Justin Bieber Won't Be Defined by Mistakes, Says Scooter Braun

Scooter Braun gets candid about his longtime client Justin Bieber‘s career in this new interview with Complex magazine.

Here’s what the 33-year-old music mogul had to share:

On competition and aspiring to be Michael Jackson: “It’s funny, I talked to him about this today, and I feel like it’s not competition. You nailed it with aspiration, because when you have to give up that much of your life, it’s only worth it if you can strive to be great. When I was playing basketball in my backyard, I wanted to be Michael Jordan, because when you’re shooting the jumper in the backyard, you don’t want to be the sixth man. With Justin, it’s Michael Jackson and careers like that. But as he becomes more and more of a man each day, the challenge for him is learning who he is. He’s in such an incredible place right now, and he’s excited to share where he is with the world next year. It will shock some people and make others really happy. He’s ready to step up and be the man people want him to be, and he got there on his own time, like all of us did. So, right now, it’s less about Elvis and Michael, and more about him being the man he wants to be.”

On the shock factor: “It’s one, through his music, and two, through his candor, his openness about what he’s learned in the last year. Things get overblown, but sometimes he makes mistakes…”

On Justin’s mistakes: “Look, I’m not going to focus on anything specific, but the hardest part is being a little bit older [than your clients], and their actions aren’t necessarily actions you’d [take]. Sometimes it’s frustrating because you think, ‘I could’ve avoided that’ or ‘I could’ve helped you get through that,’ but then you realize that you are the person you are because you went through it, and they need the opportunity to go through it too. And if they do, you’re just supposed to be there to help them rise. I’m not interested in the mistakes that people make. I’m interested in how they react to them. That’s what defines us as adults. Being young, like Ariana [Grande] and Justin are, they will have opportunities to fall, and they will be defined by how they rise.”

For more on Scooter and Justin, visit Complex.com.