Cicely Tyson Quotes

I haven't accepted anyone telling me what is or isn't possible and have just kept moving along toward my goals.

I'm going to keep proving people wrong because I have a lot of people to prove wrong, a lot of doubters.

The people who put you down don't have to stop you from chasing your dreams. Stand up, and prove them wrong.

I had that laser focus, identified what I wanted when I was a kid, and never let anything get in my way. If you look on paper at who I am and what I sound like, and what I look like, you wouldn't say, 'Go into broadcasting.' It's just what I wanted to do - I knew that I could do it, and I never let anyone tell me that I couldn't.

They said I couldn't play anything but an English boy. I knew I could. So I went to New York.

You have to keep going and pursue your dreams.

I remember when I was in college, people told me I couldn't play in the NBA. There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored.

Whatever you hold onto that you want to do, and that other people tell you you are foolish to want to do - don't give up.

If I were to listen to people all the time when they say, 'Hey, this is a really high challenge, this is a high climb, the bar is pretty steep,' then I wouldn't have gone to the academy. I wouldn't have become an aircraft carrier pilot. I wouldn't have become a Navy SEAL for sure. And I probably wouldn't have applied to Harvard.

When I graduated from Parsons School of Design, the dean at that time said I would never be a designer. Obviously I didn't listen.

If I leave any legacy behind, it's just the idea, just the theory that you admit to your ambitions, and you don't let people tell you you're wrong to have those ambitions.

Something I've learned is that when people tell me I can't do something, I immediately wonder why and then think it through. It only makes me more motivated to prove them wrong.

I've always strived to prove people wrong.

My entire life, people have told me that I couldn't do certain things. They told me I couldn't go to college. They told me I couldn't go to Yale, Georgetown, couldn't end up doing much on Capitol Hill. Couldn't be party chair. And my response has always been, 'Watch me.'

If there's something that you're passionate about, don't let other people take that passion away from you. If they tell you it's something you can't do, most likely you can do it, so don't give up.

I wanted to look back and say to those coaches, 'You're wrong, I'll be the one who kicks on and makes it'. Only I could change that opinion.

If people keep telling you you can't do a thing, then you need to find a really good reason to continue. If someone tells you you can't do something, how will you know? If someone tells you something is impossible, how will you know?

When people doubt me, I want to prove them wrong.

No matter if you have one hand or two hands, when someone tells you you can't do something, the only thing you can do is just prove them wrong, no matter what it is, no matter how hard it is.

I'm about working, getting better, and proving people wrong.

I never expected to become an actor at all. You can do anything you put your mind to it!

When I was a kid, people kept saying, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,' and I wanted to prove them wrong.

I have friends who have no choice; they came from whatever town, they didn't have anybody in entertainment and they just knew they wanted to act and they did it.

You should have a dream and absolutely go for it. Don't let anybody say you can't do it.

Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can't do something themselves, they are going to tell you that you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period.