Always desire to learn something useful.
Never complain and never explain.
The dog that trots about finds a bone.
You never know what motivates you.
Only the educated are free.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
If you think you can do it, you can.
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Do not weep do not wax indignant. Understand.
I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape.