“We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.”

I’m not sure about life after this; god knows I’m not a spiritual man.

There was only really one accident that was kinda bad but it was nothing to do with booze, just bad luck…

There was an edge of, ‘Go away kid, you’re bothering me’. I’ve kicked myself a million times since. I could’ve discovered Whitney Houston.

I see the winos talking to themselves and I can understand.

Slow down you’re doing fine You can’t be everything you want to be Before your time Although it’s so romantic on the borderline tonight Too bad but it’s the life you lead

We never could have come this far I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times I’ll take you just the way you are Don’t go trying some new fashion Don’t change the color of your hair. […] I could not love you any better I love you just the way you are.

I compare songwriting to childbirth. How many kids can you have before your uterus explodes?

I didn’t have this rebellious streak in me. To me, I’m a product of circumstance.

Spiritual life is like living water that springs up from the very depths of our own spiritual experience. In spiritual life everyone has to drink from his or her own well.

After staring at origami directions long enough, you sort of become one with them and start understanding them from the inside.

Do what you love, and you’ll always love what you do

You’re so ahead of yourself That you forfeit what you need Though you can see when you’re wrong

I’m writing for the sake of writing music. Whether it gets heard or not isn’t an issue for me. It keeps my own juices going and my mind active.

Don’t make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money.

I’m in a New York state of mind

Usually when I’m writing, I try to write fairly quickly. If a song sits around too long, it starts to take on a stink.

My dad was very successful as a journalist, so I didn’t want to be one. I wanted to be a novelist.

The way to be successful is through preparation. It doesn’t just happen.

We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines.

The millions who would have watched Manchester United and Chelsea would have seen a non-stop game in which the pace was electric even though the first half was a non-event. and lacked ambition to take Tottenham to where the fans wanted them to be.

It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum.

We’re highly social animals – I’m told by scientists that what makes us different from other animals is an acute social awareness, which is what has made us so successful.

It’s much easier to follow something that’s not been as successful as this.

One of the most heinous, insidious lies is the notion that you have to be an asshole to be a successful business person.