Margaret Chase Smith Quotes

No matter how many people say you can't do something, use that as inspiration to prove them wrong.

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.

I was told millions of times that I was never going to achieve what I set out to, but I decided to do it, and I did it.

People will tell you that you can't do it, no matter what you are trying to do, so you just have to really keep at it.

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 never listened to people who said I wasn't going to make it.

When I was young, a lot of things were closed off to me. I was always told, 'Don't do this, you can't do that' - instead of stopping me, it made me think, 'I can do that, I must do that.'

You need to believe in yourself and what you do. Be tenacious and genuine.

If I listened to my critics, I would still be at home under my bed right now.

Never, never listen to anybody that try to discourage you.

I've always had to prove myself to people growing up. I had to show them that I could do this and I could do that and paying no mind to what the critics said.

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.

I beat the odds, and I beat the odds so many times.

Believe in yourself, and don't let anyone stand in your way.

You're going to hit some rough patches. You're going to run into obstacles. People are going to say, 'You can't do it.' But you have to persevere. You have to keep working hard and believing in yourself.

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.'

Everybody told us we would never make it. Even friends would say to me, 'Okay this band thing is cool, but seriously, what are you really going to do?' I can't think of anyone who believed in us, and that was fuel for the fire, because the more anybody said I wouldn't do it, the more I was like, 'No, I'm going to do it.'

I like being the underdog. I like turning around and shutting people up when they tell me I can't.

I feel like I've been proving people wrong all my life.

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 I hear people say that they don't think that I can do something or they don't think I belong somewhere, that's all it takes for me to prove them wrong, and it's motivation.

You tell me what's impossible and I'll prove you wrong.

You have to believe in yourself and believe in what you are doing all the time.

I was told I wasn't good enough, but I just chose not to listen.

One girl came up to me - I remember it so vividly - she said, "You're not fit to model socks." It crushed me. But at the same time, it made me unbelievably determined to prove everybody wrong and prove to myself that I could live an incredible life.