Beverly Sills Quotes

I set really high expectations.

Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little.

Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.

As far as expectations go, you can never work for expectations. You have to work against them.

I have a horror of not rising above mediocrity.

It's all about progression, not getting stuck and about having aspirations, which can lead you to do more and not just be satisfied. I was always that way about my dancing, and that's how I am about whatever it is I tend to pursue.

There's nothing wrong with being driven. And there's nothing wrong with putting yourself first to reach your goals.

I always feel like I have to keep going. You can sit back and say, 'Maybe I can stop.' But then you're yesterday, and I love tomorrow.

I'm always trying to stay above the rest, and that's by doing the extra work.

Every time we record, and every time we go out live, we try and beat what we've already done.

I'm the type of person that always strives to be great.

We are not in the game to accept where we are at.

I'm always looking forward, and I try to continue to push myself and to do the best that I can.

I feel like I've accomplished a lot, but for me, it's about pushing to the point where I can be Mark Walhberg, Ryan Murphy, or Shonda Rhimes. I want to be at that table in terms of bringing new voices in.

If you've not got the doubts to go and prove people wrong, that's when you get into that comfort zone and stop progressing.

If it's not hard, you're not dreaming big enough!

Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

Let us set our goals too high; let us demand more of ourselves than we believe we possess

Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.

The minute someone says 'Oh God, you could never do that; you can't get that kind of stuff on the air'...that's the kind of stuff I want to do.

You’ve got to try and take things to the next level, or you’ll just get stuck in a rut.

Set stretch goals. Don't ever settle for mediocrity. The key to stretch is to reach for more than you think is possible. Don't sell yourself short by thinking that you'll fail.

It's always about wanting to one-up myself from the day before. There's never an absolute 100% perfect performance, but going out and striving for that perfect performance is what keeps me going.

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.