We prematurely write off people as failures. We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail.

My writing model is my mother, who is a writer as well. She always valued clarity and simplicity above all else. If someone doesn't understand what you're writing, then everything else you do is superfluous. Irrelevant. If any thoughtful, curious reader finds what I do impenetrable, I've failed.

Do you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how large a role we all play—and by “we” I mean society—in determining who makes it and who doesn’t.

I'm convinced that ideas and behaviors and new products move through a population very much like a disease does.

It changes how people read you if you believe in God. It gives insight into your motivation, how you look at problems and how you deal with people.

Lesson Number One: The Importance of Being Jewish

All artists have to do that at a certain point. This shift that has to happen between the initial moment of creation and then the consideration of what has been created.