Every now and then I say something like this and it just sounds so self-righteous— but if there's anything I'm aiming at, it is that I want there to be a trust between me and an audience. I want them to absolutely know that if I've done it, there's some really good fucking reasons; there's something special about it. Sooner or later, the press, the magazine shit, the tabloid sort of shit, that'll all go away, because no matter how many times they say it, it's still not going to be true. What is true is what I put down in movies. Even though it's pretend, that's the truth.

I've been there, done it all. I'm very clear about my priorities as an entertainer. I want the audience to feel good when they watch me. That's what I'm paid for. Why should I sell anything else?

I am interested in raising new talents and crew. Several of my movies star new actors in lead or supporting roles, and many of them have gone on to do very well in the industry. I believe in continuity, as such it’s important to me that I invest in people whom I can one day pass the baton.

I want to be myself everywhere - both on the movie screen and at a concert, do you understand? The most important thing for me is to maintain the self-esteem and freedom that I have now. But it is very difficult to save. You have to fight all the time. And if the question becomes that I will have to play music that I don’t want to play, but that people will like, it would be dishonest to play it, right?

I feel like over the years, I’ve become more invested in a kind of written spoken voice. And connected to that, that I’m interested in the audience in a different way than I was before. I’m interested in caring for my audience. I don’t mean taking care of them. I mean being understanding. I understand that someone reading something that I’ve written is a generosity.

I want to be a force to reckon with not just as an actor but also as a producer. I want to do quality stuff and be an employer of labour so that I can change perceptions people have about the industry.

Now that I’ve completed a decade in short films, I want to be a part of good films with unique plots that challenge me as a musician. I’ve worked hard to come to this stage and I want to make my opportunities count. I hope my music reaches wider quarters in the coming years.

The best investment you can make is in yourself.

It’s quite an obsession to me to communicate at this moment, at this time, with my audience. I don’t only play for them, it’s something I want to give back to them. I feel how each listener in the audience is listening to me, and I feel its warmness, for example, and I give it back to the complete audience. I feel the intensity of hearing, of listening. This is like electricity, and this I give back to the audience. It’s very stimulating.

Never hesitate to invest in yourself—to pay for a class, a course, a new skill. These modest expenditures pay outsized dividends.

Invest in yourself, invest in your own self-education and then take that knowledge and use it to help others get what they want and need out of life. In the process, you will acquire power and financial freedom.

When I play, it is not for the audience. I play for that superior Power in between the audience and me. There are different kinds of people in the audience, and it is difficult for me to satisfy everyone. I perform for "that Power." If He is satisfied and happy, I feel blessed.

I've always been careful to put out the very best work I can. One of the things I value the most is the love and faith that people have given me over the years, so I try to live up to their expectations and my own standards of what I'm capable of.

I am completely obsessed. And the audience wants that; they pay for that. I don’t want to see someone who’s kind of into it. ... That’s what I care about. That’s all I care about. I don’t care what you do — I just want to see people and talk to people and be around people who are into it.