Simon Cowell's life is changing dramatically on a daily basis - the latest news being that he and lover Lauren Silverman are reportedly expecting a baby boy.
Despite a flurry of activity around him - as well as impending first-time fatherhood, he continues to steer the X Factor ship on both sides of the Atlantic, the BGT bus, the careers of his stable-wonders Paul Potts, One Direction and Susan Boyle, without forgetting the other arms of his showbusiness empire - he found time to sit down with Esquire magazine and, at the age of 53, reflect on what he's learned along the way... Here are some titbits...
Simon Cowell is feeling reflective at 53
On there being a right time for everything:
“You don’t want Indian food for breakfast. You want it at night. And I think being creative in the morning is virtually impossible. I’ve never had a good idea in the morning. That’s why I wake up about 11am.”
On being a workaholic:
“A lot of people who retire, they hate their job so much, they just love the idea of not working anymore. That horrifies me. I’m going to be still working in my eighties or nineties if I can.”
On success:
“Success doesn’t turn you into a monster. It enables you to become one.”
On being down with the kids:
“You can be cool as you get older as long as you’re, A) successful, and B) you can relate to younger people without acting like an idiot. But don’t dye your hair.”
On leaving his wealth to a good cause:
“I’m going to leave my money to somebody. A charity, probably — kids and dogs. I don’t believe in that passing on from one generation to another.”
On his legacy:
“Your legacy has to be that hopefully you gave enough people an opportunity, so that they could do well, and you gave them your time, taught them what you know. I like that feeling.”
On relationships:
“The greatest challenge with relationships is boredom. Monotony is a killer.”
On the benefits of stupid people:
“I didn’t realise how important stupid people are in your life, because you ask yourself, what made stupid people so stupid? What made them the way they are?”
On his love of carrots:
“Once you eat enough vegetables, you start to crave them. Literally. That’s why I keep carrots on my desk. But you’ve got to have proper Bugs Bunny carrots, with the green bits at the end.”
On the quality of older music:
“I was a big David Bowie fan, and there’s no one around like him, so yeah, music probably was better in my day.”
Check out the full Simon Cowell ‘What I’ve Learned’ interview in Esquire’s October ‘Television Special’ issue, on sale Thursday 5 September. Also available as a digital edition.
