Paul Theroux Quotes

I think I probably got a lot of my father's natural security or ego or whatever. I can be my own person and not have to live under his shadow. I definitely look up to him in many ways - I'd like to be more like him when it comes to business - but I think I'm such a different person, it's hard to even compare us.

My dad is a much more flamboyant character than I am. I think that's why I couldn't see myself going into straight acting. I always just felt daft.

At the age of eight I became, in my own eyes at least, a writer.

When I grew up, people said, 'You'll never be the man your dad was.' And I said, 'Gee, I hope not.'

It's always been something like that growing up, knowing I wanted to be the best. And my brother considers himself the best, I consider myself the best.

If things go our way, you might see why I'm a legend. And if your daddy has a problem with that, he'll find out why I'm the Legend Killer.

I cannot tell you that I am 100-percent comfortable, but for sure I am more confident of my goals, because I know what I can expect from this kind of event. At the beginning, everything was a mysterious, far-from-me world, and now it's more accessible. Of course, exposing myself is always very difficult. I cannot say that I'm a shy person, but I don't see myself as a superstar. I will never see myself like that.

Approval isn’t necessary. It’s nice when you get it, but it’s not going to stop us from being who we are. I mean, if I’d have listened to approval, I’d never have made it one day onstage. But to be criticized, if there’s validity, as upset as you are, you can learn from it.

What I'm now discovering - and I'm now in another decade - is that the older I get the more I have my self knowledge which makes me feel more sexy.

I'm so much more confident and sexy at thirty-eight than I ever was when I was eighteen or twenty-four.

I feel like your generation is like, "We deserve a place at this table, we have a right to be here," whereas when I was in my 20s I was like, "Who am I?" It's exciting because I do see a lot of young women feeling empowered.

I might not be perfect, but I feel perfect. I think that's all that matters.

We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem.

I believe that a man should be... as big as he feels it in him to be!

Playing Unique hasn’t changed how I feel about myself, but it has changed how I hold myself. Unique is so confident that I found myself [saying], ‘You need to be the role model that your character intends you to be.’

She looks at herself in the mirror. The idea is to look sexy again. And for whom exactly? Yourself, of course. Yes, well, that's all wonderfully self-affirming and very strong-minded as any decent woman should be these days, but let's just face facts here and say that when a woman - no, when a person is thinking about feeling sexy, it is always with the idea of someone else in mind.

No one knows my ability the way I do. I am pushing against it all the time.

Success seems to be that which forms the distinction between confidence and conceit.

I don't want women to hold themselves back. I think there are too many women who are self-conscious about the way they look - the way they see themselves in the mirror.

The only category I do badly in is my personality. And that's OK. Who cares? And you know what? You want to know something? I'm a better person than the people I'm running against. I see it.

I place my own hope for the United States in the growth of belief among the unqualified that they are in fact qualified: they can articulate and be responsible and hold power

When I look in the mirror, what do I see? I see a strong, independent, working woman who is very much in love and very happy with the reflection in that mirror.

It's not vanity to know your own good points. It would just be stupidity if you didn't; It's only vanity when you get puffed up about them.

I was just learning to be by myself. He seemed to really see me, see through the bullshit...He was so handsome, and he could dance. I thought, 'He won't be interested in me; I'm not a contender. He was so cool, so funny - I was such a fan of his and had always fancied his speed and his intelligence. I thought, 'I'm not beautiful enough or his type.'

Needing approval is like saying 'your view of me is more important than my own opinion of myself'.