Acting is not a state of being ... but a state of appearing to be. You can't be eight times a week without going stark staring mad. You've got to be in control.
Noel CowardRead
I don't believe in astrology. The only stars I can blame for my failures are those that walk about the stage.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes personal responsibility over attributing failures to external factors like astrology.
Noel Coward's quote reflects a clear stance against fatalism and reinforces the idea that individuals must take ownership of their actions and outcomes. By stating that the only 'stars' to blame are those 'that walk about the stage,' he highlights that failures are not caused by celestial influences but by one's own choices and efforts.
Themes
Personal ResponsibilityFailureAstrologyChoicesSelf-Accountability
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for motivating students to take responsibility for their grades and learning.
More from Noel Coward
All quotes →Goodnight, my darlings, I'll see you tomorrow.
Noel CowardRead
It's no use to go and take courses in playwriting any more than it's much use taking courses in acting. Better play to a bad matinée in Hull, it will teach you much more than a year of careful instruction.
Noel CowardRead
But why, oh why, do the wrong people travel, when the right people stay at home?
Noel CowardRead
Never mind, dear, we're all made the same, though some more than others.
Noel CowardRead
Wit ought to be a glorious treat like caviar; never spread it about like marmalade.
Noel CowardRead
Similar quotes
Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a death-like grip
Charles SpurgeonRead
We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
All misery and pain come from attachment.
Swami VivekanandaRead
Don't search for heaven and hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Whenever we fight, hate, we are in hell.
Shams TabriziRead
ACCUSE, v.t. To affirm another's guilt or unworth; most commonly as a justification of ourselves for having wronged him.
Ambrose BierceRead
Through prayer, charity and humility before God, people receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference.
Pope FrancisRead