'Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.'

Tom Petty used bankruptcy to change the music industry

In order to resolve a dispute over how a label was treating him as an artist, he self-produced an album and racked up $500K in debt. The resulting bankruptcy filing allowed him to start a new contract with the label on more favorable terms.

'I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.'

-Comedian George Burns (1896-1996)

'Follow your enthusiasm. It's something I've always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing.'

- "Muppets" creator Jim Henson (1936-1990)

'You will never feel proud of your work if you find no joy within it; your best work is always joyful work.'

- Stevie Wonder (1950-present)

'If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.'

- Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

'If you can't do it with feeling, don't.'

-Singer Patsy Cline (1932-1963)

'Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds. But it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship.'

- Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)

'Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise.'

- Ted Turner, on his secret to success (1938-2026)

'Live a life so when I die, there's standing room only.'

- Tim McGraw (1967-present)

'All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.'

- Musician George Harrison (1943–2001)

A quote by athlete Walter Payton

"When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you."

Finding meaning in work matters, but can also happen outside your job

It's a perennial discussion: How do I find meaning in my work? Visionaries attest to the value of aligning your passions with your paycheck, but it isn't always possible. This podcast weighs the pros and cons of such a pursuit.

'I've come to the conclusion that life is for the taking and just too short to dwell on the negative.'

- Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan (1971-2018)

'My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others' negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.'

-Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Some of the 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek's best quotes

"The secret to happiness, of course, is not getting what you want; it's wanting what you get."

'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.'

- Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

In 2004, Prince paid tribute to George Harrison with a surreal solo

The 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony paid tribute to the recently deceased Beatle with a rendition of one of his most famous songs by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son, Dhani. Several minutes into the performance, Prince suddenly appeared center stage for a virtuosic solo. He ended it by tossing his guitar into the crowd. Tom Petty's drummer would later say, "Everybody wonders where that guitar went, and I gotta tell you, I was on the stage, and I wonder where it went, too."

A quote by award-winning actor Tom Hanks

"We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?"

'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.'

- Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Richard Hell is one of punk's most accomplished writers

Richard Hell is punk royalty, known for his work with Television, the Heartbreakers, and the Voidoids. He's also a well-traveled poet, novelist, critic, and memoirist, as this detailed profile from Poetry Foundation's Andrew Marzoni shows.

A research study found that Springsteen's popularity is due to his lyrics' authenticity

The Penn State study compiled lyrics from 18 albums and analyzed the words that "convey genuineness and honesty" and those that suggest cognitive activity. They found that Springsteen's songs are often focused on the present and "tend to express positive emotion," which they believe might explain why his fans are so devoted.

One musician went to bed one night as a street sweeper and woke up a national celebrity

24-year-old Macario Martínez was making roughly $10 a day and working 8-hour shifts as a street sweeper in Mexico. The aspiring musician and composer went viral after posting a love song of his on TikTok. He has since quit his day job and has millions of listens on Spotify.

Before the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed was a workaday songwriter

His job at Pickwick Records, a label that churned out budget records for department stores, was to crank out generic pop fare. One of those songs was 1964’s “The Ostrich,” a dance song in the style of Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion.”

Music was a profound inspiration for Basquiat

The prolific artist loved music, obsessing over David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, and numerous jazz figures. Many of his favorites appeared in his paintings, creating a body of work that also acts as a glossary of influences. Below is a 1984 portrait of Max Roach, the jazz drummer. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Three rock stars who made great country music

Steven Tyler, Tina Turner, and Darius Rucker all crossed into country. The author claims the trio shared a common trait: they weren't chasing a new audience. Instead, they were delving deeper into a sound already present in their work.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.