I think your values are always influenced by your family and your community.
One of the hardest things I've had to deal with in my career is keeping my material topical even though I only release albums every three or four years.
As my father used to tell me, the only true sign of success in life is being able to do for a living that which makes you happy.
If you want to avoid heated arguments, never discuss religion, politics, or whether the toilet paper roll should go over or under.
If money can't buy happiness, then I guess I'll have to rent it.
That's a big part of my life - doing things that I'm not prepared to do. Doing things that I don't know how to do, and keep doing them until I get good at them. I always try to put myself out of my comfort zone and out of my depth, and hopefully somewhere along the line I'll catch up.
As a wise man once said, "April Fools Day is for amateurs. You NEVER need an excuse to mess with people's heads. "
When you consider how epidemic boredom is in our time, you have to concede that entertaining is a healing art.
I like movies. Movies have afforded me a modicum of luxuries. The thing about the movies is, if you're bad in a movie, you're bad forever.
China has become a major presence for most countries around the world but notably for its neighboring countries in Asia. So I think it is a common position for Japan and its Asian neighbors that we certainly would strive to maintain as much as possible friendly relations with China.
Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning, and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.