Each time a dancer moves devoutly or a composer faithfully searches the silence for the veiled melodies, eternity is engaged.

It's so tedious writing cookbooks or writing the recipes because I've never been much of a measurer. But to write a book, you have to measure everything.

Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of God. Stand up straight.

Be wary when a naked person offers you his shirt

I am not competing with anyone other than myself. I want to be excellent at whatever I do.

I don't think modesty is a very good virtue, if it is a virtue at all. A modest person will drop the modesty in a minute. It's a learned affectation.

Growing up, my grandmother did not want worldly music in the house. Then when I went out to California, I started listening to Spanish music, mostly Mexican music. But were I in Egypt, I would listen to the music of the people, or if I was in Italy, I'd listen to Italian music.