There have been a few moments when I have known complete satisfaction, but only a few. I have rarely been free from the disturbing realization that my playing might have been better.

If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.

I owe my sucess in one per cent to my talent, in ten per cent to luck, and in ninety per cent to hard word. Work, work, and more work is the secret to success.

I cannot imagine a genuinely happy home without music in it.

You are a dear soul who plays polo, and I am a poor Pole who plays solo.

If I do not practice one day; I know it. If I do not practice the next, the orchestra knows it; if I do not practice the third day, the whole world knows it.

The culture of any country is gauged first by its progress in art.

Art without technique is invertebrate, shapeless, characterless.

The very essence of success is practice.

When one is an artist, what else can he be?

Man is naturally lazy, therefore he invents labor-saving devices.

We have to distrust each other. It's our only defense against betrayal.

It seems a strange fact that it is almost more important for us to be happy ourselves than to try to make other people happy. By being happy we confer untold benefits upon our fellow men.

Becoming a great preacher, like becoming a great artist, requires a life commitment.

No book that is written for an external purpose is going to be a passionately felt book for the writer or the reader. I don't see the point in doing that.

In a networked world, trust is the most important currency.

Military strikes on Afghanistan will not prevent something this terrible from happening again, for the simple reason that bombs will not deter people who are unafraid of death and desire martyrdom.

Even in the best of lives, mistakes are made.

Being human is overrated.

This medal (the National Book Award) together with my American Express card, will identify me worldwide ... except at Bloomingdale's.

When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.