Failures are very important—they mean a great deal to me. After a big failure, I go into a deep depression and a very dark part of my body, but soon afterward I come back to life again, alive to something else. I always question artists who are successful in whatever they do—I think what that means is that they’re

repeating themselves and not taking enough risks

This is how I read the story: that to achieve a goal, you have to give everything until you have nothing left. And it will happen by itself. That’s really important. This is my motto for every performance. I give every single gram of energy, and then things either happen or they don’t

He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much.
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"I think a lot about the acoustics of childhood friendships versus adult friendships, and how things sound as a kid – and the actual joy of play as a kid versus all the talk as an adult. Especially now, there's so much stillness in maintaining friendship. It's a matter of sitting somewhere and looking into these digital windows, since we can't go out and play."

Harmony Holiday

It took me years to learn to tell apart certain gloomy moods from dehydration. It helps to know whether you should respond to a felt mood by changing careers, going on a restorative vacation, breaking up with a partner, or drinking a glass of water.

• Venkatesh Rao