Note: If viewing Michael Jackson Ultimate Archive on archive.org (Wayback Machine), please view the latest snapshot of this page for the most up-to-date information and media.

Personal Mission Statement

Date confirmed in “Daily Express” (archived) (“The letter, dated November 6, 1979”)

 

Michael Jackson, handwritten note on the back of tour itinerary, “60 Minutes” (September 8, 2013) (archived)

MJ will be my new name. No more Michael Jackson. I want a whole new character, a whole new look. I should be a totally different person. People should never think of me as the kid who sang "ABC," or "I Want You Back." I should be a new, incredible actor/ singer/ dancer that will shock the world. I will do no interviews. I will be magic. I will be a perfectionist, a researcher, a trainer, a master. I will be better than every great actor roped in one. I "must" have the most incredible training system. To dig and dig and dig until I find. I will study and look back on the whole world of entertainment and perfect it. Take it steps further from where the greats left off.