Steve Carell Quotes

I don't work at something because I think it's important. I work at things that, to me, are interesting.

I was never one of those people that would just take jobs that were thrown at me.

I think - and even with the Live Chin Up movement - it's about women doing things for themselves. Being empowered. Doing things that make you happy. I believe in that philosophy.

I can't play the game of basketball and live my life on what other people expect me to do or what they think I should do. That doesn't make me happy. What makes me happy is being able to make plays for my teammates, to be able to represent the name on the back of my jersey.

From where I started to where I'm at right now I'm loaded in retrospect to the opportunities that I have. As far as money and the scheme of the world, I don't cash in. I do films because I'm sensitive and maybe stupid, and that I feel like I'm going to have fun on and feel like I'm going to have a good experience with. It's not about punching in and selling soap.

I don't think about other people. They are not walking in my shoes. They are not paying my bills. What makes me happy is when I do what I like to do, for me.

Doing what you wanted to do was the only training, and the only preliminary, needed for doing more of what you wanted to do.

Once you do something that people respond to, they understandably think of you in that way, and you want to work and it's fun and it's wonderful. I think a lot of people in all different fields find themselves in a moment of repeating certain beats. There's also a moment that is personally related to age as well - in whatever field you're in, you say, "Wait a minute, where am I and how did I get here? How has this changed from my original intent and what do I want to do about that now?" That's part of the process.

I don't believe that everyone else really cares what I do all the time. I think in general you have to follow your own path and your own heart and not worry about what everybody else wants you to do. They should be worried about what they're going to do.

Love what you do, or don't do it. Don't make a choice of any kind, whether in career or in life, just because it pleases others or because it ranks high on someone else's scale of achievement...Make the choice to do something because it engages your heart as well as your mind. Make the choice because it engages all of you.

Boring' can be a lot of fun. Especially if it's on your own terms.

Do what you do for the sheer joy of it, Do what you choose,not what someone else chooses for you.

To me the desire to create and to have control over your own life, irrespective of the politics of the time or social structures, has always been a part of the human spirit. What I did not fully realize was that work could open the doors to my heart.

I don't think you play for other people's expectations, you know. You don't go and become a lawyer because your mother or father want you to, you don't become a coach because somebody wants you to.

If you just work on stuff that you like and you're passionate about, you don't have to have a master plan with how things will play out.

I'm actually doing what I want with my life. I do sometime think I could just shut up and rest on my laurels and say: you know what guys, I'll operate out of the pocket you put me in.... but no way! No way I'm gonna do that! I'd just get bored stiff the first minute.

I learned one thing; you never do anything for fame or money. You only do things 'cause they're fun or good. If you can combine the two at the same time, you can make a contribution to the world and have a lot of happiness.

I'm the luckiest guy in the world in terms of what I do for a living. No one can tell me to do things I don't believe in or things I think are stupid.

People very quickly define success due to the amount of money something makes. In the end, I think everyone is searching for that experience. That's why we continue to go to the movies and watch television.

My mom was always like, "If you love it, do it. If she's actually having fun, and I know that my kid is having fun, she's gonna do whatever she wants. Whether that's gymnastics, learning the car, acting or just being a normal kid, she's gonna do what makes her happy." That's how I've always lived my life.

You can't make everyone happy right away, you can't figure out what people want you to do, you just have to do what you want to do and hope it works out.

I think people should be different. I love people who don't go by the rule that you have to be careful because you're old, you have to do this and that, you have to eat this and that.

Whatever you do, the only secret is to believe in it and satisfy yourself. Don't do it for anyone else.

If you gave me the choice of being CEO of General Electric or IBM or General Motors, you name it, or delivering papers, I would deliver papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that. I can think about what I want to think. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do.

You have to live your life according to what comforts you, not what the rest of your family thinks you ought to be doing.