First of all, I'm a Midwesterner, being from Kansas, and Chicago is basically a big Midwestern cow town. It was built from the stockyards, and everyone is very friendly, and it's at the edge of the tallgrass prairie. There's just a good feel to it.

My personal philosophy is I'm running a 100-yard dash, and I haven't reached the end.

I've been producing documentaries on global warming for 20 years and have seen the early warnings of extreme weather events come true.

There's something magical about putting yourself into life. You've got to stand up and take responsibility for your own life and you cannot abandon that.

I have an affinity for Africa, especially East Africa, and Kansas looks very much like that.

Choose something you like to do. I know its a cliche, and youve heard it over and over. But the reason is, youre going to have to work long and hard to achieve any success. You better like it or life is going to be terrible.

All vacations can come down to a few little moments - what do your remember when you're alone, totally relaxed and taken out of yourself to appreciate this other world.