David Byrne Quotes

I think it really holds you back having to think about your image.

That ain't me, that ain't my face. It wasn't even me when I was trying to be that face. I wasn't even really me them; I was just being the way I looked, the way people wanted.

Whether at work, at home or in public, we have been trained to believe that who we are at the core of our being is often unacceptable. As a result, we work diligently to live up to - and sometimes down to - what others have made us out to be, whether or not it is an accurate reflection of who we are.

I don't leave the house without thinking of how to represent myself.

Some people are really good at packaging themselves, but that's not really me.

Telling others about oneself is...no simple matter. It depends on what we think they think we ought to be like

I did not go into the film business to be symbolized as someone else's vision of me.

Anyone becomes mannered if you think too much about what other people think.

However, people need to understand that it ain't that deep to try and convince people of what your persona is. You are who you are, and what you are will show in time. What you aren't can be hidden, but eventually it will come to light. Long story short: rappers should never take themselves too seriously.

The whole image thing gets in the way. Then there are the guys that it excites them and it's what draws them to me. But I don't know whether they would care for me if I didn't have this image.

I have to fight to keep my image really me... I rejected some gorgeous publicity shots because they just didn't look like me.

There's more pressure to be famous for being yourself than if you're being a character.

I want people to see me for who I am and not for how someone else is trying to promote me.

I'm very sassy. I want to show people in my album I'm not like my characters on TV.

I think that you have to present an image that is... true to you, and... the way you would like to be perceived, so I think that through the years I've worked really hard at trying to create an image that is true to me.

A lot of writers, especially crime writers, have an image that we think we're trying to keep up with. You've got to be seen as dark and slightly dangerous. But I'm not like that and I've realised that I don't need to put that on. People will buy the books whether they see a photo of you dressed in black or not.

Twitter, just every once in a while I put something out there basically to promote whatever I'm doing, but I don't see any of that as representing me or who I am or being a brand.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

I don't have an image. Don't give me one. I want no image to have to uphold.

If you start out saying you want to be cool, you won't be cool.

I'm not trying to make a brand out of myself.

I feel like the better version of myself is on paper... I'd rather have people know me on paper.

I'm not a big fan of just cultivating an image.

I want to represent my name to the fullest: Ginuwine.

I think temptation is ever present to become something that you think is more socially acceptable.