Being professional means separating out your personal taste from your professional opinion. I don’t watch Ugly Betty, or listen to Cedric The Entertainer comedy records, but I understand why they work. I would personally never choose Leno over Letterman, but I understand what his appeal is to those who do so. Understanding the audience is my job. It has to be. And if you work in the business, no matter where you work in the business, it’s your job too.

Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure – or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you will find success.

This is perhaps the most significant message that [Philip] Glass delivers to the young composers whom he assists behind the scenes: stop dreaming of Beethoven and get your music played.

The rules are simple. Take your work, but never yourself, seriously. Pour in the love and whatever skill you have, and it will come out.