Mary Karr Quotes

I wasn't always someone who was talented. It was more that I was loud and loved a challenge.

Life doesn't require that we be the best, only that we try our best.

Passion is the driver of achievement in all fields. Some people love doing things they don't feel they're good at. That may be because they underestimate their talents or haven't yet put the work in to develop them.

I hated high school and got to college and realized they didn't care if I showed up because I'd already paid. So I decided, 'I'm going to turn this around.' And I did: I got straight A's and was named 'outstanding senior.'

I haven't done nothing in this league. Every day I come into practice or come into a game, I'm just trying to prove myself.

I think there are still better players than me.

What I lack in talent, I compensate with my willingness to grind it out. That's the secret of my life.

My fellow students there were very smart, but the really novel thing was that they actually seemed to put a lot of effort into their school work. By the end of my first semester there, I began to get into that habit as well.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

I auditioned in Chicago for Juilliard and didn't get in. I was basically living in a back room of my parents' house, paying rent and not doing anything with my life. I'd like to say it was patriotic to join the Marines, but it was also that I was doing nothing honorable with my life and spending too much time at McDonald's.

The message I really want to get out there is that I'm someone who works hard, gets the most out of his talent, off the course has a great family life.

You can work hard to sharpen your talent, to get better at whatever it is that you do, and I think that's what it comes back to.

The truth is that from the age of 14, I felt about 40, and for that reason, I felt that I would never succeed as an actor until my looks caught up with my actual age.

I wasn't the brightest kid in school. I was a backbencher troubling the frontbencher, and eventually I failed in my 10th grade. But then in higher secondary, there were only three people who got first division in arts, and I was one of them. So this tells you, where you put your mind and heart into, that's where you go.

I'm content with the fact that I made a decent effort. That's what I've always worried about: that I wouldn't try hard enough.

The truth is that throughout my careers in both chess and the martial arts, I often knew that my rivals were more naturally gifted than me - either with their mental machines or their bodies. But I have believed in my training, my approach to learning, and my ability to rise to the challenge under pressure.

To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.

I don't think for a second that I'm the best at anything, but I know I'm really good at quite a lot of things because I work hard.

I think I owe it to myself to put my best effort forward and prove how good I can be.

At school, nobody thought I was smart and I became smart. Nobody wanted to be my friend and then I had lots of friends.

The whole spirit of 'Eddie The Eagle' is that it's the taking part that counts, not the winning.

Some people are just naturally good. I always found ways to become good.

I'm never going to be the best skater, but I feel like I'm getting better.

I had to work to where I'm at. I was not an athlete in school.

I'm shy; I work hard.