I think my background, coming from Iran, which is a great country but is going through its share of troubles, really allows me to appreciate what we have here.

Desperation sometimes drives innovation.

I think I wanted to be a doctor. In Iran, the engineering and medical professions are worshipped. My father very much wanted me to be a doctor. I was certainly eager to please as a young man - as a kid, I should say.

One of the early lessons that I learned in leadership is that it's the leader's job to always go against the flow.

Of front-line importance among the most contagious and enduring traits of the leaders of nations and of all callings is that of spotless character.

The difference in working on a TV series and a movie comes down to one thing for me, and that is the travel. With 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' we are in one remote location, but with a movie, you get to travel, explore, and experience different things every day. But I've really enjoyed doing both.

When political and business leaders tell the public - any public - 'We don't trust you to make the right decision' - they prejudice that electorate against the very proposals they want it to accept and undermine public confidence in themselves.

A travel book is a book that puts you in the shoes of the traveler, and it's usually a book about having a very bad time; having a miserable time, even better.