I don't have a mentor in the strict definition. I take as much advice and inspiration as I can from the people I am close to.
All characters come from people I know, but after the initial inspiration, I tend to modify the characters so they fit with the story.
People fail 2 ways: 1) don't know what to do 2) don't do what they know; therefore, great leaders must educate and inspire.
I was seeing a lot of entrepreneurs who were effectively working on the next photo-sharing app. I wanted to inspire them to go much bigger, bolder and more significant than that.
Of the birth of subgenres, there is no end. They arise like bubbles full of miraculous hopes and potentials from the Planckian foam of the canon, inspiring writers new and established alike.
When I was younger I saw a movie called 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Those two actors and that movie was my inspiration to want to be an actor.
I’m tired of ignorance held up as inspiration, where vicious anti-intellectualism is considered a positive trait, and where uninformed opinion is displayed as fact.
My friends are my inspiration, and all of them are true friends that support me. On a daily basis, I know that I have my friends to rely on.
Just the same way I'd say a prayer before going onstage, taking that even further and using the drum to inspire people. And using that as a vehicle for the intention.
We should be inspired by people... who show that human beings can be kind, brave, generous, beautiful, strong-even in the most difficult circumstances.
Radio was used powerfully by Josef Goebbels to disseminate Nazi propaganda, and just as powerfully by King George VI to inspire the British people to fight invasion.
When I think about how I want to reach an audience, I just wanted to make pieces that were inspired by something that gave me so much pleasure.
One of the things I'm adamant about as a bandleader is not micromanaging. I'm an advocate for the concept of allowing everyone to be fully vested in what they're doing, so everyone contributes whatever they're inspired to contribute.
We try to connect with the audience as much as we can. We feel the energy from the audience, and it gives us so much joy and inspiration.
Art builds upon art, builds upon art...nothing is purely original. We're all inspired by something...or someone. It's a never-ending chain of ideas...and it's magical.
At it's highest level, the purpose of teaching is not to teach—it is to inspire the desire for learning. Once a student's mind is set on fire, it will find a way to provide its own fuel.
Freedom looks beautiful and inspiring to those who desire & seek it; but Freedom looks like rebellion to those who have become complacent in hiding.
For me, songwriting is something I have to do ritually. I don't just wait for inspiration; I try to write a little bit every day.
I like the idea that one thing leads to another. You can tweet something completely innocuous, and then find yourself going off on a tangent that's inspired by a response.
The rehearsal process is the most important thing to me, so working with colleagues who are effusive, thoughtful, young and vivacious is really inspiring as a musician.
I was inspired by Billie Holliday, and I really liked Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las because she wore tight trousers and a waistcoat on top - she looked hot.
