I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you.

Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake your accent.

Well, you know, if you get into the profession because you think you can make a lot of money, you can never become successful.

So when I do Chinese cooking, I mix everything together, then the kids have to eat their vegetables. They won't have the patience to pick them out.

When you relinquish the desire to control your future, you can have more happiness.

Happy music that is genuinely joyful is probably the hardest music to write. I think miserable stuff is more natural to the human condition and maybe more cathartic.

I really try to enjoy life and have joy with what I do.

Burnout is grist to the mill. I write every day, for most of the day, so it's just about turning into metaphor whatever's going on in my life, in the world, and in my head. Every nightmare, every moment of grief or joy or failure, is a moment I can convert into cash via words.