Quotes About Influence

I am able to say that I was very much liked at the school. I even had quite some ascendancy over my comrades, and as soon as I appeared in the school yard, I was surrounded by young friends, most of them bigger than I, but who were quite willing to give the appearance of disciples; they would have defended me furiously if necessary.

The understanding that the political and intellectual class of the United States has of Mexico is a country whose position is that of a back yard.

I wasn't one of those kids who stole Richard Pryor records. I wasn't a comedy-nerd kid. I had no concept of stand-up. Actually, the only inkling of stand-up I had was I read one of Paul Reiser's books when I was, like, 12. I found it at a yard sale, and I carried it around with me for six years.

I've had the acting bug since I was, like, five. But growing up, I saw how people treated me differently when they knew who my father was, even the stuff I did on the field. Sometimes I'd rush for 100 yards, and the headline would be, 'Denzel's son runs for 100 yards.' That's where the suppression of that bug came from.

It's easy to get swayed by advertisements or the latest new gear, but what you think you want could actually rob you of yards and add strokes to your score, based on your personal swing and playing style.

Today, presence on social media has become a yardstick to be cast - the parameter to get a job.

In retrospect, 'Pulp Fiction' isn't just the template for everything Tarantino has done but the yardstick by which everything else he does is measured one way or another.

If you asked 100 women on the street who they'd like to be, I'm sure most of them would say Kirsty Wark or Germaine Greer. Yawn. Do me a favour - they're lying.

Everyone's like sheep on social media; like, one person starts making noise, and everyone's like, 'Hey, yeah!' and then you got a whole bunch of people making noise at you.

I want to look my best for God. So many people have the attitude that if you're a Christian you've got to dress bad, wear an old color, not do anything to your hair, have nothing. It's no wonder that Christianity is not very attractive. I mean, how many people do you know in a Western culture that's going to go, 'Yeah, give me some of that?'

Yeah, Dizzee Rascal is a huge influence on what I'm doing. I learnt a lot from him even though he's younger than me.

I listen to other guitar players, yeah. It gives me new concepts and shows me where the instrument is going for the future and it is going some places. There are some musicians who are really putting out a good vibe with new theories. I try and keep up.

Yeah, I was a child of American popular culture.

I've never thought too much of 'Rolling Stone.' The first thing I'd do is look at about 50 or 60 of the drummers they have ahead of me and go, 'Oh yeah, right!'

I loved Billie Holiday more than any other person other than myself on the stage. Yeah, I do.

If people want to take the chance to watch, to see what I bring and try to use it to better themselves, yeah, OK. But I'm not one of these guys who's going to try to be a role model and be an angel because I want to get a Nike sponsorship.

I don't roll like that but I've never been with a hooker either. Yeah, that's good to say in an interview cause I feel bad a little because people grew up watching me and that's a little disturbing.

I never got lessons. I took influence from Chet Baker, Ian Dury, and Joe Strummer. I don't hear my voice and think, 'Yeah, that's a banging voice!' It's more about putting the right emotions into the right words and the lyrics than anything else to me.

I lost my mind at 15. I'd been shown a world where there were no boundaries, where everyone gave me all the power. And I was like, 'This is great!' Then that was gone. But I was like, 'Yeah, but I still want that.' I'd lost my humble, very quiet, introverted sensibilities which I think I definitely had as a kid.

I met Bill Clinton; he's a very nice guy. Yeah, Bill Clinton's cool.

There was a stage in my career, especially with standup, where I felt, because I didn't know why I was doing well, that anyone who would tell me anything; I was sort of like, 'What did they say? Yeah, I'll take that advice.' Now I'm a bit more careful who I choose to listen to.

Yeah, at first people were talking about me. But now everyone is wearing their clothes more fitted.

Some of the greatest achievements ever have been achieved as a result of the Church. The Catholic Church. I'm not Catholic but yeah, the Church, for instance, you take a walk through the Vatican, and to your right is the double helix staircase built, I think, in 1138 or something.

Yeah, September 11 happened and all my friends were like, 'Let's join the military!' and I was the only one who actually did.