Peter Guber Quotes

I am interested in personal stories because that's when people become expressive, spontaneous and heartfelt.

I think most of my songs are based on an emotion and in every song I write, there's at least a partial truth.

The thing is, emotion - if it's visibly felt by the writer - will go through all the processes it takes to publish a story and still hit the reader right in the gut. But you have to really mean it.

I write my songs because I've lived them.

You just have to tell your authentic stories, and hopefully, it resonates. Whatever your story is, you just have to tell it authentically.

I realized that even though I had this urge, this longing, to write about other people, in order for it to be emotionally gripping, I needed to be in there somehow.

You give, actually, what you have in your inner world through your emotion and feeling. That's what you can give; it's not so much about "acting" in a sense of playing something that's very different to you.

I want to express my feelings, not illustrate them.

So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.

In a world where irony reigns, where you have to separate, protect and laugh at anything that is honest or has an emotional charge, I bet for catharsis. I like to invest emotionally in things. And catharsis, when it touches the emotional vein, can open the doors of even those who protect themselves.

I think I'm attracted to writers who tell us something about ourselves.

You can watch someone on-stage cry and cry - but in the audience you feel nothing. It's easy to become indulgent. For me, what's important is the story first.

I think that people respond to honesty in music, so I only choose songs that are the truth for me.

Know that there is so much more to you than your body. It's not just about perfecting the steps; you must trust your instincts to tell deep, emotional stories through the steps that you are performing.

Music's supposed to be real. When it really touches you, it's supposed to be real.

Even when I do commercials, I try to tell a story about the product. With music, I try to tell the story of the person's struggle for success. And I believe every word I say. I never read anything on the air I don't believe in. I think people sense that about me, and they respond to it.

If I'm not invested emotionally, the artwork doesn't feel emotional.

Singing is about telling a story. When you are onstage, you get to be your own self... When acting, you're someone else.

I'm not saying that I am all of my characters, but for me to bring a character to life, you've got to be able to find your own truth.

I feel what I sing, and I sing what I feel. Really, that's all I can do.

Fans always say they laughed and they cried while reading my books. And I tell them that I laughed and cried while writing them.

My first duty to write a gripping yarn. Second is to convey credible characters who make you feel what they feel. Only third comes the idea.

When I'm sitting writing, I know that something works if I've made myself cry, or laugh, or have a visceral emotion.

I'm not on a record like some rapper trying to boast about my clothes or where I'm from. I'm creating stories, experiences, the way places make me feel, the way a person makes me feel.

You can sometimes get your own feelings across more strongly if you pretend that you're singing it from someone else's angle. But it's always from me. It's just a new way of framing it.