Quotes About Authenticity

I wanted to write a book like a rapper would write it - I didn't want to hold back. Rappers catch a lot of slack; I'm not going to be cursing up a storm, but when I look at Nas... his first album is one of my favorites. I want to tell stories like that.

I'd go to meetings with record companies - CBS, Decca, EMI. They'd tell me to wear a pair of jeans and grow my hair and look normal. And I'd say, 'Sod that,' and storm out. And I do think that belligerence is important when you're young.

Never be ashamed of who you are, your story, or how you react to situations. Don't ever be ashamed of how you communicate with people. Don't ever be ashamed of the person you are. Be you.

When you are doing a real life story, it requires a lot of sensitivity, a lot of responsibility.

I want everyone who's listening to know who I am and not just see me as this singer. I want them to feel connected to my story.

I have a great story to tell... and I tell it well. No holds barred.

If I can be dead honest with you, when I first see the script for a new episode of 'Endeavour,' if anything jars, I say, 'What's this? Has it got a place in our story?' And if it hasn't, it has to go.

2Pac made me want to rap, he made me want to speak my ghetto story and not be ashamed of it.

You have to figure out who the right person is to tell the story. And often, people who are very self-aware will only sound as if they are pontificating if they tell the story.

Any story hits you harder if the person delivering it doesn't sound like some news robot but in fact sounds like a real person having the reactions a real person would.

I was moaning and grieving as if I lost one of my own children. It was probably one of the most real feelings I ever had on the show. I was just sitting there wailing with no lines. I was beat after that storyline.

I just follow what inspires me as an artist and a storyteller, and stay true to myself in my work.

Instincts are a really important guide for any artist, but particularly filmmakers because it takes a lot to stay true to your instincts as a storyteller.

I'm hardly a known name, but I don't want to go, like, 'Oh, people call me a storyteller comedian, let me just go up and just talk about my day.' I don't want that to happen.

I'm a storyteller. I'm not like any other comic. I tell detailed stories - not made-up stuff, but true stories.

I always say show me a storyteller who doesn't embellish, and I'll show you a bad one.

Most of all, I love being a storyteller. And yes, I want to make a good living, but I'm not always driven by the best commercial sense.

I'm just an old storyteller, and I always wanted to know, what the hell were these candidates really like?

People expect me to be, first and foremost, a storyteller. I lead by telling stories.

Don't do another show just because someone thinks that there's a dollar to be earned there. Do it because you love the characters, and you love the world, and you really, truly feel both the fans and you as a storyteller can benefit from having the second show.

I'm not a gifted storyteller, so I write what I know and hope that honesty resonates with other people's experiences.

I grew up in a family of storytellers, but Google has destroyed us because you can fact-check everything. We'd always like the stories to be a little better than they were.

I think that, in my research anyway, country music seems to be grounded in people staying true to their roots, being homegrown and being honest storytellers.

Great brands and great businesses have to be great storytellers, too. We have to tell stories - emotive, compelling stories - and even more so because we're nonfiction.