Isaac Mizrahi Quotes

I'm the type of person that doesn't like to wait for people to do things for me, and I never want to feel stuck. Why sit around and be like, 'I wish my label would book me some studio time,' if I can just buy my own studio equipment and figure out how to run Pro Tools and record it myself?

Without any assistance whatever, I founded a school in Weimar in 10 years. Only I could perform certain works with the scanty means that I dared not ask anyone else to work with.

Instead of being taught independence, energy, and enterprise, our youth today is taught to look for security.

Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves - and be free.

My childhood was bittersweet in many ways. We moved around a lot. By the time I was 10, I had travelled thousands of miles, often on my own. My parents were like my friends, so it felt like I didn't really have parents at all. But in a crazy way that was very liberating. It forced me to be independent, maybe a leader, and certainly a survivor.

Initiative is doing the right things without being told.

My primary lesson, however, was that I'm a solo writer, happiest when I'm making all the executive decisions. I've always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.

If I had criteria, it would just be that I want to play active people who can solve problems, not people who have things thrust in their lap and need somebody to solve their problems for them.

The efficient man is the man who thinks for himself.

Don't bother people for help without first trying to solve the problem yourself.

The same independence that got me into trouble in high school got me praise in college.

It's not what your parents give you. It's what you do with your own stuff.

I would say to someone, 'Make your own stuff sooner.' Also, it's OK to say no to something if it doesn't feel right.

If you are going to have to play defense all the time, you cannot have the kind of ingenuity, assertiveness, independence, and intelligence which is what has made our country strong.

You've got a lot of very, very smart people standing by waiting for somebody else to do the work. Not a recipe for long-term solvency in my opinion.

If you want to do something, just do it. No one is going to do it for you.

No, I think it taught me to be independent and never expect a handout and never wait for anybody to hand you anything in any aspect of my life.

My father felt that children should make their own way.

I know that you're better off making your own products, not just waiting for someone to hand you something.

I think women are taking charge of the origins of a production, which is the most important part. Because you can't be a victim of whatever people ask you to do.

If people want to find things, they find them themselves.

I've been wanting to produce for some time because I want to have more creative control over the things that I do and not be victim to the whims of other people's desires.

You have to empower your sales staff to use their judgment and go beyond the standards set down on paper and by the computer.

I always say to the players, 'You can either create or wait.' If you're waiting, you're relying on someone else, as simple as that. But if you create it, you've got to do it.

I've avoided situations where I wouldn't have creative freedom.