When my son, James, was doing homework for school, he would have five or six windows open on his computer, Instant Messenger was flashing continuously, his cell phone was constantly ringing, and he was downloading music and watching the TV over his shoulder. I don’t know if he was doing any homework, but he was running an empire as far as I could see, so I didn’t really care.

Learning happens in the minds and souls, not in the databases of multiple-choice tests.

Up to a point you welcome being interrupted because it is only by interacting with other people that you get anything interesting done.

You can't be a creative thinker if you're not stimulating your mind, just as you can't be an Olympic athlete if you don't train regularly.

Very many people go through their whole lives having no real sense of what their talents may be, or if they have any to speak of.

Passion is the driver of achievement in all fields. Some people love doing things they don't feel they're good at. That may be because they underestimate their talents or haven't yet put the work in to develop them.

My contention is, all kids have tremendous talents. And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly.