As a woman, it's nice to hear people at the stage door say, 'I didn't even know! She's a woman, and that's the most amazing thing'.
I wasn't really expecting me to win the gold in this race. To get another medal for myself and for the U.S. was a pretty good thing to happen, I'd say.
No one could have ever dreamed about how well the show would do.
I never said to myself, 'Get to the NBA, be an All-Star, make a $100 million contract.'
I never thought I would get a degree of any type.
I don't think anyone expected me to get the BAFTA. The bookies didn't have me down. It's definitely made a huge difference in my career, but I don't dwell on it.
Sudden success in golf is like the sudden acquisition of wealth. It is apt to unsettle and deteriorate the character.
And I would say that the main thing that I faced as a female in this industry was being underestimated. But being underestimated isn't always a bad thing. It's nice to get out there and blow people's minds when they think you're not gonna be any good.
I never expected to be in the NBA, to be here, let alone to have my own shoe in my second year.
I played a lot of sports and it's the plays in basketball that weren't worked out that are the ones that are just fantastic that you remember. We don't know the power that's within our own bodies.
I never expected to be anybody important.
I never dreamt to be headlining a pay-per-view card. That was never a goal.
I remember my dad ringing me up and giving me my GCSE results when I was at Thorp Arch for pre-season training. A month later, I was playing in the first team. It was pretty amazing, really. I think if you stopped and thought about it at the time, it would have hit you.
There are more second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and so on in the big leagues than first-round picks.
I never in a million years thought I would be able to be a Paralympic athlete.
I never planned to win an Oscar. When I auditioned for 'Ray,' I was just thinking about what a great project it would be.
I didn't know I'd ever write a Broadway musical.
I never dreamed about one day becoming Secretary of State. It's not that I was modest; it's just that I had never seen a Secretary of State in a skirt.
You look at 2001, we were third in points and no one gave us much of a chance when the season started. We came back last year and had the same team, the same everybody and led points.
I worked half my life to be an overnight success, and still it took me by surprise.
I'm not really into the numbers game of, like, what position our record is. But you find out at the end, you know? You're like 'Oh, all right! That's good!' We had a Number Three record. That's crazy! What's that about? That's exciting to me! I think that's good.
I'm proud of my driver test. So many people were waiting for me to test and fail, so they could say that women would never be able to race in F1. I always view my time in F1 as before and after the test. Beforehand, I could sense everybody asking, 'What's she doing in the F1 paddock? Is she good enough?' After my test, that attitude changed.
You always know about the guys who are sorta like the moral winner. Then, all the sudden, a guy comes up - the average, hardworking young man - and pulls off something that's, you know, totally unexpected, and in such a dynamic fashion.
I never envisioned being number one for five weeks, knocking Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men off the charts. That's the scariest thing and the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
The quick success was a bit strange to get used to.
