Professional Perseverance Quotes

I had to take false steps and go through hard times to come out to where I am now. I can't imagine living without acting. It's not easy, and I don't disrespect anyone who steps out of it after a certain point. Having a family and a house is cool. It's not a betrayal. But if you're going to be an actor, it has to be more than a passing interest.

I'm amazed by the ground that I covered. The music's the number-one thing. And if it isn't, you better quit now.

It's not at all uncommon for a writer to get a ton of publicity for one book and then not get as much for the next one. I don't worry about that because I try to worry about the one single part of the job I can control: the writing of the book. If I do that well, I feel, good tidings generally will follow and readers will stick with me.

Wherever the career wasn't going the way I wanted it to, I would experience those disappointments, and I would put them somewhere where I could say, 'Come on now, you're still working. Keep your focus where it belongs.'

Becoming baseball analyst was really important for me to not just be one of the first, but to literally break open the door and come in and stay, so that we could start inviting our friends and everyone, like, Come on. The door is open now. I am so proud of the fact that I put that pressure on myself: Alright, Jess, you've got a lot of women on your back right now and it's on you, so don't screw it up. I put that pressure on myself on purpose, so I'd realize it's not just about me, it's about a whole gender.

I mean God knows I've done tons of schlock during the course of my career and stuff that's been very low budget and really pressed for time, but I've never had an experience like this. I kept saying to people, "How do you do this?" I said to Susan [Lucci], "How do you do it?" I don't recall exactly what she answered me but it was something like "Close my eyes and think of England. You just do it."

I believed in myself, and I've always worked very, very hard as an artist, and I am an artist in every sense of the word.

If I had any advice to give people, it would be to relax; never treat an audition like an emergency. There will be plenty more in your career. If you think you messed up, you probably didn't. And if you did mess up, it's not the end of the world.

I won't miss having to stand for two hours at 4:30 a.m. and have freezing cold glue applied to my feet. I won't miss two-hour drives to work or long, long, long days sitting in my trailer waiting...waiting...waiting. I won't miss one day off a week. I won't miss glue in my ears. But I would do it all again tomorrow.

Being a novelist is hard for anyone - male or female. You don't get to quit your day job.

I don't think I could last in anything for 10 years doing a character.

I overhaul myself for my roles. Sooner or later, I will get my due.

TV is so different from the movies. It takes a lot of stamina because you work such long hours. It is really challenging. You are learning the next day's lines while you are shooting today's scenes. I found courage I never realised I had. I hope to do more.

I look upon The Animals, they were a great band initially, we left our mark, but thing was it was a band that couldn't live up to its name so I soldiered on. On one level, it was devastating for a while. On another level, maybe I should thank them for helping me make my own way in my own career.

When I got into the music business in 1976, there weren't many women on the roster. As a woman, you don't complain; you work twice as hard, and you do your job.

I made promises to myself and my family that I'd be in the UFC before my first daughter was born, that didn't happen. I was almost at breaking point a week before I got that contract, I was going to go back to concreting - that weekend I get my major sponsor, which was huge, and I end up getting my UFC contract the weekend after that.

I think part of becoming a wonderful actor and part of defining your craft is defining yourself and being confident in yourself, so when the hard knocks come, and you don't get a job for five years, and your ego is being kicked around, you can pull yourself out of it.

Having a support system is huge for writers. My parents were always encouraging and told me they were behind me, whether or not I made it in the business. My wife was always there for my successes and failures.

So a failed movie is not going to ruin my career.

I'm emotionally invested in every movie that I do, period, because you've got to make that commitment. You're spending a year, 18 months of your life doing it. I'm invested in all those kinds of pieces. Most of the films I've had in my career have never tested well. I got lucky that sometimes I got supported by studios - or, at least if not supported, tolerated.

I don't think my work has to be loved by everyone, and it's loved by enough people that I'm grateful and able to keep going.

When I got married at the peak of my career, people told me that it's over for me. But I didn't let people's opinion penetrate my mind.

You have to learn to overcome those feelings when somebody is negative about a production you love or if that production doesn't do well commercially. After 'Gone With the Wind', I felt older. I even thought about quitting the business.

I worked all through my 20s, all through my 30s, so I've been lucky to be working.

There was a long period when I was younger where people always talked about my size and I was going 'but look, I can play, though, I can play' but you look at it, to have a career, 12-13 years, you've got to be more than just a brute.