David Geffen

I thought I’d be a success even back in the mailroom at William Morris. It was just inconceivable to me I couldn’t win it all.

My life is a success – I am a happy man.

That had her lip-syncing to a record… There was no protection for her as a person or as an artist…

In the field of art, to be able to have lunch with Kirk Varnedoe is thrilling. I met him at Si and Victoria Newhouse’s dinner one night. Barnett Newman’s widow was there. That’s the part of me that’s a fan. Like when I was a kid and went to the Brooklyn Paramount. Well, my interest has expanded, and it’s not just rock-and-roll.

I never felt I was too protective. I felt I was functioning as a dam against the river of sh*t that comes pouring down on artists, and it was a job that I took very seriously.

[On his mother’s adversity] She had a very difficult beginning… All of my mothers family were killed… and she came to America at the time of the depression. It was not an easy life at all.

You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

The world moves along at such a fast clip that we have little patience when things are slow, whether it’s the line at a supermarket or Internet access. We’ve become intolerant of those things that cannot be accelerated or skipped entirely. I can’t speed up the foundation work for a building, nor can I expect to play piano like Glenn Gould just because I want to.

Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system.

Our intentions create our reality.

You don’t drown by falling into water. You only drown if you stay there.

If you really believe it – go for it.

In the game of life, before you get anything out, you must put something in!

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

In addition to self-awareness, imagination and conscience, it is the fourth human endowment-independent will-that really makes effective self-management possible. It is the ability to make decisions and choices and to act in accordance with them. It is the ability to act rather than to be acted upon, to proactively carry out the program we have developed through the other three endowments. Empowerment comes from learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions we make every day.

Some people do really find fault like there’s a reward for it.

It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.

When you try to come for me, I keep on flourishing.