I wish I could do a lot of things different. I'm not going to tell you what they are, but if I had a list of all my films right now, I'd go, 'Okay, I'll cross that one out and cross that one out and cross that one out and cross that one out.' Really. But I've made over 40 films. How can I not have some losers in there?
Interpretation
Reflecting on past mistakes is integral to growth and success.
In this quote, Steve Martin expresses his introspection about his career in filmmaking, acknowledging that out of over 40 films, it's natural to have some that didn't meet expectations. This candid admission highlights the importance of recognizing failures as part of the journey toward success, suggesting that every experience, good or bad, contributes to personal and professional growth.
In practice
In a film class discussing lessons learned from directors' careers, this quote can illustrate the process of growth through mistakes.
When I first started doing my comedy act, I just desperately needed material. So I took literally everything I knew how to do on stage with me, which was juggling, magic and banjo and my little comedy routines. I always felt the audience sorta tolerated the serious musical parts while I was doing my comedy.
You want to be a bit compulsive in your art or craft or whatever you do.
I have heard it said that a complicated childhood can lead to a life in the arts. I tell you this story of my father and me to let you know I am qualified to be a comedian.
...it is not the big events that hurt the most but rather the smallest questionable shift in tone at the end of a spoken word that can plow most deeply into the heart.
Reviews for someone like me come in three packages. One is justifiable praise, the second is justifiable criticism, and the third is, "This is only published because he's a celebrity."
If he thinks he would harm Mirabelle, he would back away. But he does not yet understand when and how people are hurt. He doesn't understand the subtleties of slights and pains, that it is not the big events that hurt the most but rather the smallest questionable shift in tone at the end of a spoken word that can plow most deeply into the heart.
Success and profitability are outcomes of focusing on customers and employees, not objectives.
The satisfaction to be derived from success in a great constructive enterprise is one of the most massive that life has to offer.
With rare exceptions, all of your most important achievements on this planet will come from working with others- or, in a word, partnership.
People sometimes attribute my success to my genius; all the genius I know anything about is hard work.
You don't become a success when you get your diploma, you became a success when you decided to go to college when you get your diploma you get the rewards of success.
I had to get a job, and of course, the job was 'The Godfather.' That made me be something I didn't know I was going to be. I became a big-shot director.
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