James Salter Quotes

I just want to work on things that move me.

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.

Without question, I've either got to be a writer, or I fail.

My motivation is not to try to inspire, but rather to do things that inspire me and hopefully that will spread to others.

The artists who stand out to me have a passion for what they do. There are a lot of people who can sing. It's just like when you go to church and people are singing because it sounds good, not because it feels good. There's a difference.

I love filmmaking, but I decided to go to drama school because I thought that when I'm 60 and looking back on my life, if acting hadn't been a part of it, I would hate myself.

I know I want to help people and inspire people. That's my purpose in life.

Writing itself is a dream. There are days of self doubt and deadlines and wondering how you're going to pay the bills until you write that bestseller. But it's still the best job I've ever had. I've also been able to help a lot of people and even inspire a few and that feels great.

I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'

I want more out of life than I've gotten.

Do what you love, and you will find the way to get it out to the world.

I write based on powerful inner impulses, and those seem to shift over time.

Life obliges me to do something, so I paint.

I think, ultimately, looking back now, acting wasn't satisfying me 100%.

That was the impetus for me to do music or art, because I knew if I didn't try when I was young, then I would get to be in my 40's and I'd be really unhappy that I hadn't.

I was concerned about filling my life up with something important to me. To me, it was just necessary.

If we have a purpose in life beyond being a cog in the human machine, mine is to help inspire people and that's pretty cool. I would like to motivate the world.

I'd like to make music for as long as I can; it feels like something I need to do.

The biggest sacrifice to me is to not be in an atmosphere where I can keep writing and moving forward.

The reason I started writing movies was because I kept getting parts that I just kind of stepped into. I didn't have to do a lot of work and I ended up getting sort of bored.

I'm relevant because I fill a void for people who aren't doing what they want to do in life.

For me personally, I have a fear of, 'If I stop, I'm going to die.' If I stop doing the things that are enriching to me or creatively exciting to me or if I stop creating, then I feel stagnant. If something isn't growing, it's dying.

I just want to keep being creative, and I want to feel inspired by a role, and I want to keep acting.

In the beginning, I didn't have to love them, my acts. It was mostly about being successful, getting a trophy, and making some money. Now if I don't love the idea of it, I don't work on it.

Not to say that you shouldn't strive for success, but don't forget why you're doing it. It's not just for adoration.