Quotes

I didn't want to start aiming for fame. It would be silly to not have entertained offers.

I can't just go into the studio with one idea and be all in on that, 100 percent. It takes me a while to arrive at something that feels like it's finished.

I immediately felt welcomed, whereas in Massachusetts, I'd grown up there but I felt like such an outsider. Within a week or two of moving to Philly I felt there was something I could be a part of.

That little window like 2004 through like 2010 was probably the most, like most inspiring time of my creative life, for sure.

All of my favorite music was probably in the rock category.

I usually know the general emotion of a song, or the general feeling of it, and then I think I just get so excited by the act of recording. I love that process so much that I feel like if I knew exactly what I wanted I'd arrive at something too soon.

My siblings weren't playing music; I was the only one who wanted to buy a guitar and was listening on headphones the whole time.

I think where a lot of the stuff came from is that it started as something else and then it was transformed into something that worked in the context of a song that I might have been working on.

I'd love to do denim merch sometime, though. That's pretty much the mainstay of my wardrobe. I have a bunch of denim jackets I wear all the time.

My kind of music is probably not going to shoot to the top, but I'm fine with that. There's still enough rock'n'roll soldiers.

There's a lot of older musicians who say your whole life making music, you're really trying to get back to that first couple of things you liked when you were a kid. And as much as you might like to think you're not, you really are.

I've just grown up. Respecting yourself and your art means taking an interest in the other responsibilities.

I just want to make that my life: recording music and trying to write a good song every day.

The culture of a workplace - an organization's values, norms and practices - has a huge impact on our happiness and success.

The mark of higher education isn't the knowledge you accumulate in your head. It's the skills you gain about how to learn.

Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world.

Being a nice person is about courtesy: you're friendly, polite, agreeable, and accommodating. When people believe they have to be nice in order to give, they fail to set boundaries, rarely say no, and become pushovers, letting others walk all over them.

Once people take ownership over the decision to receive feedback, they're less defensive about it.

To get real diversity of thought, you need to find the people who genuinely hold different views and invite them into the conversation.

I believe that the most meaningful way to succeed is to help other people succeed.

By admitting your inadequacies, you show that you're self-aware enough to know your areas for improvement - and secure enough to be open about them.

Originals are nonconformists, people who not only have new ideas but take action to champion them. They are people who stand out and speak up. Originals drive creativity and change in the world. They're the people you want to bet on.

If you want to be a generous giver, you have to watch out for selfish takers.

Bragging about yourself violates norms of modesty and politeness - and if you were really competent, your work would speak for itself.

Procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.