When things go right (and they go right a lot - you just got to keep trying) there is nothing to really laugh about.

Today, where you come from seems less and less important, as globalization is the new order. I prefer the old world.

As all entrepreneurs will say, "surround yourself with good people". That is the hardest thing : finding good people.

An entrepreneur needs to have values. Values that are wholesome.

There are differences in the businesses themselves, but the fundamentals are the same: give customers a good experience, charge them a reasonable price, listen to them, and treat them with respect.

Creating art (music, books, films, etc.) can be beautiful and liberating, but trying to sell art, well, that is the movie business. There are few winners, and lots and lots of losers.

Entrepreneurs need to listen. They don't need to be good listeners (although it can only help) but they need to know when to listen.

Business is full of pain and hardship and with that, laughter and release.

Obsession makes my life bad and my work good.

Don't take yourself too seriously - learn to laugh. Hire slowly and fire fast. And the most important thing is: you never invest in ideas, only in people!

I think most entrepreneurs would refer to themselves as "accidental". No one looks for stress and pain. You stumble on to it. Also, no one looks for pots of gold, it just happens.

Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires - disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way.

There is one last thing to remember: writers are always selling somebody out.

When you're young, you just go banging about, but you're more sensitive as you grow older.

It doesn't matter if they're in front of the camera or behind the camera. I know women who are producers who are surviving on nothing but juice and almonds.

Time takes the ugliness and horror out of death and turns it into beauty.

WikiLeaks is a important focus of our attention.

We shouldn't be put out to pasture just because we've reached somebody's idea of retirement, which was certainly happening in Australia, and I think elsewhere as well.

When you're writing, your mind has a place where the stories happen. With one word, you can get the idea of where you are.

In creating the Harry Potter artwork, I try to bring a certain amount of realism and believability to the characters and setting, but still add an element of wonder and the unknown.

Just try to imagine what it would be like to be 300 million years old.