Howard Jacobson Quotes

I like to push myself, you know.

You go out and do the best you can and hope it works. You just try to improve.

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place...The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which made him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.

I am not a special person, I am not especially strong; I am not especially gifted. I simply do not like to show my weakness, and I hate to lose, so I am a person who tries hard. That's all there is to me.

Well, I wouldn't say that I was in the great class, but I had a great time while I was trying to be great.

When you awaken some morning and hear that somebody or other has been discovered, you can put it down as a fact that he discovered himself years ago - since that time he has been toiling, working, and striving to make himself worthy of general discovery.

I really feel that most things are difficult at the beginning and they become fun, something you love, only after you've worked at them. Making children do something hard can, in the long run, be a great parental service.

I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful - but I know that I have tried.

I admire when people take the harder path, not because they are masochistic and want to beat themselves up, but because you actually kind of learn more and I think you grow more.

I am still where I started. I am still struggling. In fact, the struggle has only got bigger. I always try to go beyond my means, and this where the struggle comes in.

I think the attitude I was trying to learn myself was to really try hard, to give a great effort, to really care, and to let the results go where they are going to go. But at the same time, I don't have to be happy, and I shouldn't be happy, with less than my best.

Certainly if we hope do enhance and extend whatever natural assets we were given, we must expect to make an effort, if not actually great labor.

I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.

Every job I take, within minutes I'm thinking, 'I can't do this.' I think it's what makes me work. People think I just swagger in and do it. But I doubt myself all the time. It's what pushes me, what makes me work harder. The older I get, the less I take for granted.

I have to work hard. I'm not naturally great at anything. I have to work really, really hard.

I've never been someone that was sort of blessed with an innate talent of just being able to do things. I had to work at it and learn from mistakes.

I don't like to appoint myself to nothing, knowing I'm no better than anybody else. But it always makes me feel good to know I try to do the best I can, and those who might observe say, 'Hey, I can take a little something from that person.'

I've never, ever tried to make life easy for myself.

My advice to myself would be I should probably listen to advice.

Life ain't about just 'Chillin' It.' I've learned that.

I'm not perfect but I always try to give of my best.

I really do feel like an unremarkable person trying really hard, openly, to do something interesting and to make something of value and pleasure.

I've been through a lot off the field. I think that kind of translates onto the field. Football serves for a lot of life lessons, and so it allows me to stay humble and continue to work.

I always train my weaknesses and work on my shortcomings - in the gym and outside the gym. Ha!

I'm not somebody that's been a natural at anything.