“.. because they want to do that thing well and beautifully. and it’s not about quantity. It’s about taking pleasure in the perfection and beauty of the particular. I’m still learning now that it’s about good and maybe never done; that the joy and work ethic and virtuosity we bring to the particular can impart a singular type of enjoyment to those we give to and of course ourselves.

Make use of the fact that you don’t doubt yourself too much right now. As we get older, we get more realistic. And that includes about our own abilities or lack thereof. That realism does us no favors.

Just starting out, one of your biggest strengths is not knowing how things are supposed to be. You can compose freely because your mind isn’t cluttered with too many pieces and you don’t take for granted the way things are. The only way you know how to do things is your own way.”