Quotes About Achievement

The whole podium time was like it was in slow motion. I was watching the flag go up realizing I'm part of one of the greatest countries on earth.

When I was growing up, there were very few women athletes. I remember watching Olga Corbett, but Peggy Fleming and Janet Lynn were my role models. I never dreamt that I could be at that level. I remember thinking they seemed so elegant and regal and powerful and feminine.

Me and my mom were just watching the charts like, 'Why isn't it stopping?' And now I've got a platinum disc in my bedroom.

In my family, there was no celebration of ignorance. They'd come and see Chekhov or Shakespeare. I've got a sister who got a first in her degree. We don't sit around watching TV all the time.

It's fairly easy to know when you've succeeded because you're kind of hanging on for dear life. It's such an unstoppable juggernaut; you're trying to stay with your head above water because things are moving so fast.

I hadn't realized quite how extraordinary Charles Lindbergh's achievement was in flying the Atlantic alone. He had never flown over open water before, but he flew straight to Dingle Bay in Ireland and then on to Paris, exactly as planned.

There was a lake beneath me, but the big, heavy parachute which had to be opened two miles above the ground couldn't be steered. My first thought was, 'Lord, they send just one woman into space, and she has to end up in the water.'

If a little kid picks up Guitar Hero and learns 'Smoke On The Water,' he soon finds out that if he wants the chicks to look at him, he'd better learn it on the guitar!

I could have played water polo in high school instead of football. I would have gone to Stanford like my other buddies from Irvine who played water polo and ended up going to Stanford, you know.

It's such a human condition, whether you're a great track star or a great knitting person or you paint watercolors - someone knows who you are.

I was unknown because I came to Washington from the West. I started covering Watergate. Immodestly, I'd say I did it pretty well, in part because it was hard to go wrong.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to think: have I really come this far? Because it is quite different, where I find myself today, from where I started off, in the streets of Waterloo, in the suburbs of Liverpool - that's for sure.

Growing up in Waterloo, the Governor General's Award wasn't something I even thought to wish for.

My parents always got a kick out of my art. I was always able to make them laugh. As I got older, I remember the thrill I got when I graduated from making my classmates laugh to making adults laugh. Kind of a watershed moment.

I know my Beijing medal has been a watershed moment in the history of Indian boxing, but personally speaking, I would like to better it in London.

For me, I'm just trying to be the best at what I do. I'll wave an Asian American flag if I get that opportunity. I'm not hiding or trying to discredit my background or anything, I just haven't had the opportunity.

I wanted to be the first to ride a 100-foot wave.

I learned to surf for 'Soul Surfer.' Surfing is like golf: You're always battling, and it keeps knocking you down. There are a lot of wipeouts. But when you stay with it and catch that wave, you really taste it. It's magic.

What could be more exciting when the writing is going well and things are falling into place? It's just like riding a fabulous wave for a surfer. There's no better place to be.

I was a kid, and I would watch standup comics do the 'Tonight Show,' and if Johnny Carson liked you, he'd wave you over to the desk; that pretty much meant you were about to be the most successful comedian in the country for the next few years.

If I could wave a magic wand and be anything, I'd be a really respected, really successful author. That's a hard combination to get, though. I really enjoy acting, and it's easier, frankly.

'Beyond Glory' is responsible for this wave that I've been fortunate enough to ride for the last few years. And that I did primarily because I didn't know what else to do. You might say I did it out of desperation.

I do think, in any industry, when you put too much pressure on the source of your happiness coming from your work, you're going to run into a wall. It's easy to think that once you have success, then happiness will just hit like a wave over you. I don't think that's the case, or at least, when I achieved my first dream, that wasn't the case.

I haven't just come up with a hit - I'm not like a one-hit-wonder - I've been here for ages. No one is questioning my ability, so just enjoy the wave, spread the wave.