I see all that celebrity stuff now as whatever, man. What's more important is that everyday people are liking my music, it's got to that stage. I've worked really hard for a long time for it to come to this point, where I'm putting smiles on people's faces, and I'm loving it.
As a player on the bench, you become like a fan really. You're sitting there shouting 'why did he do that?' or 'no don't pass it there' and I can see why fans get so frustrated. But then I remember what it is like being out there on the pitch and how players can't see everything that fans can see.
The first time people come to see me, it's usually because they're curious. Then maybe some of them return. I look out in the audience and see the same faces, the same wonderful, loyal faces.
I come from a family with big hearts, so I love to put smiles on people's faces.
You don't see what's gone before. A lot of that can be long, long boring hours in the gym, long, long hours on the track or, for the likes of Paula Radcliffe, long hours out on the road in the rain running and running.
I like to see the smiles on people's faces when I show them I can do the impossible.
It's amazing to see anyone come out, let alone tell you they have been waiting so long. They are loyal people, our fans.
I understand that these people are all there to see me ride, that that's why they're in the building, and whether I have ten people, or a thousand people come out to see me, they still came out to see me, and I take that to heart.
These observations tie in directly with the whole question of organizing. Why do we have leaders? We put some people out in the fields and all of a sudden they hit, they click. Everyone's happy with them and they begin to move mountains. With other people there are problems and heartaches. They just don't go. When we look and see what's happening, almost invariably the differences are along the lines of willingness to sacrifice and work long hours.
I saw music as a way to entertain people and take them away from their daily lives and put smiles on their faces, as opposed to what I see it being now, which is a way for me to actually communicate, and a way for me to tap into my subconscious.
I am doing what I do [athletics] because the fans love it and it's a part of me, it's my personality. I think people come to see you run fast, but they also come to see a show, a performance. They want to see a personality, and that's what I give them.
There's no better feeling than sitting on the team bus travelling to the Millennium Stadium knowing that the team will be playing in front of 74,500 people. You're driven through the crowds where you see the smiles on people's faces and I get a huge buzz out of that.
I still miss my mom every day, but when I see the smiles on the faces of the people that I help I know I am honoring her legacy.
I'm not here to put bruises on people's backs or to send them to the hospital. I'm here to put smiles on people's faces.
That's the best part of the game, to see the smiles on their faces and the breakthroughs they have as individuals.
The fans want to see more. They're there to see fights, they want to see more, they want to see people get put unconscious, whatever. But you can't get put in those spots.