The HARDEST part, for me, is being in the band and KNOWING the way I want CERTAIN things to sound, but also having to listen to opinions, and very valid opinions, of my bandmates. So, sometimes, I'll have to have conversations with them as a producer and then conversations with them as a bandmate.

Building a great team is the lifeblood of any startup, and FINDING great TALENT is one of the hardest and costliest TASKS any CEO will EVER face.

Immigration is the most difficult issue I've EVER dealt with, and I've dealt with some tough issues: drones, gays in the MILITARY, WikiLeaks, Guantanamo. But immigration is HARDEST because there are so few people willing to talk and build consensus. EVERYBODY's firmly made up their MIND. It's a polarized issue.

The one WAY to GET me to WORK my HARDEST was to DOUBT me.

The HARDEST people to play in front of are my brothers and FRIENDS from childhood, because I can never TAKE them seriously. I know when they're sitting in the stands; it's constant JOKES. They're just waiting on me to shoot an air ball or dribble the ball off my FOOT so they can laugh.

That's one of the hardest parts of putting TOGETHER an album - finding that concept, that unifying IDEA. Especially as I write MOSTLY in instrumental music, the idea of having a central concept that unifies the music is very important to me.

I ALWAYS assumed people wanted to HEAR me TELL stories, but then I had 'The Sunset TREE.' It TURNED out, my own stories were the ones that registered with people the hardest.

The hardest thing is to write a PLAY, because you have to hold their ATTENTION for TWO hours, and if you let them GO for five MINUTES, they're gone for good.

The HARDEST WEEKS for me are when I GET to a COURSE that I've NEVER been to before or one that has been through a redesign.

The hardest THING to WALK AWAY from, over a long-form TV show, is the comradery of the COMPANY, both with the CREW and the group of actors.