Claes Oldenburg Quotes

When I came back to Hong Kong in 1992, I decided to pursue a new career challenge.

I started selling corn dogs, ended up in the music industry. That's how it all started.

At the end of drama school, I made a contract with myself: I'd try acting for five years. I was 26. I had already spent eight years working in restaurants and gas stations. So I had seen enough small businesses to understand that that's what acting is: a small business.

When I graduated college, I had a fairly successful weekly club gig and was buying more studio equipment and writing my own music. I realized I didn't want to work.

By 2013, at the age of 29, I was failing. I had left two good jobs in succession to complete a novel I'd been tooling around with since 2009, had enrolled in a graduate programme in Texas, as far away from home as possible, to finish it - and yet: what did I have to show for it after five years of work?

I'd dropped out of college to start design thing.

In actual fact, I wanted to be an actor, but I was a lawyer, and I was a week away from qualifying and was fired. And that's the day I made an announcement: "Hey, for seven years, you thought I was going to be a lawyer. Well, I'm not. I've just lost my job, and I'm packing my bags and moving to London tomorrow to be an actor."

I mentioned that I was thinking of getting out of the business after Call Me Madam. I thought maybe I should become a homebody.

There is life after acting.

I worked full time jobs, basically doing manual labor until I could make enough money supporting myself as a musician.

I went freelance in 1996 and my children are now teenagers and it seemed right.

I don't think I want to transition into being a recording artist for the rest of my life or anything like that, but it's something I'd like to try.

When I worked as a music and fashion photographer, I always had the nagging feeling that there was something missing, that I wasn't using my skills productively. I gave up photography - I walked away from it completely - and started doing care work.

I couldn't concentrate on music. So I made the choice to give up my career as a musician in the frontline to deal with the business.

I did live in New York. Yeah, I moved to L.A. for 'Community.' And I gave up my apartment in New York.

After my health suffered due to the stress of running my second company, I had to switch careers. But I still didn't want to go back to the corporate world. So I became an academic.

I made the decision to come back to New York, quit my job and move to Paris.

After living in LA for 8 years, I sort of wanted a change, but there's not much production in New York, which is where I primarily live, so I just sort of drifted over to London.

I only went to college for one semester, community college outside of Dallas. I got to the end of that and said, 'I'm not doing this anymore,' and moved to L.A. and landed a job.

I was being groomed to be the theatrical caricaturist. And I know if I got that job, I'd never quit. So I quit. I knew I wanted to go into the theater... I wanted to act.

Well, the announcement to say that I was no longer a member of Vampire Weekend was something that was in the works for a long time. I knew that it was the right choice for me.

A lot of times when people are released or, unfortunately, get fired, they almost scramble for what it is they are going to do next. I think when you are no longer working under a big, corporate umbrella, you have to be your own brand, your own enterprise. That was my thought process before I left.

I was always excited by the idea of having my own company, but models are rarely serious when they venture off into something else, be it acting, singing, or starting their own business.

When I signed with WWE and moved to Orlando, my wife and my two kids came with me.

By putting this music out, I think I genuinely eliminated 80 percent of the previous jobs I was qualified for.