Quotes About Inspiration

Whatever it takes, the job of the director is to be the leader and to get your actors where they need to go. That's a philosophy that I have.

My father has been my role model. And I always looked up to him - be it his management philosophy or his approach towards life.

I am an example of a person who got zeroed into a philosophy early.

I love to learn, and at some level, there's something to learn from my books. And I love art and philosophy, so there's something philosophical about my fiction.

My music and lyrics became an extension of this Indian philosophy.

What I wanted to do was to try to create a philosophy upon a completely new foundation.

It's really only all about music. It's not like a big rocket scientist kind of philosophy or anything.

It's a phobia I have. I never assume I'm going to be able to write another album after I finish one.

I love 'Phoenix Nights' and I would love to go back. I've got a lot of ideas about 'Phoenix Nights.'

The Make-A-Wish Foundation started with one wish out of Phoenix, Arizona, and the organization has grown so grand ever since.

Definitely River Phoenix is somebody that I thought, 'This guy is very cool.' I wanted to be like him when I was a kid.

I loved 'The Master' a lot. I'm not going to get to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, but Joaquin Phoenix is one of the best around, I think.

Oh there's so many, but the one that I would love to see, that I would love to go up against, is Beth Phoenix. I would love for her to return. It would be something for me, kind of like a a childhood thing, growing up seeing her being such a dominant woman. I would love for her to show up and be in the ring with her.

I did gymnastics, I wanted to be like Dominique Dawes. But the good think about role models is that you don't just have them when you are kid. My role models from WWE came when I was older. When I was 27, my role models from WWE became Jacqueline and Beth Phoenix.

Growing up and seeing Shawn Johnson, for her to call me on the phone, I think my inner child was freaking out!

Whether it's on top of a phone booth or a $200 million soundstage, it's about stories.

I started writing it the day after Sept. 11. I was living in New York City. We didn't have any phone service and we didn't have any mail. Like a lot of writers do, I started to write in a voice that I missed.

When I was a little boy, I was reading Dante and I was saying to myself 'Bravo, Dante, Bravo.' It's so beautiful, the music, the sound, the meaning. I felt like calling him by phone, like a friend.

What's it like finding out Denzel Washington wants you to direct his next movie? It's like getting a phone call from Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan saying they want you to coach them.

In my office, I have a very beautiful marble bust of Seneca. I always have my eye on him when I'm taking phone calls. He's one of the many philosophers I've always read and admired.

For me, there is no day or night for music. I often work through the night - without phone calls disturbing me.

I used to just scribble things on a piece of paper whenever an idea would - came to mind. Now with cell phones. It definitely has gotten a lot easier because I can just take it out and just - I'll just sing into my phone.

I know this sounds phony, but I don't start out on a project going, 'I'm going to make an emotional work,' you know what I mean? You try to tell the story directly and honestly and with passion.

In 1995, I was diagnosed with cancer, and I had to practice what I preached. I had always said to 'believe in God' and 'don't give up' to little kids who had been diagnosed with cancer. I then thought if I can't call on that same God and same strength that I told people about, I would be a liar and a phony.