WISDOM by Andrew Zuckerman

Inspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can give to another is the wisdom it has gained from experience, Andrew Zuckerman has recorded the thoughts and ideas of fifty of the world’s most prominent writers, artists, actors — all over 65 years old.

These thoughts I found interesting.

BILLY CONNOLY
“Wisdom is a question.
I’ve tried to tell my kids:
<<Avoid people who look as if they know the answer, or who would have you believe they know the answer. And seek the company of people who are trying to understand the question.>>
There is no answer.
That’s where the wisdom is: in the constant questioning of where you are.
And when you stop wanting to know, you’re dead.
You’re walking, but you are dead.”

JUDI DENCH
“The key to a good relationship is absolutely, undoubtedly: don’t take the person for granted.
Don’t ever think that they’re going to come back to you just because you happen to be married.
Always make the effort; and hopefully don’t make the effort recognizably.”

CLINT EASTWOOD
“Take your profession seriously; don’t take yourself seriously.
If you take yourself seriously you’re not going to be able to move forward and use your best artistic instincts.
You’re going to be hampered by always wanting to look in the mirror and see if you have enough tuna oil in your hair or something like that.”

JACQUES PÉPIN
“You always communicate through cooking.
You cannot cook indifferently, otherwise the food won’t come across the right way.
There is a great deal of love which goes into the making of food, and you always cook for the other.”

FRANK GEHRY
“Students of architecture should just be themselves, and not look over their shoulder.
Your best work is your expression of yourself.
When I teach students in architecture, I try to get them to understand that they have a signature. Their body, their hand-eye coordination, their biological make-up makes them write their name differently than I write my name, and so there is that difference. And that’s natural.
And if they follow it and build on it, they’ve got a chance.”

ALAN ARKIN
“We’re a part of the environment.
My focus, my belief is that if people clean up their own act spiritually, for want of a better term, you automatically have a profound effect on the world around you.”

Publisher: PQ Blackwell in association with Abram, New York, 2009