I think just growing up in Miami, there's gumbo of different cultures that influence us.

Growing up in my household with seven women, I'd hear all types of music.

Growing up in Miami, having these different cultures and being inspired in so many ways musically has let me have a very long career, 'cause just when you think I'm gonna do this type of record, I go and do something else.

As a kid in the projects, I always looked forward to spring break. We'd either have cousins visiting us for the week from up north, and we'd all play sports together, or sometimes I'd go to Vero Beach and hang with my cousins there.

The more times I was turned down, the more I believed I was getting closer to making it. A lot of people in Korea say that failure is the mother of success, so I believed that more times I failed, the more likely I was to succeed.

Spend enough time around success and failure, and you learn a reverence for possibility.

When I came back on the rink in 2012, I set a goal of wrapping up my career well rather than just winning medals. I'm not preparing for any special skills for Sochi because I don't feel like they are necessary.

Instead of fostering the kind of dialogue in the boardroom that has in part contributed to our success, the board has inappropriately chosen to silence my concerns through termination as an executive officer.