Quotes About Persistence

Whatever that means, however you got on that mountain, why not try to climb it? And do it in your own way.

My friends and I started that motto early in high school - that attitude, that mentality - from way back then: Want to go to Stanford? Why not? Want to play in the NBA? Why not?

Every time I step up I win so why not keep going.

If you're going to play football, why not be the best at it that you can be and fulfill your potential?

I feel like, O.K., if I can make it as a singer, then let me try rapping. If I can make it as a rapper, then let me try writing. All right? If I make it as a rap singer and writer, then why not try to produce? I don't feel limited in any way.

The way I look at it is that somebody in the world, no matter what your field is - teacher, violinist, football player - has to be the best. Why not me?

It doesn't matter to me where am I going. Language is not a barrier for me, I can go anywhere with my craft, so why not Hollywood?

I want to constantly get better. Why not just keep fighting? Until I get told that I can't anymore, then I'll move on.

I feel like, if you're committed to do something, why not do it 100 percent?

There were 100 intellectual reasons not to pursue 'Wicked.' There were times where it was very challenging, where the mind said, 'This is maybe too challenging,' but the heart willed it. The heart willed it to succeed.

I don't stop. It's my nature. People have to tell me to slow down. I plan on playing every role on Broadway. I want to do 'Evita.' I want to do 'Sweeney Todd' with Chris Colfer. We want to do 'Wicked.' I'll be Elphaba and he wants to play 'Guy-linda.' I want to do movies, make music. 'Glee' is only the beginning.

I had written children's books for 14 years before I published 'Wicked.' And none of them were poorly reviewed, and none of them sold enough for me to be able to buy a bed.

To be honest, I rewrote 'Wicked Nights' a number of times. I just wasn't happy with the end result.

It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.

You need to shoot to score the goal. If it goes wide, you just need to keep going and keep your head up.

There are two types of paparazzi. The ones who hide who get you with your mouth hanging wide open or jumping up and down like an idiot on the street. I much prefer them to the ones who come out and follow you.

I approached Red Square three times, trying to find somewhere to land, before discovering a wide bridge nearby. I landed there and taxied into Red Square.

I was doing those roles on ABC Family late in the year, and at the same time, I was auditioning for 'Galavant.' But 'Galavant' was quite a wide casting call. I wasn't recommended or anything. It just kind of happened.

You start out with your eyes wide open, and you've got dreams, and we worked really, really hard, and ours came true. So - and we're fortunate enough to keep putting out number one records, and we're fortunate enough to get out there and keep playing, and we truly have a blast.

I have generally sought to work on questions that I thought were both interesting and approachable, yet not too widely appreciated. To struggle to make discoveries that would be made by others a short time later seems futile to me.

When I'm doing a movie, I'm not doing anything else. It's all about the movie. I don't have a wife. I don't have a kid. Nothing can get in my way... I've made a choice, so far, to go on this road alone. Because this is my time. This is my time to make movies.

I've been on television since I was about 17. I had opportunities - one major opportunity I blew in my 20s. Once I started down this pathway, it was a case of not letting anyone stop me. Not my wife, not my family. It was getting too late to give it a small percentage. I had to give it one hundred percent.

You will encounter many distractions and many temptations to put your goal aside: The security of a job, a wife who wants kids, whatever. But if you hang in there, always following your vision, I have no doubt you will succeed.

If a door is shut, go up and wiggle it a little - don't assume it's locked.