PAUL STANLEY: 'If You Choose To Pursue Something That's Out Of Reach, You're An Idiot'

In a new interview with Big Rig of the West Palm Beach, Florida's 98.7 The Gator radio station, KISS frontman Paul Stanley spoke about the importance of aiming high in one's career planning but at the same time setting the goals that one can realistically achieve. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In this case, what I can do, you might not be able to do in 10 years or in a hundred years. And vice versa — there's things that I'm just not equipped to do. If I had decided to pursue becoming a mathematician, I'd be homeless.

"I think at some point, each one of us has to do some sort of self-assessment — brutally honest — of what we are capable of and what's out of reach," he continued. "And if you choose to pursue something that's out of reach, you're an idiot.

"As far as I know, we have one time on this earth, and time is precious. It only becomes more precious as time goes on. So I think it's always important to chase something that's realistic. It doesn't have to be realistic for the person next to you, but you have to believe that you can do it.

"I still remember being in high school, and I certainly don't advocate someone else doing this, but I remember one of my teachers saying to me, 'Why aren't you doing the work?' And I said, 'Well, I'm gonna be a rock star.' And they said, 'Everybody wants to be a rock star.' And I said, 'Yeah, but I'm going to be.'

"So you can either delude yourself, which is insanity, or you can give the full-court press to what you believe you're capable of doing," Stanley added. "And the obstacles, you only see them when you lose sight of where you're going."

Next month, Stanley will appear at showings of his latest art collection at Wentworth Gallery locations in Florida, Maryland and Virginia. During the trek, he will present works from his "Black Series", which features new original paintings, hand-painted guitars, works on metal and more.

Stanley designed and created the iconic KISS emblem which remains universally recognized as one of the greatest logos of the 20th century. His artistic and visual input has been and continues to be seen in his designs of KISS album covers, performance stages and apparel.

Stanley returned to his passion for painting 10 years ago by creating portraits and abstracts that are emotionally charged compositions. His tremendous success with his artwork has led to an entirely new fan and media presence. He maximizes the direct and powerful impact of his paintings through scale, texture, color and simplicity of imagery.

Stanley's works have been praised by well-known and distinguished art concerns and acquired by fans, celebrities and art collectors worldwide. Stanley's works have been coveted by collectors as evidenced by consecutive sell-out art shows with total sales in the tens of millions. Additionally, the artist has been commissioned to create numerous large works that are on exhibition globally.