“Authenticity- for me- is incredibly important. It's easy to spot the difference between acting and authentic performance- even though it may seem a contradiction in terms. When you're acting, 10% of you needs to be conscious of what you're doing, and 90% lost in the moment.”

— Sam Neill

Actor best known for Jurassic Park and The Piano films

The quote archive

Wisdom in fragments

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

Etiquette is the glue that holds society together. Humans are social creatures, after all—we need connection to survive. But with global cultures in flux and the post-pandemic digital age, shadow epidemics of anxiety and loneliness are on the rise.

— Sara Jane Ho

However, the landscape is shifting with the advent of digital transactions. The digitisation of money movement, transitioning from cash to digital, allows for traceability. This traceability generates data, which can be analysed to inform decisions.

— Naré Vardanyan

Initially, I harboured a somewhat naive belief that the system's failings were largely due to a scarcity of people willing to do the right thing. Working for international organisations, I was caught up in the belief that we could fix broken systems simply by introducing the right resources, processes, and intentions. However, I've come to realize that good intentions alone are insufficient.

— Naré Vardanyan

However, imagine living in a place where such financial avenues are virtually non-existent. Where hard work and ambition offer no promise of progress or escape from economic stagnation. This reality is stark for many.

— Naré Vardanyan

Throughout the years, I've engaged in numerous conversations, yet the topic of languages has never surfaced. It's fascinating, truly. Reflecting on my childhood, growing up in an environment devoid of electricity and illuminated by candlelight, I didn't perceive it negatively. Such circumstances become the norm for a child, and the experience is shaped significantly by the parents' reaction.

— Naré Vardanyan

The silence I employ has agency behind it. I choose to use it strategically as the pause between stimulus and response, differentiating a considered response from a mere reaction. We need more of this kind of silence.

— Elaine Lin Hering

Unlearning silence doesn't mean speaking incessantly—the world is far too noisy for that. Instead, it means understanding the difference between choosing to be silent and having silence imposed upon you. It's recognizing whether silence is additive or oppressive, whether it's reflective and generative or merely detracting.

— Elaine Lin Hering

So much of silence is about perpetuating the status quo, reinforcing what someone or dominant groups within an entity or organization have deemed appropriate, good, polite. Being different inherently exposes you to vulnerability; you're pushing against everything that the forces of mimicry urge you to do, which is to conform.

— Elaine Lin Hering

Silence is, by definition, an absence—an absence of voice, opinion, and life. It begins so subtly that it often goes unnoticed. We start by withdrawing or withholding our genuine thoughts from conversations, replacing them with what we presume others want to hear.

— Elaine Lin Hering

Society has undoubtedly faced setbacks, but clinging to practices from 100 years ago isn't a solution. The world has evolved, and so must we, finding our purpose in the new landscape. It's crucial to introspect and work with the hand we're dealt.

— Theo Paphitis