Mikhail Baryshnikov Quotes

When you are new to the business, you think if you give a really bad performance, that's one they will print. You will be judged. You just have to be brave.

I know when I am on stage and I'm kind of on the right track - hopefully most of the time. But a lot of time I'm not.

It may take me a long time before I feel 'ready' to tour as a lead singer. I may never be ready... we'll just have to see.

To tell her that I joined the parachute club was too hard for me. I didn't want to trouble her; besides, I was not completely sure about the success of my new adventure.

I'm not saying I look cool, but every single time I go onstage, it is a fail if I don't feel like I'm going to pass out at least twice.

I'm not going to take a show unless I'm not sure I can do it. You have to have that sort of adrenaline.

It's only human to have a few doubts whether to play or not.

I knew I could make people laugh but I was frightened of doing it. I thought, 'What if I'm crap, what if I'm no good at it?', but I knew I should have a go and shouldn't sit inside watching other people do it on television.

Everybody has had that experience of really wanting to do something and being afraid.

You can believe or you can doubt yourself. It's the difference between a gap being one metre late that you're gonna launch, then it's three seconds and you're sat on the wheel and you're about to lose.

I always think the second worst thing in the world is to go on stage at night, and the first worst thing in the world is sitting at home at night. For me, it's scarier to not be doing it than doing it.

I always felt like my future was at stake every time I stepped on stage and that was kind of hair-raising. At some point I just went, don't be frightened, you can't do anything wrong, it's your show.

Auditioning for something you already know and love is terrifying.

I find myself going to places where I really have no business, speaking to these people in a whole other field that I have no extensive knowledge of. But I do it very often because it scares me.

If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.

It never seemed that honorable to me, and I guess I was always afraid that I might fail.

As a very small child I found recorded noise and the solitary singer beneath the spotlight so dramatic and so brave... walking the plank... willingly... It was sink or swim. The very notion of standing there, alone, I found beautiful.

People are so ready to cut you down if you take a risk and leave your comfort zone.

Unwillingness to risk failure is always there, but it gets harder when you feel you have more to lose.

Sometimes I find myself in this super-raw place onstage where I'm like, 'Maybe that's not the best thing. Maybe I need to shut down a little.'

For many years, I didn't even like the idea of doing a one-person play. Public speaking got me past that. I've always been good at public speaking, but I never really enjoyed it. Then I started to really enjoy it, and that's made all the difference.

It might be scary because you're taking a risk, but at the end of the day you can say you tried.

I knew I wasn't a baseball writer. I was scared to death. I really was afraid to talk to players, and I didn't want to go into the press box because I thought I was faking it.

I enjoyed doing Lipstick, but it scared me. I was very nervous. I couldn't wait for it to be over. It was very real, and I was just a kid.

Half the things that people do not succeed in are through fear of making the attempt.