Quotes About Ambition

I never had intention of coming to New York or L.A. and actually doing more than scraping by - you know, doing plays. And as my career sort of progressed of its own volition, I did come to New York.

My mentality has always been, If I'm not the best at something, then I might as well be the best at something else. I realized that I wasn't going to be an Olympic volleyball player, but I knew I could model at that level.

When I was 14 or 15, I was a really good volleyball player, so I thought, 'Well, maybe I'll just get a scholarship to an Ivy League school through volleyball.' Then I quit when I decided to focus on theater.

I played volleyball in college. I was the girl next door, never wanted to be in the limelight.

We want to be the volume number one, but also we want to have 8 percent in operating profit.

With 'Brooklyn,' I knew the story I wanted to tell, and I just had a very strong sense that if I turned the volume up a little bit, it could be something really special.

When I was doing 'Formula Volume 1,' I had so many ideas that I knew one album was not going to be enough.

Be serious. You've got to do the job you were hired to do well, but there's always more you can do. When I was an assistant, I would say to myself, 'You may not be an executive, but act like one.' I would volunteer for any creative assignment - read scripts, do 'coverage,' write notes.

I'd never rule anything out, to be honest with you, whether it be the small of volunteer status for a community organization or national politics, who knows?

My brand is to make things harder for myself. I carry too many things at once, I volunteer to make a 12-layer cake no one asked for, and I do all my mixing with a tiny spatula.

I've loved acting and dancing since I was a kid. Before anyone thought I was pretty or before I had a voluptuous figure, that was what I was going to do.

Beginning with a trip out to Ellis Island, I saw for myself where thousands of European immigrants took their first steps onto American soil, bringing with them nothing but their ambition: people such as Erich von Stroheim and Adolph Zukor.

I would amputate my toes to work with Lars von Trier again.

When we get a chance to take part in elections, I am ready to fight for leading positions, including in the presidential vote.

When I was in high school, I was voted most likely to succeed.

I've had a great career; they've put me in the Hall of Fame, and the WBC voted me the best super-middleweight with Joe Calzaghe, yet all I wanted was Southern Area champion. Maybe a shot at the British title.

The children of politicians learn the allure and tricks of politics along with their alphabet. They inherit a network of useful contacts, and - if they're lucky - a name that confers instant voter recognition.

I can't fight forever. I've gotta fight and secure my future and decide what I'm gonna do with my life.

That's what I want. I want the big fights, not only to get the title shot but to secure my future and whatever I pursue after fighting.

You've only got your 20s and 30s to secure a job; you'd better be established by your 30s.

Nothing is as seductive as the assurance of success.

I'd seen a play of 'Richard III' in Coventry when I was 15, which sowed the seeds that you could act for a living.

I first wanted to be an actress after seeing a play - not a movie.

My aim was never to seek a force and take power.