Dan Harmon Quotes

Each one of us requires the spur of insecurity to force us to do our best.

Show business is, essentially, a fear-based industry.

I am tired of being roasted. I had a great deal of hard luck while manager of the team and somehow or other couldn't get the best out of the material I had at hand.

I always performed out of fear of failure - and that's a tough way to play. It was as if my back was to the wall and I was constantly surrounded by very dangerous people that were not friendly to me.

In human affairs, the best stimulus for running ahead is to have something we must run from.

If you're good, you're always looking over your shoulder.

When it's going well, stand-up is the best thing in the world, but when it's not, it feels like all your toes are being pulled off one by one.

You already feel unsure of yourself, and then you see your worst fears in print. It really knocked me - which is why, I think, I was working, working, working, because I was trying to run away from the fact that I thought I couldn't do it.

Every day I run scared. That's the only way I can stay ahead.

I don't feel pressure in a negative way. I like pressure. I feel excitement and calm at the same time. No pressure, no diamonds. I want pressure: pressure creates drama, creates emotion.

I'm always thinking 'Don't mess this up.'

No matter how good you are at planning, the pressure never goes away. So I don't fight it. I feed off it. I turn pressure into motivation to do my best.

Some people don't like competition because it makes them work harder, better.

It's tough to play the right chord on the instrument when there's someone out there who wants to kill you.

If you're going to worry about what people say, you're never going to make any progress.

I work best when a little scared, when there's so much more than the lines to think about.

As a competitor, you have to learn pretty quickly how to deal with pressure.

I like pressure. Pressure doesn't make me crack. It's enabling. I eat pressure, and there might be times when I get a bad feeling in my gut that this might be too much, but you feel pressure when you're not doing something, you know?

Definitely, it's a fear of failure that drives me.

Some people play very, very well just so they won't get embarrassed.

If I relaxed, if I took my foot off the gas, I would probably die.

There is pressure that comes with everything being a big deal. I remember thinking, 'I need to survive the Shins. I don't know what I'm going to do to make a living otherwise, but I really don't want to do the Shins right now.'

I play with a fear of letting people down. That's what motivates me.

Pressure makes me produce. Kills most guys. Mortifies 'em.

I like pressure.