I think the biggest risk is the situation with the EMU as I have explained. I can see that this has the potential to derail the world economy in the same way the 2008 credit crisis did.

But when it comes to claims like 'pets alleviate depression,' there's really no solid evidence. In fact, the findings so far are pretty ambiguous. And in one study that found no significant overall effect, cat owners were actually more depressed than the control group.

No one wakes up eager to write because it often reveals your shortcomings. It's like staring at your face in a mirror for two hours—after a few minutes, all you see are flaws. Discipline sees me through those self-doubts.

The brain can be thought of as a blank slate, yet it comes with certain built-in constraints and proclivities. Every culture recognizes the octave, because it's grounded in physics, a simple 2:1 frequency ratio. Every culture also uses the perfect fifth, 3:2. And every culture divides the octave into a discrete set of steps for their scale, usually between five and eight.

Being creative is about being a collective. It's not something unique. Cirque is not a one man, or a one woman show. It's a collective. That's why we can nurture each other's creativity.

Robustness is being in a good place and having a plan, resilience is being able to implement that plan and stay in a good place.

More money has been lost on the mismeasurement of risk than not having risk management at all. The battle is not won through being attuned to risk control. If your measurement of risk is completely wrong, it could be worse than having nothing in place.

Corruption is a phenomenon that has existed for thousands of years, but only now is it becoming an unacceptable event. Corruption destroys societies, hinders development and undermines security. Note what happened in the Middle East and North Africa… corruption was one of the triggers of unrest in these countries. It appears that people are fed-up of corruption, they want change, and they want it now.

The reality is – you can't accomplish anything unless you're all in emotionally, physically… you have to put it all on the table. You can't just put a little part of you out there in case you get hurt… guess what… everything about competition will hurt.

Sometimes, a game just works; it becomes a little engine that generates mystery and interest, prompting questions like 'What happens if I do this?' This is the hallmark of a living game.

Firstly, pay has to be high enough to give people agency in their own lives and secondly, humans have to be treated like humans. Those are the minimum conditions for good jobs – there also needs to be a career path that enables people to learn and grow in their jobs.

When a customer sees that a company from India is performing in the financial markets better than their local partner, their attention is caught. We leveraged the financial markets for building brand, for competing in the marketplace.