Elia Kazan Quotes

I know a lot of people my age are still trying to figure out what to do, and I consider myself lucky that I can make a living doing something that I truly enjoy.

I was never really sure what I wanted to do - I'm in awe of these people who knew at age 10 or 12 they wanted to be a brain surgeon, and they did it, and they still are.

I never struggled with trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do or what made the sparks go for me.

In a way, I felt like I arrived before I was making money at it, because I'd established that I just wanted to act.

If you don't wake up and have your own thing, whether it's writing or reading or traveling or acting or dancing or singing or being a mother or a father, something that drives you, then it's all worth nothing. One of the key elements in happiness is purpose.

It's important for everybody to have somewhere to go. Men and women need purpose [in life].

I don't want only a career.

I was concerned about filling my life up with something important to me. To me, it was just necessary.

No one is satisfied with their life's work.

I would say this in terms of my career, that my career provided me with everything that I wanted, and I think a man is fortunate if he can say that at the end of his life.

I was a writer before 'Eat, Pray, Love,' and I'll be a writer after it's over. It's what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I've always made a clear distinction between making a life and making a living.

An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding.

The goal wasn't to be a millionaire or to be a Hollywood star. That was not the goal. The goal was something about - the goal was to find the goal, but I knew where it was.

Somehow I got the feeling at an early age that I had to do something important with my life.

I had this rare privilege of being able to pursue in my adult life, what had been my childhood dream.

I made a promise to myself when I graduated from law school that I would never do anything that I didn't enjoy doing, and almost every day of the year since that June of 1963, I have awakened glad that I was going to work, glad that I was going to court, glad that I was going to grapple with a problem.

I always had this vision of what I wanted to do in life.

All I ever wanted to do was to do something interesting.

My father always used to ask me what my aim in life is. I used to tell him I don't have any.

I wanted to do something that gave my life meaning and purpose.

The way I see it is if I can't be happy doing this job, which is my dream job, then what's going to make me happy in life?

I'm going to do anything in my power to keep creating the path that I want to go down and I want to be a part of and be involved with, and whether or not that means superstardom or making music for the rest of my life and not having to work at a coffee shop, I'm fine. I'm happy. I'm stoked for whatever opportunity arises.

You have a deeper purpose that drives you. You have to talk to yourself about what that purpose is. If you run through like a hamster to chase fame or money, you might end up wasting your life away. You find what drives you and gives you energy.

Instead of picking your career and backfilling your life behind that, what if you pick your life and backfill your career with whatever is left over?