Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.

Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

Don't be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That's where the joy and the adventure lie.

You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.

Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.

Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.

I think there's a great beauty to having problems. That's one of the ways we learn.

You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.

The most valuable things in life are priceless. They are courage, compassion, wisdom, respect for ourselves and others, and a host of characteristics that we call the beauty of the human spirit.

I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed, ’ my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.

Smartass Disciple: Master, what will happen to the men right after their death ?Master of Stupidity: They live with a same or different part of their consciousness.

Writing is a kind of free fall that you then go back and edit and shape.

I don't think of myself as an artist. I'm just a guy who can write.

I really had a chip on my shoulder, ... and it still comes out every now and then.

Old sciences are unraveled like old stockings, by beginning at the foot.

It was important to buy into the fact that the nine hundred pages an end-reader never sees are just as valuable as the ones that are bound and placed on the shelf.

What we find is that if you have a goal that is very, very far out, and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities.

The art of humility begins with a recognition of our dependence on others and an appreciation of God's gift of life.

This will arguably be the third great revolution of America, if we can prove that we literally can live without having a dominant European culture.