Top 100 On Being Quotes
#1. I write in order to find out what I truly know and how I really feel about certain things. Writing requires me to go much deeper into my thoughts and memories than conversation does. Writing provides the solitude necessary to reflect on being in this world.
Leslie Marmon Silko
#2. We are what our genetics say we are. Melissa Mae Palmer on being born with one of the rarest diseases in history and possessing the only genetic living code.
Melissa Mae Palmer
#4. I say, when your hair turns gray and your children think they know who you are, do the thing that shakes up who you think you are, even who you had prided yourself on being. When all those around you say they simply don't recognize you any longer, that's the real compliment.
Jane Smiley
#6. Normally, it's one or the other - a pretty, straight woman or a more charactery woman who isn't supposed to be attractive. But women like Tina Fey are leading the charge on being both. You can be funny and attractive.
Becki Newton
#7. Once a day has begun eventfully, it generally carries on being every bit as lively.
Albert Ehrenstein
#8. You can't just go on being a good egg. You must either hatch or go bad!
C.S. Lewis
#9. While like most men, Sam prided himself on being equipped with a supernatural internal compass that kept him from ever being lost, he'd also learned to concede those rare times when that compass seemed to be temporary disrepair.
Clive Cussler
#10. Leadership does not depend on being right.
Ivan Illich
#11. We were a good team. I was glad we had decided to work on being friends. She was holding up her end of the bargain and I was trying my best not to worship her.
Emmy Laybourne
#12. Now I'm being blamed not only for anorexia but for lung cancer. - On being a social smoker.
Kate Moss
#13. You're beautiful, lovely, wonderfully unique. Don't spend your energy on being upset, spend it on being a glowing star in happy wonders. Because you are a star, even in the darkest moments, your glow is impervious.
Kevin Jones
#14. Like their Martian ancestors, men pride themselves on being experts, especially when it comes to fixing mechanical things, getting places, or solving problems. These are the times when he needs her loving acceptance the most and not her advice or criticism.
John Gray
#15. We make our days pleasant or miserable. If we insist on being miserable, irritable and nasty, more than likely the day will give us exactly what we give it. A day is too valuable to waste on misery and unhappiness.
Iyanla Vanzant
#16. To go on being an actor, you need sheer animal energy. If you can't restock your energy, you have to hide your lack of it.
Hume Cronyn
#17. I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able to do two things at once.
Jane Smiley
#18. In our society, we no longer pride ourselves on being educated, knowledgable, well-read. We prefer, instead, the illusion of erudition.
Michael Perkins
#19. I'm sure it's wrong to go on being good for too long, till one gets miserable. And I can see you've been good for years and years, because you look so unhappy.
Elizabeth Von Arnim
#20. A skunk is better company than a person who prides himself on being 'frank'.
Robert A. Heinlein
#21. It's a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.
Noam Chomsky
#22. I think it was a possibility, I think we're all kind of delusional like that, we think that we can all carry on being who we are without bending ourselves to make ourselves acceptable and expect someone to come along and see to us and rescue to us.
Brendan Gleeson
#23. No one can go on being a rebel too long without turning into an autocrat.
Lawrence Durrell
#24. Nobody can keep on being angry if she looks into the heart of a pansy for a little while.
L.M. Montgomery
#25. It took me a couple years to get over the stereotype I was letting myself get caught up on, being a football player trying to start a career in music.
Sam Hunt
#26. (On being in a position of leadership) Even if it's your dog, you've got authority over somebody. Start treating him better.
Joyce Meyer
#27. A poor woman from Manchester, on being taken to the seaside, is said to have expressed her delight on seeing for the first time something of which there was enough for everybody.
John Lubbock
#28. I planned on being successful ever since I was young. To me, this is nothing to be surprised about.
Jimmy Rollins
#29. The intrinsic path to success is to focus on being the person that you are, and put all of your energy and drive into being the best possible version of yourself.
Paul Buchheit
#30. Earthlings went on being friendly, when they should have been thinking instead.
Kurt Vonnegut
#31. We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid.
Christopher Hitchens
#32. Never,ever confuse what happens on a runway with fashion. A runway is spectacle. It's only fashion when a woman puts it on. Being well dressed hasn't much to do with having good clothes. It's a question of good balance and good common sense.
Oscar De La Renta
#33. We're planning on being married for a long, long time.
Nick Lachey
#34. Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such.
Samuel Butler
#35. Dear Jack,
I love you, too.
And I think I know the secret to a long and happy marriage - just choose someone you can't live without.
For me, that would be you.
So if you insist on being traditional ...
Yes.
- Ella
Lisa Kleypas
#36. I wanted to leave home, and I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to do or what would happen. That's youth, though. Being fixated on things. I was fixated on being a writer.
James Avery
#37. The child's progress does not depend only on his age, but also on being free to look around him.
Maria Montessori
#38. A funny person is funny only for so long, but a wit can sit down and go on being spellbinding forever. One is not meant to laugh. One stays quiet and marvels. Spontaneously witty talk is without question the most fascinating entertainment there is.
Diana Vreeland
#39. [On being the oldest living human being:] God must have forgotten me.
Jeanne Calment
#40. I ain't looking to comply," John said, "I violate people's rights every day, reckon I'm an expert what mine are. I'll be around."
--John Bassler on being asked to leave town in the upcoming book Chokoloskee.
Charles Sams
#41. Surprise, surprise - the good guys don't always win. Sometimes, they're lucky if they just get to keep on being the good guys.
Anthony Breznican
#42. I plan on being a friend, a good leader and a good governor over these next three years.
John Rowland
#43. A recluse, like Hepzibah, usually displays remarkable frankness, and at least temporary affability, on being absolutely cornered, and brought to the point of personal intercourse; like the angel whom Jacob wrestled with, she is ready to bless you when once overcome.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
#44. I have a harder time finding somebody. The problem is we were growing professionally during the years most people were concentrating on being a person.
Karen Carpenter
#46. I tell you, it was kind of two-fold. I fortunately had a lot of support. My coach was amazing - he told me to focus on being prepared and that is what I did. Every athlete is nervous - any athlete who tells you they're not nervous isn't telling you the truth. I was as prepared as I could be.
Carl Lewis
#47. It is ironic that America, with its history of injustice to the poor, especially the black man and the Indian, prides itself on being a Christian nation.
James H. Cone
#48. Happiness and suffering do not depend on being poor or rich, they depend on having the right or wrong understanding in our mind.
Ajahn Chah
#49. focused on being grateful and happy for what we already had. It seemed to work in the short term, but old mental habits die hard, and soon I was discontented again with where I was
Nate Golon
#50. [On being overweight:] If I tried to haul ass, I would have to make two trips.
Dolly Parton
#51. If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.
Abraham H. Maslow
#52. My first reaction on being awarded the Nobel Prize was, actually, I thought of Fischer Black, my colleague. He unfortunately had passed away. And there was no doubt in my mind that if he were still alive, he would have been a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize.
Myron Scholes
#53. A successful lie cannot be brought into this world and capriciously abandoned; like any committed relationship, it must be maintained, and with far more devotion than the truth, which carries on being carelessly true without any help.
Lionel Shriver
#54. Did we ever plan on being billionaires? No, but we wanted to be millionaires.
Diane Hendricks
#55. In Nam, the jungle's heat was heavy, and like a spoiled overweight child, it insisted on being carried everywhere.
Billy O'Connor
#56. The American's literature is all about being hot and sexy, inspiring a girl and going to bed with her. It focuses on being a hero, saving lives and surviving last, but it has nothing to do with dignity, serenity.
M.F. Moonzajer
#57. Dance and I are synonymous, and nobody can take away dance from my life. Also, I cannot look at dance in an inert way; it's my passion, and I get keen on being part of any show or film that has dance!
Malaika Arora Khan
#58. I've never minded it," he went on. "Being lost, that is. I had always thought one could not truly be lost if one knew one's own heart. But I fear I may be lost without knowing yours.
Cassandra Clare
#59. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is an unending process of self-discovery and creative evolution. Real success depends on being true to what fascinates you.
Paul O'Brien
#60. Loving is giving and being loved is receiving. Loving should not depend on being loved, but to all intents and
purposes, your commitment in a relationship is grossly expressed by how much of yourself you share with your partner.
Olaotan Fawehinmi
#61. I'd never worry about age if I knew I could go on being loved and have the possibility to love.
Audrey Hepburn
#62. A man should keep on being constructive, and do constructive things. He should take part in the things that go on in this wonderful world. He should be someone to be reckoned with. He should live life and make every day count, to the very end. Sometimes it's tough. But that's what I'm going to do.
J. Willard Marriott
#63. For those, like me, who can't rely on being given a home smoker this Christmas, you can build your own approximation with just a roll of tin foil and a big wok or pan for which you have a lid.
Yotam Ottolenghi
#64. [On being asked if she would favor birth control laws:] I will if you make it retroactive.
Florence Prag Kahn
#65. Don't focus on being different, focus on being yourself - and your difference will naturally shine through!
Kevin Eikenberry
#66. I pride myself on being the type of artist who can work half in the R&B world and half in the pop world.
Ne-Yo
#67. In spite of my wisecracking, pain-in-the-ass ways, I was the clip that held things together. Unnoticed. Taken for granted. Okay, maybe I'm giving myself too much credit here, but I'd be damned if I was gonna keep on being the family paper clip.
Neal Shusterman
#68. There's a real emphasis on being witty in Scotland, even in crime novels.
Denise Mina
#69. Is he well educated?"
"Yes, I think so, as far as he's gone," I answered. "Of course he will go on being educated every day of his life, same as father. He says it is all rot about 'finishing' your education. You never do. You learn more important things each day ...
Gene Stratton-Porter
#70. The journey of motherhood centers on being the person God has chosen out of all humanity and space and time to care for these souls, these beings who will exist for all eternity.
Rachel Balducci
#71. I don't know why the world has to be populated by so many unpleasant people. I really don't. It really takes an effort to be rude, too. The amount of energy people expend on being a jerk astounds me sometimes.
Meg Cabot
#72. The poor can't wait. Philanthropists needed to carry on being generous.
Bill Gates
#73. In society, we have these unspoken rules of conduct, these 'shoulds.' Even though we pride ourselves on being a democracy, there are all these ways we say you 'should' behave. But what if you're living your life by the 'shoulds' and you're not really living your life?
Chris Noth
#75. Whoever considers the number of absurd and ridiculous oaths necessary to be taken at present in most countries, on being admitted into any society or profession whatever, will be less surprised to find prevarication still prevailing, where perjury has led the way.
Guillaume-Thomas Francois Raynal
#76. Sometimes our preoccupation is on having friends. Perhaps we should focus on being a friend.
Elaine S. Dalton
#77. I pride myself on being a jerk, because I'm brutally honest all the time.
CM Punk
#78. visions of just how he plans on being a better boyfriend taking over my dreams instead of dancing sugar plums.
Tara Sivec
#79. My dream was to be in the NBA. I wasn't really focused on being a star player on a team. I just wanted to make it to the NBA. I've been blessed for the opportunities to be in the Finals, been in the playoffs ever since I've been in the NBA.
James Harden
#80. Thank you for meeting me. And for not being a serial killer." I laugh, and take his hand. "Agreed. I was actually planning on being a serial killer but decided against it. My day is kind of full. Meetings.
Alessandra Torre
#81. The saint maintains his piety through the graphic imagination of other people's vices. We thank him for it. The saint's impossible perfection allows us to go on being gargoyles while keeping our faith alive. We admire him for it. The saint's silence covers far more than our interpretations of it.
Ranjit Hoskote
#82. America focuses on being very intelligent because that's how you make more money.
Cesar Millan
#83. While tacit knowledge can be possessed by itself, explicit knowledge must rely on being tacitly understood and applied. Hence all knowledge is either tacit or rooted in tacit knowledge. A wholly explicit knowledge is unthinkable.
Michael Polanyi
#84. I pride myself on being steady and unruffled even with my friends, and so I'm trying to get myself together, but goddamn, it is hard. They're making a movie out of my childhood ideas.
Christina Lauren
#85. So when's your date?" I had to work on being less obvious. "Tomorrow." "Good. If you said there wasn't a date I was going to smack you.
Priscilla West
#86. On Being Old. It's not nice but take comfort that you won't stay that way for ever.
J.P. Donleavy
#87. Love is the ability to discover similarities in the dis-similar. The audience has a right not to be fooled - even if it insists on being fooled.
Theodor Adorno
#88. A Champion is all they can be in every facet of their lives. They prioritize what they need to get done. But for me it's someone who works every single day on being a better person.
Shannon Higgins-Cirovski
#89. I have to go on being a priest and bishop, that is, to celebrate God and what God has done in Jesus, and to offer in God's name whatever I can discern of God's perspective on the world around - something which involves both challenge and comfort.
Rowan Williams
#90. If there is one good thing about an angry mob, it's that they are so focused on being angry and mobbish that they sometimes miss little things. Things like a horse-drawn cart being driven by the very person who has made them so angry and mobbish in the first place.
Cuthbert Soup
#91. They wrote to me and said something about it, and I said that if it doesn't involve any work, I'll do it.
(On being named Minnesota's first Poet Laureate)
Robert Bly
#92. A man may sink by such slow degrees that, long after he is a devil, he may go on being a good churchman or a good dissenter and thinking himself a good Christian.
George MacDonald
#93. I've got a very peculiar sort of fame, based on being on the telly. It doesn't mean you have the lifestyle people expect.
Ian Hislop
#94. Getting shocked was a badge of honor for Woz. He prided himself on being a hardware engineer, which meant
Walter Isaacson
#95. My husband wrote the story for my first book, but then he didn't want to do that anymore. So if I was going to go on being an illustrator, I had to start writing the stories, too.
Natalie Babbitt
#96. I think that I need to work on being comfortable at being normal, everyday-ish on camera.
Christina Ricci
#97. I don't know that the Brits have the monopoly on being organized, but they do have a way of working with which I'm familiar. It's not necessarily the best way, but it's a way.
Kenneth Branagh
#98. We'll have to keep on being disappointed in each other, won't we, Ma?
Nora Roberts
#99. I don't want to go on being a root in the dark,
vacillating, stretched out, shivering with sleep,
downward, in the soaked guts of the earth,
absorbing and thinking, eating each day.
Pablo Neruda
#100. There, there, dear, we're sorry that you'll keep on being you. It's rotten, but what are the choices...?
A. L. Kennedy
