It's where you're from - it's your roots - and that's why I like to get back to Nacogdoches in the offseason and hang out with my family. To me, it keeps me grounded and reminds me of how far I've come.
Win or lose, I always like to get back to my friends and family. They keep me grounded. When I'm home with my friends, I'm always the same Gabriel. I'm no better or worse in their eyes because of my results. It's good to be with your true friends. It always reminds me of where I'm from and who I am.
Standup keeps me grounded and keeps me in touch. I get to go from small towns to big cities, across Canada and the U.S., and you're out there and talking to people. You get a sense of what they respond to.
I have a lot of family in South Africa, but I grew up in California. I feel like my name keeps me connected to a long line of people that have been through a heck of a lot. It reminds me to stay grateful, and it reminds me to try and step my game up if I'm slacking.
Playing 'MyNBA2K' and 'NBA2K' is an essential part of my offseason and keeps me grounded during the season with all my travel.
At least I like to keep it the same. That's why I've got all the same friends. That's why I go back to Leeds as much as possible. I don't know if you know much about England, but Yorkshire is a very sobering place. In the North. It's very gritty. Old mining villages. And people don't really care about celebrities up there. And it's great. And that's why I get back there whenever I can. 'Cause it keeps me very grounded, and it keeps my life very normal, whatever that is.
Family is paramount, I am the baby of the family, I get looked after, everyone spoils me and I couldn't live without them. They are my life, and they keep me grounded. If I get out of line, my mum will tell me off.
It was a mystery to me, how the tuning was, or the style seemed to come out of nowhere, it obviously had roots in America going way back, there was nothing like it for me I'd ever seen before.
I try to stay grounded by keeping the people around me as a small group; people who I love and trust. I try to explore and be outside, and I'm a very grateful person so that keeps me grounded. And as much as I do enjoy social media, I try to back off it a bit when I'm out and about.
For people to even be interested and to reach out and say "I can't wait for you to come out with something", it's just so inspiring and motivating. It just keeps me going and it reminds me of why I love to make music because there's nothing greater than to use the gifts you have and share it with people who have that same affinity for the art that you give.
I don't care why they love me, as long as they love me. I think people respect me because they feel like - I'm kind of like Christmas. I come back every year. You can't get rid of me. I just keep coming back.
One of the rules that I always follow is that no matter how crazy characters may act, and no matter how absurd or strange their actions may be, that it's justified in the character's mind why they are doing it. Not to get all heady about it, but it's fun for me to test how far I can go with things while still keeping it grounded enough that you believe that the character really believes that what he's doing will get him what he wants. It's a personal challenge to me to see how far I can go with that.
Sometimes I'll open my voice to sing and I'll think, "I hope I hit the right notes." I do music for a living and I still feel like that, but it's good because it keeps me humble, it keeps my feet grounded, it keeps me trusting in God.
I love coming back home and seeing old friends and family. I would say it keeps me grounded.
My competition keeps me driven. My family and son and being home in Chicago keeps me humble, and my fans. They're the reason why I'm going hard and making sure everyone knows how to say my name.
Occasionally when I look at my Instagram and see how many followers I have, it shows me how it's going up by the minute. It blows my mind, but everyone around me keeps me grounded.
[Affordable prices] are important to me. My mother lets me know [if something is too expensive]. With a few dresses, she's, like, "That's too much." "But Mom, it's $59.99." "It's too much." And then I go back and we talk about price points. My family keeps my grounded.