Quote

One of the greatest lessons of my own life was learning to turn the inner rampage of hatred and anger toward my own father for his reprehensible behavior and abandonment of his family into an inner reaction more closely aligned with God and God-realized love.

My father seemed always to know not only what I was doing, but what I was being.

The fact I had my father as an adversary was such a powerful tool to work with. I subconsciously fought him to the degree that I drove me to be one of the most successful musician in the world.

My father raised me to think independently and follow my own path in life.

I've never had to rebel against my parents; I never had that sort of teen-angst thing where you didn't get along with them. My dad's always been my buddy.

Looking back, I clearly understand that seeing a 'chain of command' approach in my house was a positive thing for me. My father provided a strong point of view on life and was a leader. Boys, especially, need that.

I dug the idea that I was being perceived as the black sheep of my family, but for me, it was like, I was a rebel, and that to me was most important.

A father draws boundaries and calls a halt, whenever necessary. As I didn't have that, I was able to stay childishly naive that much longer - so I did what I liked, because there was nobody stopping me, even when I got it wrong.