Katherine Dunham Quotes

Every writing teacher I ever had except for one told me I was an awful writer, had no idea what I was doing, and should stop immediately. It only took the one to tell me something different to light a fire under me.

There are a lot of people who would laugh at the idea of me being a good singer.

I've done both theatre and film and the fact is if you start believing, if you start reading things and they're good reviews - you believe that and you're lost, and then you read bad reviews and you think that's true and you read that and you're lost.

I don't read reviews because if they're bad I'm devastated and if they're good I get a big head.

I've stopped worrying about whether people think what I do is any good. I've taken stick in the past, and I've genuinely worried and got incredibly upset.

My first impression when I made it through was 'Good, because I'm going to prove to you that I deserve to be here', because they told me that sometimes I lack confidence in my performance and sometimes I'm not as consistent as they'd like me to be.

You get to a point where it's like you can't really do anything right, and people will pick on you for whatever decisions you make, so I just try and take no notice and get on with my music.

I've never been critically acclaimed. I've never been nominated for no Grammy. I've never been on no magazine cover. It's almost taboo to say I'm actually good.

One of the first coaches I worked with on the national team told me that I was too skinny, too puny, and had no natural acceleration. He said I'd be better off looking for another facet of sport to follow. That was a really, really bad moment. For a long time, I felt as if my dad was the only one who had faith in me.

I don't sit around going, 'What is the matter with me? What do I have to do to get a hit?' And I don't also sit home and listen to my record every day and get drunk and go, 'Wow, this is great.'

I have had it all over the years, being told I'm not good enough. So whenever the chance comes I always try and prove I should be starting.

I've been having people doubt me all my life.

People would downplay how good I was, or my athleticism would be the knock, and that added fuel to the fire.

I realized that everybody is a critic. They're going to say they hate you, they love you, they this, they that, but at the end of the day, no matter what, I have to be confident in myself as a man and an artist.

Some people call me arrogant and boo me but I love it, because at least they're buying tickets. Meanwhile, other people are thinking, 'wow, this guy's different, I'll come and see him again.'

Don't be scared of what people will say.

I never thought I'd be good enough. I really didn't. There's probably some fans out there who say I'm still not good enough, and that's OK.

I'm not winning any modeling awards, I'm not a Rhodes Scholar, but I genuinely feel that if you're taking time out of your day and your energy to comment on my art, then I got your attention.

If you start doubting yourself like that, thinking, 'Am I good enough?' - maybe there is a reason you're thinking that.

You've got to listen to yourself, do what you think is best. Because if you listen to the critics, you might be going in all different directions.

Right from school, I got mockery for the way I look. I took it to heart early on. I admit there were times when I doubted myself.

I got knockback after knockback at auditions. Just before ‘Mulholland Dr.’ my agent told me I was so intense I was freaking people out. She told me I was a brilliant actor but the feedback was that I made people feel uncomfortable because I was so nervous and intense. I just sat there and blubbed. My mum was staying in LA at the time and I went to her and said: ‘I just can’t do this. I’m not cut out for it.’ She just said: ‘Don’t believe a word people say about you. Forget them.’

I've discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'

If you write something and they all tell you it is bad - editors, critics, everybody - think it over and you may become convinced that they are right (though you are not to be ashamed or discouraged for a minute, but keep on writing).

I think that we're our own worst enemies in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to doing work where you're criticized a lot or doing work where there's a lot of hater directed at you; and to not constantly second-guess yourself.