My goal when I started out was to get to the point where I could tour a lot and make a living, which means getting paid enough to hire my own band, travel and end up with a bit of money, but I'm still nowhere near that point. Because I didn't have a band and fan base when I started, I did everything backward.

It was deeply important for me to understand where Mandela came from. Because we know where he was going, and that's a famous story, but who was he? Where did he come from? What was his upbringing?

Idris Elba

The tiny madman in his padded cell.

Vladimir Nabokov

What can he mean by coming among us? He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dullness in others.

Samuel Foote

Life will always be to a large extent what we ourselves make it.

Samuel Smiles

To attain inner peace you must actually give your life, not just your possessions. When you at last give your life -- bringing into alignment your beliefs and the way you live then, and only then, can you begin to find inner peace.

Peace Pilgrim

Parents and legislators love to blame people like us for corrupting the youth of this country, but the kids were corrupted long before we ever got to them.

Marilyn Manson

Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.

William Shakespeare

You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.

Harry Firestone

I did not believe political directives could be successfully applied to creative writing . . . not to poetry or fiction, which to be valid had to express as truthfully as possible the individual emotions and reactions of the writer.

Langston Hughes

A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.

Chinese Proverb

He said science was going to discover the basic secret of life some day,' the bartender put in. He scratched his head and frowned. 'Didn't I read in the paper the other day where they'd finally found out what it was?''I missed that,' I murmured. ' I saw that,' said Sandra. 'About two days ago.''That's right,' said the bartender.'What is the secret of life?' I asked.'I forget,' said Sandra.'Protein,' the bartender declared. 'They found out something about protein.''Yeah,' said Sandra, 'that's it.

Kurt Vonnegut

The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened. It's only the middle-aged who are really conscious of their limitations--that is why one should be so patient with them.

Saki [Hector Hugh Munro]