John Mulaney Quotes

The first time I try anything is invariably not very successful. I tend to grow slowly, but solidly.

If someone is better than you at something, then it's likely because she has failed at it more than you have. If someone is worse than you, it's likely because he hasn't been through all of the painful learning experiences you have.

You get better by playing, honestly. That's where you develop as a player is to play through mistakes in game action.

Practice helps you reduce your mistakes.

As people do a task, they improve at it.

And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it.

The more you do, the more experience you have and the next time it will be easier to choose the right thing.

We must expect to fail... but fail in a learning posture, determined no to repeat the mistakes, and to maximize the benefits from what is learned in the process.

In the beginning I used to make one terrible play a game. Then I got so I'd make one a week and finally I'd pull a bad one about once a month. Now, I'm trying to keep it down to one a season.

You don't have to get it right the first time.

You try to figure out the best way to throw the shot put, or the perfect way to long jump, and you don't ever get it. You just chip away, chip away, chip away as time goes on.

It takes a long time to get good at something, so it's important to begin as early as possible so that we can improve and begin to see the compounding benefits of the work over time.

Every time you play more, you will improve.

A company gets better at the things it practices.

Experimenting is part of the process. I remember when I was younger, I spent a whole year just writing on straight trap beats because I just wanted to be able to do that at a high level. So it's about perfecting your craft in every way.

Celebrating failure is key. Half of what we do fails, at least.

It's OK to fail once in awhile.

To succeed, you have to do something and be very bad at it for a while. You have to look bad before you can look really good.

The greatest successes grow out of great failures. In numerous instances the result is better that comes after a series of abortive experiences than it would have been if it had come at once; for all these successive failures induce a skill which is so much additional power working into the final achievement.... The hand that evokes such perfect music from the instrument has often failed in its touch, and bungled among the keys.... Every disappointed effort fences in and indicates the only possible path of success, and makes it easier to find.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.

Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

Through the years I've been getting better and better and better, and it's what you learn though the seasons.

You are going to fail, and failing, for me, is as joyful as succeeding. Failing means that there is something to learn, and we can improve and do it better next time.

The more matches I play, the more confident I get.

I'm a person who gets better with practice. Getting older is awesome - because you get more practice.