You are the space in which these thoughts arise, but not the thoughts themselves.

We are just too busy trying to appear smart to realize how intelligent we actually are.

I envision a world in which the vast majority of us are actively striving toward our potential by serving others through mediums we are most passionate.

When you give your weakness permission to be because you understand that it is simply an expression of your strength, it tends to no longer be a weakness.

Self-improvement is generally a removal of a vice rather than an acquisition of a virtue.

When your words enter the material world in the form of ink or on screen, you are immediately afforded the opportunity to judge their worth.

In mastering one thing, you have mastered all things because you have learned how to learn.

This is what it means to be mindful. To watch the thoughts as they come and go without judgment while completely accepting what arises in the present moment.

For many of us, especially being so fortunate to live in a first-world country, the vast majority of pain we experience is due to the seriousness with which we identify with our thoughts.

The rare opportunity to exist, no matter how brief, is worth the pain left in the wake of its disappearance.

Constantly re-evaluating your purpose is the best way to ensure that you are pursuing the goals of who you are and not who you used to be.

Since the beginning of time, spirituality and religion have been called to fill in the gaps that science did not understand.

I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead.

Learning to accept help from others is not a sign of weakness it's a badge of courage reflecting mutual trust between the giver and the receiver.

History is not a catalogue but...a convincing version of events.

There is no need to create. Genius comes only to those who know how to use their eyes and their intelligence.

Next door to Ethiopia spreading out along the strategic Red Sea coastline is Eritrea, a relatively new country, and a place that few Americans seem to fully understand.

The land of my fathers. My fathers can have it.

That's the fantasy dream project, to collaborate with someone who preaches the gospel of art through music.

You're extending hospitality, and hospitality is a big part of how politics works.

You don't rehearse jazz to death to get the camera angles.