Learning a craft

Novelist; Nobel laureate in Literature, 2006

For me, to be a writer is to acknowledge the secret wounds that we carry inside us, the wounds so secret that we ourselves are barely aware of them, and to patiently explore them, know…

Recorded · The Nobel Foundation (nobelprize.org) · 2006

Australian sprinter, 1990–2003

I wanted to be an Olympic champion and I didn't care about the goings-on around me. In my heart and with all of my soul I was ready, willing and I was very able.

Recorded · National Museum of Australia · 2021

Conductor; Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

I will say it’s very in a way looks very physical. You know, it’s like a dance.

Recorded · Academy of Achievement (achievement.org)

Radio astronomer; discoverer of pulsars

I was very, very thorough, making sure I really understood how that telescope worked, and that it was working properly.

Recorded · University of Cambridge · 2020

Mountaineer and explorer; first ascent of Everest, 1953

I always have, in my expeditions, people who are academically far cleverer than I am, and even technically, far more competent.

Recorded · Academy of Achievement

Novelist, short-story writer and translator

I want my readers to laugh sometimes. Many readers in Japan read my books on the train while commuting.

Recorded · The Paris Review · 2004

Founder of Pallotta TeamWorks; founder of the Charity Defense Council

This is what happens when we confuse morality with frugality.

Recorded · TED · 2013

President of the Philippines, 1986–1992

I held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it would be rigged.

Recorded · AmericanRhetoric.com · 1986

Playwright and screenwriter

Never take advice from anyone with no investment in the outcome.

Recorded · The Guardian · 2010

Jazz tenor saxophonist and composer

The life of a jazz musician is a difficult life, because you want to play, you want to be, you want to get to the inner spirit and sometimes you drink or you use drugs or you smoke a lot.

Recorded · Academy of Achievement (achievement.org)

Cellist

Perfection is always a desired goal, but it cannot be a primary goal. Expression has to be the primary goal, because otherwise, there is no need for an actual person to be there.

Recorded · Voice of America · 2009

Co-founder and chief executive of Nubank

The second thing there was another thing I learned at Sequoia is that the culture of a business is built in the first six months by the first ten to 15 employees.

Recorded · Goldman Sachs (official event transcript)

Co-founder and chief executive of Nubank

Apenas me despierto, a las 5:00 a. m., cuando voy a hacer deporte. Es lo primero que cojo cuando me despierto. No es la mejor práctica, pero sí desde tempranito.

Recorded · Semana · 2022

Novelist

I get to my desk (in a very small room at the top of the house) at about 10, and fiddle about with the height of the desk and the chair until I’m comfortable.

Recorded · The Guardian · 2017

Novelist, essayist and critic

Stay in your mental pyjamas all day. […] Work in the morning, a short break for lunch, work in the afternoon and then watch the six o’clock news and then go back to work until bed-time.

Recorded · The Guardian · 2010

Novelist and editor; Nobel laureate in Literature, 1993

Writing before dawn began as a necessity—I had small children when I first began to write and I needed to use the time before they said, “Mama”—and that was always around five in the…

Recorded · The Paris Review · 1993

Novelist, short-story writer and translator

When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours.

Recorded · The Paris Review · 2004

Kenyan marathon runner

Our life here is simple, very simple. Get up in the morning, go for a run, come back. If it is a day for cleaning, we do the cleaning, or we just relax.

Recorded · BBC Sport · 2020

Designer; host of Design Matters; founder of the SVA branding programme

I’ve been told that because I like to make up silly songs and then sing them in all sorts of absurd situations and occurrences, that I am trying to turn my life into a Hollywood musical.

Recorded · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2018

Composer, pianist and record producer

It’s wasting time to listen to music when you go outside because there are so many interesting noises. For example, every time it rains, I open the window and put the recorder outside.

Recorded · Kinfolk · 2018

Broadcaster; host of Larry King Live on CNN, 1985–2010

I have a habit of – thought habits. I try to total up words in a phrase or a sentence and then divide it to see if I get an even number. Like true love divided by two is four.

Recorded · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2018

Kenyan marathon runner

When you become a boss, you don't think straight. It's better to be a leader than a boss. That is why I do my share of the cleaning. That is how to show the way to young people.

Recorded · BBC Sport · 2020

Novelist, dramatist and screenwriter

Do, occasionally, give in to temptation. Wash the kitchen floor, hang out the washing. It’s research.

Recorded · The Guardian · 2010