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.
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The understanding of "evolutionary consciousness" is perhaps the most important thing lacking in spiritual practices today. Evolution means growth and development. This means that there are aspects of reality that have not yet arisen in our consciousness. But they will arise if we grow.
Experience, already reduced to a group of impressions, is ringed round for each one of us by that thick wall of personality through which no real voice has ever pierced on its way to us, or from us to that which we can only conjecture to be without.
The natural role of twentieth-century man is anxiety.
So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.
We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give back to the universe. If we make landfall on another star system, we become immortal.