I never work just to work. It's some combination of laziness and self-respect.
My characters aren't losers. They're rebels. They win by their refusal to play by everyone else's rules.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the value of individuality and challenging societal norms.
In this quote, Harold Ramis highlights that his characters embody a spirit of rebellion and nonconformity. Rather than being seen as failures or 'losers,' these characters are portrayed as winners because they choose to live life on their own terms, defying conventional expectations and rules. This speaks to the importance of self-expression and the strength found in being true to oneself, illustrating that success can come from embracing one's uniqueness rather than conforming to societal pressures.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about creativity, one might include this quote to encourage artists to break the mold.
More from Harold Ramis
All quotes βMy only conclusion about structure is that nothing works if you don't have interesting characters and a good story to tell.
A psychologist said to me, there are only two important questions you have to ask yourself. What do you really feel? And, what do you really want? If you can answer those two, you probably can leave your neuroses behind you.
It seems that, culturally, young people function more in groups. They know each other through digital media. All the young comedy people who work in TV are really used to working at the table with lots of writers around. They're comfortable in the group; they don't assert their own egos over everyone else.
Find the most talented person in the room and if it's not you, go stand next to him. Hang out with him. try to be helpful.
Similar quotes
Then Ben wailed again, hopeless and prolonged. It was nothing. Just sound. It might have been all time and injustice and sorrow become vocal for an instant by a conjunction of planets.
Madness is tonic and invigorating. It makes the sane more sane. The only ones who are unable to profit by it are the insane.
We spend our lives, all of us, waiting for the great day, the great battle, or the deed of power. But that external consummation is not given to many: nor is it necessary. So long as our being is tensed, directed with passion, towards that which is the spirit of all things, then that spirit will emerge from our own hidden, nameless effort.
As a child I was a great liar. Fortunately my mother liked my lies. I promised her marvelous things.
The real hell of life is that everyone has his reasons.
Fear the sins that you commit in secret, because the Witness of those sins is the Judge Himself!