Quotes from Paul Stanley

To go from being an unpopular, chubby little kid who was chasing girls and couldn't seem to catch them, to being chased after and making sure I ran slow enough that I did get caught, it was 180 degree turn. It was being given the keys to the candy store.

I think KISS has always been about celebrating self-empowerment. Celebrating the idea that anything is possible with determination and hard work.

When you start fooling around with drugs, you're hurting your creativity, you're hurting your health. Drugs are death, in one form or another. If they don't kill you, they kill your soul. And if your soul's dead, you've got nothing to offer, anyway.

If I had my way, I'd always be onstage. But I won't always be able to be onstage.

Core strengthening is key to everything. It's not just about the way I look, but about stabilizing my body so I can perform better on stage.

Nothing could ever stop Kiss. I've seen the band in down times where critics were like vultures circling overhead saying things like, 'Well, you know it's the end of your career.'

People relate to the spirit of the band, which is to live your way and succeed on your own terms. There's no hypocrisy in being successful and still railing against conformity.

America is a business. If you can't afford to do something, no matter how much bellyaching everybody does I'm so sorry, if you can't afford it, you shouldn't do it.

If I write for myself, I write a song and I bring in the musicians that are best suited to play it. There's a freedom there.

When you start fooling around with drugs, you're hurting your creativity, you're hurting your health. Drugs are death, in one form or another. If they don't kill you, they kill your soul. And if your soul's dead, you've got nothing to offer, anyway.

The financial reward is great and I love the life I have, but all money makes possible is for you to stop worrying about money. Then you have freedom to live your life.

in order to be comfortable with other people, you have to be comfortable with yourself.

During another argument, Gene snapped at Peter: "Peter, you're an illiterate idiot who can't read or even talk correctly and never finished school." "Yeah," said Peter, "and I'm in the same band as you." To this day, that remains the smartest thing I ever heard Peter say.

Judging others and being quick to criticize just pollutes your life. Learning how to open your hand is the best thing you can possibly learn.

Your life and destiny are determined to a large extent by your participation in the outcome.

You can be with somebody and still feel alone.

when you reach a point where you can distinguish between the things you thought you wanted and the things you actually need, that is an epiphany.

You're at your best when you don't know what you're doing.

The ultimate rebellion wasn't fighting the system, it was circumventing the system and living your life fully.

The more opportunity I have to treat people the way I wished I myself had been treated, the better I feel.

Don't come crying to me, Stanley. Fight your own battles." Fight my own battles? I'm five!

The surprise came a few months later when Slash called me and wanted to follow up on my offer to help him get some free guitars. "You want me to help you get guitars after you went around saying all that shit about me behind my back?" Slash got real quiet. "You know, one thing you're going to have to learn is not to air your dirty laundry in public. Nice knowing you. Go fuck yourself.

can gauge how important something is to you by how hard you are willing to work to get it.

I was also skeptical about what all the grunge bands would do on their second albums. There were a lot of great first albums, but what would they do once they were platinum acts instead of kids living in roach-infested garages? I mean, if they were so miserable, once they had money, they could all go see shrinks.