Creativity is an act of defiance.

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.

I have not wanted to intimidate audiences. I have not wanted my dancing to be an elitist form. That doesn't mean I haven't wanted it to be excellent.

Ultimately there is no such thing as failure. There are lessons learned in different ways.

Our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.

No one is born with skill. It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that's both painstaking and rewarding. And it takes time.

If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that's failure by erosion

You don't get into the mood to create – it's discipline.

Life is about moving, it’s about change. And when things stop doing that they’re dead.

More often than not I've found, a rut is a consequence of sticking to tried and tested methods that don't take into account how you or the world has changed.

If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.

Knowing is important, but understanding is essential for wisdom.

Evil, unlike good, is constantly at war with those most like itself, and ambition is its spur.

The human being is not a fallen being in need of redemption but rather a forgetful being who must be reminded of God and his own nature.

They come with cold bones in heavy boots. See how they tremble. The folly of man . . .

I think Gram did his best work in co-writes. Sometimes when you're working with one other person, it's such a magical thing. You're editing each other and you're trying to create that one spark.

The man who knows how will always be the student, but the man who knows why will continue to be the instructor.

When I began making my own albums, the songs became funkier. They were more about the streets.

An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.

But I don't work out. I pay people to do that for me.

Obviously, it's great to know that your music is being listened to.