They did something once that slurred my speech, and I thought, "Oh, man, you're messing with my brain. It's freaking me out."

The more I expect, the more unhappy I am going to be. The more I accept, the more serene I am.

Zoos are becoming facsimiles - or perhaps caricatures - of how animals once were in their natural habitat. If the right policies toward nature were pursued, we would need no zoos at all.

Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it.

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for; perfection is God's business.

Our challenges don’t define us, our actions do.

If you fixate on the worst-case scenario and it actually happens, you’ve lived it twice.

Family is not an important thing. It's everything.

I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it's proactive and there is positive intent behind it.

One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.

Medical science has proven time and again that when the resources are provided, great progress in the treatment, cure, and prevention of disease can occur.

I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.

There's enough sedative in these darts to bring down a werewolf, which is exactly what we're hunting. Why would we want to bring down an elephant if we're not hunting elephants?

I'm not particularly precious about the theatrical experience any more.

I do three things. I do teaching, I do conducting and I do playing. And each one of those sort of helps the other.

Genuine leadership comes from the quality of your vision and your ability to spark others to extraordinary performance.

It's such a thrill to perform live. You never know if you're going to get hit with a bottle or a bra.

You have only so many bottles in your life, never drink a bad one.

Feminism was a dirty word for a while.

Live each day as your last, and tomorrow is forever