘This is what’s going to happen!’ Honestly, I don’t know what will happen.

As long as a journalist tells the truth, in conscience and fairness, it is not his job to worry about consequences. The truth is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run. I truly believe the truth sets men free.

The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.

You get thought of in terms of your last job. So if my last job is that of a meat cleaver-wielding character, I will hardly be cast as some benign, older gentleman.

Writing a good movie brings a writer about as much fame as steering a bicycle. It gets him, however, more jobs. If his movie is bad it will attract only critical tut-tut for him.

Real Dreams don’t require you to abandon your family, quit your job, and move to Tahiti with your paintbrush. They just require that you search your soul for that deep dream you put aside-and go for it. And watch your life light up.

Focus on keeping your spine straight. It is the job of the spine to keep the brain alert.

When I finished my term, I thought about running for governor then but decided not to because, frankly, I didn’t think I was ready. I wasn’t comfortable that I was prepared to do the job.

The job is never done and every generation has to fight again.