I had very big lips growing up, so my brother started to call me Scooter Fish because he decided a scooter fish has big lips.

I think people got this idea that I wanted to be a star. Managers of the past don't have any kind of public persona - it's all about the fame of the artist. I really don't want to be a star. I just want to have a platform.

The really great brands live on this idea of bringing something that's truly authentic - and then building around that. It's not about trying to be something as much as it being who you are in the best light possible.

If my ambition was to stay a manager the rest of my life, then I'd probably follow what people think managers are supposed to be like, but my ambition was never to be a manager.

The formula for achieving middle-class success is simple: Finish high school; don't have a child before the age of 20; and get married before having the child.

Obama is capable - as evidenced by his first-term success with health care reform. But mandate-building requires humility, a trait not easily associated with him.

I'm not going to get somewhere and say, 'OK, I'm done.' Success is never final; I'll just keep on going. The same way as failure never being fatal. Just keep going. I'm going to the stars and then past them.

Success breeds volume, and it's just amazing how many young writers, artists, and musicians there are in town.