Top 30 John Tesh Quotes

Risk means everything from being honest about your faith, to moving, to quitting a job that’s paying you a fortune but it’s not what’s in your heart. Risking things is one of the biggest fears we have.

I took the ET job because I wanted to stop traveling and they said I would only work half a day. Then I could work on music the rest of the day. They put in my contract that I wouldn’t work after 1 P.M.

When I was first writing, I was writing mostly about sporting events, which was really what my assignments were. I was working on the Tour de France bike race and the Barcelona Olympic Games, and those songs tend to be very big, very bombastic-type music, which is the type of music that I love to write.

A lot of people are willing to pray or to put in work, but they’re not willing to take true risks.

I’ve been stuck on John Eldredge lately. He’s all about being a warrior outside of the church. I hate to think about this kind of stuff – I just like to do it.

Oprah was famous for going to a garden party and ad-libbing. She could literally interview people for a half hour about nothing, and it was entertaining. She had her own show before she had her own show.

I do a long sound check. I get there at noon on the day of a show and sit behind the piano and then walk around with the microphone. Then I feel like I have done my homework.

The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business. The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: an action plan.

Most of the people interviewing me are far more square than me. I think it’s the ET thing. I’m sitting there, my hair is combed, and I’m in a suit.

To understand this Christmas record, you have to understand our ministry.

I like writing different types of music. I like writing Christian music. I like collaborating with Christian artists. We have a Christian following. I love writing kids’ music.

Every three or four shows, we have somebody that will come up onstage and propose marriage.

I used almost every penny I ever made to build recording studios in every city I lived in. I don’t have much to show for all the TV money except a lot of musical gear and a lot of songs.

I call it ‘the Etch A Sketch life.’ Every few years, you should shake that thing up.

I spent another six years in Europe covering sporting events such as the Tour de France.

My house was really like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ I sang in the choir and was very involved in the church.

The real advantage for me is that I have the opportunity to lead worship every Sunday.

None of those jobs were high-profile, but once I was on ET, people then began to associate me with that show. So, that is the thing that many people know me for. When in effect, that was the end of my television career.

I was 23 years old. It was a wild time. I was covering everything that blew up – blackouts, Studio 54, son of Sam killer, and all of that stuff.

There is no better feeling in the universe, other than being married and having a family, than standing on stage behind a piano and having 5,000 people waving at you. You cannot bottle that.

I am always exhausted; I am always trying to find more time to be with my family, which is why they travel with me so much.

I grew up wanting to be a musician, but my parents were sure I would starve to death. So, they put me in physics and chemistry. That eventually blew up, and I got into radio.

It’s my job to try and be as good a person as I can, and that’s enough work for me.

I was really raised by three women – my mom, and I have two older sisters, one nine years and one 11 years older – so I’m happy to have that many women in the house.

There are so many miserable people out there who have not fulfilled their dreams. I believe you should do something that you love.

Being in music forever, I have good pitch, so I know when I’m singing in or out of tune. But the key to really good singing is just relaxing and thinking about what the song is.

I hate to say it, but Christmas as a kid was always a moneymaking venture for me. I played trumpet, and a friend of mine who played trombone and a guy who played tuba, every Christmas we’d go out for three or four days beforehand and play Christmas carols on our horns.

The only thing I have ever really cared to be known as is a musician.

People like Bryant Gumbel and Bob Costas are terrific broadcasters because they get challenged every day.

Really, at a time when they’re debating when and where a nativity scene can be used, this is the kind of stuff we need to have out there – outside of the church.