I grew up with lacrosse in my life because my dad played lacrosse all throughout college, so I grew up with the gear in my house - like the sticks, the helmet.
I lived in Peckham for the first 12 years of my life and then my mum and dad decided they really didn't want to bring up their children there. So they saved up money and bought a house in Plumstead, semi-detached, three bedrooms.
To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It is easy to say no, even if saying no means death.
But I was very, very lucky, and it was a wake up call as far as motorbikes are concerned. I never flirted with death on the bike, but now I'm totally convinced they're death machines.
Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts.
It's not that I find it hard to meet girls - they do come up and chat me up from time to time. Sometimes I'm interested, I tend not to go for the prettier ones. I prefer the quirkier types.
Children who have an education grow up to lead healthier lives - earn higher income, take better care of their families, contribute to their economies.
When children do not have three square meals a day, a proper education, and at least one adult who they know loves and is committed to them, it's very unlikely they will grow up to be productive citizens of the world.
Do I wake up every day and thank God that I live in 21st-century Britain? Of course not. But from time to time, I recognise it as an unfathomable privilege.
Life as we know it, with all its ups and downs, will soon be over. We all will give an accounting to God of how we have lived.
Portland is a really great city, especially because I'm a shopper and there's no sales tax! That really adds up so fast, because in California, a $1000 pair of shoes ends up costing another $100.
Now a great debate has been born. The thesis is Democratic Socialism. The antithesis is free-market capitalism. The Obama Democrats have posed the challenge. It is now up to the Republicans to pick it up and fight along these lines.
Many economists are great believers in the idea that everything in nature is competitive and that we should set up a society which is competitive to reflect that. Anyone who cannot keep up, well, too bad.
I love being. There's so much wisdom in it. You wake up in the morning and you think, Hey, isn't it great just being?
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Growing up in Hitchin was comfortable and easy enough. My parents had some great records - and some not-so-great ones - and that's where I got introduced to Motown and the Stones and Springsteen.
I've always loved watches my whole life. When I was growing up, I always thought of having a great watch as that next step - of making it, of a rite of passage.
People are going to wake up to this great reservoir of music we've created in America - cakewalks, one-steps, boogie-woogie, country and western. I had a bit to do with one of those traditions.
Growing up in Miami, I had all these great, strong influences. You know, being Cuban and the Latin influence, but also the strong hip-hop influence.
The whole dream of having your own place is great, but the reality is having to cook and clean yourself and do the washing and make sure there's milk in the fridge. But you have to grow up some time.
That's such a great thing about New York, after growing up in a place and being there for twenty plus years, there's still a whole island to discover.
