Nellie McKay Quotes

I don't think there's any such thing as perfection. But I'm a perfectionist. I don't believe in the idea of perfection, but I will strive to achieve it.

The impossible is the least that one can demand.

I think the whole idea of me was that I wasn't going to be but that I wanted to be, desperately.

The maxims tell you to aim at perfection, which is well; but it's unattainable, all the same.

Strive for perfection. Nobody's going to be perfect on this earth. But strive for perfection.

There is a passion for perfection which you will rarely see fully developed; but you may note this fact, that in successful lives it is never wholly lacking.

I had such high expectations of myself. I was going to be the best mother, the best housewife, the best entertainer, the best nurse, you know - what it was, I was going to be the best. And I could never live up to my expectations.

I had dreams, but I didn't have the sense that they would necessarily work out. They seemed very far-fetched.

I have to say that I've always believed perfectionism is more of a disease than a quality. I do try to go with the flow but I can't let go.

I have a lot of what you might call creative self-loathing - I have pretty high expectations, and they seem to consistently be higher than what I'm able to accomplish.

Success - keeping your mind awake and your desire asleep.

I'm a perfectionist, which I think is a mistake.

Perfectionism attaches to what is valued in the culture.

I have a perfectionist mentality; I want things to be right. But I've had a little duel over the years with that mentality. Because it can inhibit you.

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.

Perfectionists are their own devils.

I do have impossibly high standards.

I don't believe in perfection. I don't think there is such a thing. But the energy of wanting things to be great is a perfectionist energy.

No one puts higher expectations on themselves than I do.

I feel like what I'm after is not easy for me to find, and to want it to be easy... it would be absurd for me to have that ambition.

My theory is that many of the things that move us are things we long for but find hard to do.

I'm a person and an actor that's constantly unsatisfied. I'm always reaching for something higher.

I'm ultimately a perfectionist who doesn't believe in perfection.

I've got ambitions. I've always been very ambitious. But I think there's something nice about not saying all of my dreams, in case they don't happen and then it's just really embarrassing.

I never feel like anything I have done is perfect. I feel like there is always room for improvement.