A modern author would have died in infancy in a ruder age.
My job is to awaken possibility in other people.
The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful.
My job [is] to awaken possibility in other people. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it. If they're not shining you get to ask this question: "Who am I being that my children's eyes are not shining?"
I have a definition of success. For me it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.
Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why.
When you make a mistake, throw your hands in the air and say "How fascinating!"
We're living in an increasingly nationalistic, xenophobic time, and you can see it reflected in societies all over the world.
Our purest form of joy comes when people we envy get hurt. That most genuine form of joy.
But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an hypothesis!
When you're a kid and you're trying to find your own voice, it's rather daunting to hear somebody like Howlin' Wolf, because you know that you'll never achieve that.