The Chinese model calls for giving your kids very little choice - and I've come to see that you can go too far with that. On the other hand, I also believe that Western parents sometimes give their young kids too much choice.

I do think that maybe, even subconsciously, a lot of parents in the West are wondering, have we gone too far in the direction of coddling and protecting - you know, you see kids, sometimes that seem very rude and disrespectful. And the more important thing is they don't seem that happy.

Authenticity is a virtue. But just as you can have too little authenticity, you can also have too much.

We are so lucky Americans are impressive with what they're willing to give. We get bashed too much. And, so many young people in this country give so much. They're not all gang bangers.

I don't believe in messing with mother-nature too much.

You can't be afraid to not have everything figured out. There's too much pressure on young people today to have it all figured out when they're in college.