John Mortimer Quotes

I only scream and scratch when something's only 'really good' or 'good', I want to be great, or let's go home.

I've never been super confident about anything. The work is never as good as it could be.

One of the big songwriting things for me has always been: always think what you do sucks. Because the second you stop believing that, you suck. And that's a fact.

I'm humble 'cause I think many years ago people say, 'Well, Alibaba's terrible company'. And I know we were not that terrible. We're pretty good; we're better than people thought. But today, when people have a high expectation on you, and I start to worry and nervous because we are not good yet.

With every job I watch, I can't find peace with what I've done. It's never good enough in my mind. I will never be happy if I'm in that mindset, unless I get a review that starts: 'Once in a generation.'

I often see only my mistakes. I always feel I could have done better. Every artist goes through it.

Strive for excellence, not perfection.

I never think I have success even when I have it, for better or for worse.

If anyone thinks my show was 'pretty good,' then I've completely failed.

I am never sure that anything's good enough. Something that is good today will not be good tomorrow.

Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough - that we should try again.

We're taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that you're never perfect and that you're never good enough.

I can't believe we've got away with becoming this huge band. And we still haven't done anything I think is that good yet.

I never think about any of my accomplishments and I always get butterflies in my stomach and I never get too comfortable with the status.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I'll watch myself back on 'Xtra Factor' and want to do it again because of a few hiccups.

I don't think there's ever a point when you turn to yourself and go, 'Yes, I've made a success of this career path.' You never feel like you've done your best work. You always think you could be better.

I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong.

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.

Successful people tend to feel simultaneously inadequate and superior.

One gets a bit picky after having the success of something like 'FlashForward!'

I'll never feel like I've made it.

I'm intimidated by the fear of being average.

I've learned how my own perfectionism can cripple me.

When I look back, I think I could have done this scene or that better. I am not satisfied with my work at all. I think I could have done better. I am never satisfied.

My guilty fear is that what I'm doing, probably anyone could do. And that I just got a lot of lucky breaks.