My dad was in the army. World War II. He got his college education from the army. After World War II he became an insurance salesman. Really I didn't know my dad very well. He and my mother split up after the war. I was raised by my maternal grandmother and grandfather and by my mother.

You want to try and bring a character to life in an honest a way as you possibly can. It doesn't matter whether he's a doctor an actor a car salesman or a captain of a starship. If you can bring truth and honesty to that character then your audience will believe you.

Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50 000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme of things even if it's meant I don't drive a fancy car and can't afford grand vacations.

America... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.

Some people want fame popularity and huge sales. I've always hoped to have a really long career. So I've tried to make each of my creative decisions and business decisions to allow for longevity. As a side effect I got really famous and really big. I didn't realize the two could go together.

The 9-9-9 plan would resuscitate this economy because it replaces the outdated tax code that allows politicians to pick winners and losers and to provide favors in the form of tax breaks special exemptions and loopholes. It simplifies the code dramatically: 9% business flat tax 9% personal flat tax 9% sales tax.

In business you're the Chief Salesman. Create a sense of demand rather than waiting to have demand.

I've always taught that a poor economy is the best opportunity for salespeople because the naysayers and grumblers have already given up leaving more territory more opportunities to be successful than in a good economy when virtually all salespeople are out there giving it their best.

Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect.

It is a myth that art has to be sold. It is not like stocking a grocery store where people fill a pushcart. Art is a product that has no apparent need. The salesperson builds the need in the mind of the buyer.