When I go into a room to write, it's like I'm not trying to say, 'I need to

write a song that sounds like Eric Church or Jason Aldean.' I just try to get the best song that's in the room that day. Whatever style or sound that may be, I'm not afraid to attack it at that angle.
Luke Combs

I find home renovations almost traumatic. But people can create something great.
Ginger Zee

Eventually, I'm going to be judged purely on my own merits.
Duncan Jones

You hit those valleys sometimes and it's really frustrating. It's like getting stuck in traffic on the freeway. But there's not much you can do about it.
Jason Bateman

'The Secret Agent' remains the most brilliant novelistic study of terrorism as viewed from the blood-spattered outside. But 'Under Western Eyes' dares to leap inside - not only into the terrorist mind, but also into the troubled zone that divides West from East, 'the autocracy in mystic vestments.'
Tom Reiss

My eyes will never be blue; my bone structure will never allow for you to mistake me for a Scandinavian model.
Leandra Medine

When I post a photo from a 'good angle,' I receive criticism for looking smaller and selling out. When I post photos showing my cellulite, stretch marks, and rolls, I'm accused of promoting obesity.
Ashley Graham

I'm that type of person that if I feel like I'm doing the same thing in life, then I'm stuck. Always gotta be moving and doing something different.
Trevor Jackson

Scoring goals is scoring goals. From a striker's point of view, the aim is the same.
Diego Costa

I never knew I would go this far, but I was told by people it wouldn't happen, and now I own four restaurants, and I have one of the best shows on the Food Network. I'm living in the Super Bowl of food.
Guy Fieri

Gemeoss

Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful.

It's a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. Amanda de Cadenet I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video. Adam Scott When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you. Kat Graham It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that. Laurence Fishburne Voters aren't asking to be pandered to and aren't asking to be tricked. Jason Kander I'm a pretty controlled and disciplined person, but my real vice is buying plants and food shopping. Zac Posen Barack Obama was a president who understood not only how technology could transform the way government services worked but also technology itself. He got it. Steven Levy Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up...

I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason I play the

way I play, just everything. Just knowing the days I don't feel right, going to practice, having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and make sure I was all right. Those were hard days. Derrick Rose I've read every Madonna biography. I've also looked up every pop star to see how they first made it. The biggest thing I learnt was that you have to be pro-active. You can't be scared. Marina and the Diamonds I think it's part of being English, particularly if you are middle-class - you're always looking to be reminded that you are no good and you are always actually embarrassed about being successful. Chris Martin I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about things that matter to them. Vikram Seth My motivation and aspiration is the same, being number one or being number five. So that's the truth. And my goal is the ...

I stand here today as the first woman first minister of our country. Every day I hold this

office, I will work to ensure that every woman, every wee girl across this country, gets a chance to do what I've done and follow their dream. Nicola Sturgeon When a president was elected with foreign policy experience, it was usually less about his foreign policy experience than other things. H. W. Brands The result may not be perfect. But our forefathers wanted us to compromise to get things done for America. Gene Green I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity. Angelina Jolie Tennis has opened a number of possibilities for me, and in future, it would be great to give something back. Ana Ivanovic No good writer ever merely cheered us up. But there's an unblinking stare into the darkness of things we have to go elsewhere to find. Jane Austen was made of strong stuff. She was too satiric for D. H. Lawrence's taste and too u...

We all live in a free Poland, and there would be no free Poland without

you, Twenty-five years ago, I did not stand on the same side together with you, but today I have no doubts that it was your vision of Poland which led us in the right direction. Aleksander Kwasniewski And to Shakespeare I owe my vision of the world as a theater, wherein all humans are acting out their parts. James Broughton If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a teacher, a history teacher. After all, teaching is very much like performing. A teacher is an actor, in a way. It takes a great deal to get, and hold, a class. Richard Dreyfuss I don't know what the future holds, but I have to be confident about it. It's just the way I am. Dawn French English is taking over the world. I just wrote a piece about it. And it's not by design. The United States dominates because it's the biggest market. Norman Spinrad There's a cardinal rule that you don't talk about sharks. If you don't see it, it's not there. Mark Warkentin I had so many freckles t...

I read 'The Bell Jar' as an adolescent and, like most teenagers, had no

problem identifying with a young woman who had everything going for her - looks, talent, opportunity, with her 'whole life ahead of her,' yadda, yadda, yadda - yet was spiraling into misery. Lionel Shriver I always wanted to write a book. Not a romance novel. Maybe a crime thriller. Something with action. Maybe that will happen some day. Becky Sauerbrunn I began to study martial arts because it was a great form of exercise, and I knew it would help my acting career. Martial arts reminded me of dancing. It has helped me learn fight sequences quicker. Olga Fonda I told my team, 'I don't want to go out for Asian roles anymore.' Ross Butler The Wodehouse language is so rich and detailed and hilarious. John Lithgow The Corbynista brand of politics representing metropolitan, middle class, pro-open border values is far removed from millions of Labour voters, especially those who voted Leave in the referendum. Nigel Farage What comes into...

I feel like every time I start up, it's like a truck you have to

get into 15th gear, so you very solely crank into that mental space where you feel really immersed in the world of the book and then you can just kind of go. But there's just that few days of frustration to get to that point. Chad Harbach It's important for a parent to learn to take delight in a child whose behavior might seem mystifying. In the case of an extroverted parent with an introverted child, it can be learning to see the inner riches of your child that may not always be expressed on the surface - but are there. Susan Cain After guest appearances, I got the offer to do the show as the successor of Arthur Schwartz. It's so much fun. Rocco DiSpirito The Whitney is a museum that has a great rapport with younger artists and the community. Jeff Koons Is only a tennis match. At the end, that's life. There is much more important things. Rafael Nadal I have to tell them that last night was a shameful train wreck filled with blind cuddly puppies. Charlie...

I hadn't played any music since freshman year of college, more than thirty years ago,

so I had to relearn everything. I started writing songs. Some were dance and trance songs (I listen to them a lot while I'm writing), and some were love songs, because that after all is what music is about - dancing and trancing and love and love's setbacks. Nicholson Baker People first concern themselves with meeting their basic needs; only afterwards, do they pursue any higher needs. Abdolkarim Soroush I didn't want to just be another girl singer. I wanted there to be something that set me apart. Taylor Swift I came to Hollywood and nobody knew me. I was on a coupla TV shows. Peter Falk I am against any reconciliation with Israel. Hassan Nasrallah It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge. Enrico Fermi We had some problems - my children were kidnapped during that time, and it just changed my whole way of thinking, from being in show business and everything else. Solomon Burke With 'Girls,' it ...

I wrote two poems about the '81 uprisings: 'Di Great Insohreckshan' and 'Mekin Histri.' I

wrote those two poems from the perspective of those who had taken part in the Brixton riots. The tone of the poem is celebratory because I wanted to capture the mood of exhilaration felt by black people at the time. Linton Kwesi Johnson Julia Roberts is a favorite. Everybody loves her in the Hollywood community. The public adores her. Mary Hart The reason I became a better player was because I came to Philly. Michael Vick I have a lot of younger fans, obviously the choices I make often influence them. But having said that, it's kind of the best motivation in the world to stay positive and make good choices. James Maslow Investors have to ask themselves two questions. How much can we grow our investments? And, can we afford our mistakes? Mohamed El-Erian In Sierra Leone last year there was just the two of us hanging out of a helicopter and, when we were in Bosnia, I drove an armoured vehicle, thousands of miles. Kate Adie The higher a man stands, the more the word ...

It's a radical time for musicians, a really revolutionary time, and I believe revolutions like

Napster are a lot more fun than cash, which by the way we don't have at major labels anyway, so we might as well get with it and get in the game. Courtney Love We have to learn again that science without contact with experiments is an enterprise which is likely to go completely astray into imaginary conjecture. Hannes Alfven I think complexity is mostly sort of crummy stuff that is there because it's too expensive to change the interface. Jaron Lanier The rest, called literature, is a dossier of human imbecility for the guidance of future professors. Tristan Tzara The London dialect as it is spoken in educated circles. Henry Sweet At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. Jane D. Hull Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving. Henry Ford

It's not hard to assume that voters do not have deeply considered views on

each and every policy issue before them but instead, perhaps, have one or two strongly held views and then allow their favored political leaders to fill in the gaps on the rest of the issues. Kristen Soltis Anderson I've been given this amazing platform as an Olympic athlete, and there are so many people out there who don't feel like their voice is being heard. I feel it's my responsibility to speak out on issues that are important. Adam Rippon That's all TV acting is. Like, let me find my mark and seem like I'm still acting. Sometimes they'll put sandbags there, but then it's even funnier because you're walking and you're, like, stepping into sandbags, so now you look like you're having a seizure. Laura Benanti I've always wanted to be a woman who isn't afraid to tell her story. Andra Day I'm happy where I'm at now, but I want to show the world that I'm the No. 1 fighter. I want to prove it the wor...