American Quotes

I listen to all those kinds of music, from classic soul to hip-hop to Brazilian music to, you know, jazz to indie to alternative. So whatever. I listen to all if it. Classic rock and classic pop, all of that.

I like cool jackets - a nice fall or winter coat. You can get a lot of use out of it, and you'll wear it frequently, so it can really set the tone of your uniform for the season.

I have a structured songwriting process. I start with the music and try to come up with musical ideas, then the melody, then the hook, and the lyrics come last. Some people start with the lyrics first because they know what they want to talk about and they just write a whole bunch of lyrical ideas,

I don't like going to football games. I like watching them on television. When you go to a game, it's hard to focus. There's so much going on, and it's cold. I'd rather sit and watch it and get replays and commentary.

I don't get to listen to music for fun very often; a lot of what I'm hearing is for work and isn't released yet.

I don't feel like that many musicians are competitive with each other.

I don't actually go to a lot of games because I think football on TV is better. Even though I'm pretty busy, I watch 90 percent of Ohio State's games.

I always saw myself as a singer-songwriter, a solo-artist, that's why working with other artists was never satisfying for me.

I always felt that rap didn't cause crime; it just reflected it.

At work, you want to stand out but not in extra-funky ways. At the core, it's about dressing for girls - who are most of my fans - and you want to dress up for them. You just want to feel like you're on top of your game.

At the end of the day, there's only a few major stars in the music business, and then there's all these people that are aspiring to be that.

As a young black boy, it made me proud to see black leaders that did something amazing and made the world change.

As a politician, you have to deal with someone wanting you to fail every day. I think I prefer being in a situation where generally people are rooting for me, and if they aren't rooting for me, they aren't out there to see my downfall. I respect the people who have the stomach for it.

As a nation - and as a world - we need more truth.

Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop, gospel and R&B pretty well, and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three.

The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire.

In the 1970s, for all the Stevie Wonders, I'm sure there were five artists that were making forgettable music.

Experience is a great teacher.

To me, no one has fully cracked the code on social recruiting yet.

Think about the way most companies currently hire. You post a job and then get blind resumes in response. This should be a social experience.

The West coast money and the East coast money, in an ever-increasing manner, is finding its way to Chicago.

The big success stories - Facebook, Zynga and Twitter - are leading to investing in ideas on a napkin, because no one wants to miss out on the next big thing.

Studying doesn't have to happen in a silo. It can be a social experience. You can engage with your friends and family to find out the answer to a tough question or have someone explain it to you. You can also study anywhere you happen to be and on any device.

My weeks tend to differ pretty dramatically.

I've been part of founding three companies that have gone public. It doesn't seem like a big number, but it's actually a lot.

I'm going to start a lot of companies. These are not sham companies. These are great businesses.

I'm going to be in technology for a long time.

I think there are four or five interesting pockets where a lot of cool technology companies are getting started. Chicago is one of them. New York is certainly another. Silicon Valley really dominates. And you're seeing some stuff out of Boston and Seattle and down South.

Any business that is looking for new customers needs to understand the Internet and how to market their goods or services through it.

My end goal in the piano is to play Scott Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag.'