“Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcomed.”

“Just when you think you know something, it gets turned around and challenged in some way. But those changes are welcome because you end up learning more.”

“If something or someone makes you happy and brings joy to your life, it does not have to make sense to anyone else.”

“Know your worth! People always act like they're doing more for you than you're doing for them. Ask yourself this question, "Why would they do that?" Obviously, you bring something to the table for them to even do business with you”

“When you love something, you have to make sure it loves you back, or you'll bring about no end of trouble chasing it.”

“If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

“You have something that might be more use to me than either gold or power—something that in fact brings both in its train.”
“And what is that?”

“Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel, because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under the coffee table.”

“You don't write because someone sets assignments! You write because you need to write, or because you hope someone will listen or because writing will mend something broken inside you or bring something back to life.”

“Interviewer: 'So Frank, you have long hair. Does that make you a woman?'
Frank Zappa: 'You have a wooden leg. Does that make you a table?”