When a great man has some one object in view to be achieved in a given time, it may be absolutely necessary for him to walk out of all the common roads.

There was no business plan, no model. It was just guts.

To win Best Director at Sundance was beyond anything I could have imagined for myself. It's still an incredible feeling to know I won. But as happy as I am about winning, I also know many other women of color have directed amazing films over the years that were equally deserving and didn't win.

Many of us spend our lives searching for success when it is usually so close that we can reach out and touch it.

It's not really about asking for the raise but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along. And that, I think, might be one of the additional superpowers that, quite frankly, women who don't ask for raises have. Because that's good karma. It'll come back. Because somebody's going to know: 'That's the kind of person that I want to trust. That's the kind of person that I want to really give more responsibility to.'

Many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory.