I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and oftentimes disagreeable... I suppose I'm larger than life.
Bette DavisRead
I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies. Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success is a never-ending quest; achieving one goal only leads to the desire for another.
Bette Davis reflects on the nature of success, suggesting that the pursuit of accomplishment is an unending cycle. Each goal achieved opens up new aspirations, resulting in a continuous drive for improvement and productivity, often leading to feelings of dissatisfaction and restlessness.
Themes
SuccessGoalsAchievementEndlessSatisfaction
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would resonate well during a motivational speech about the relentless pursuit of excellence.
More from Bette Davis
All quotes βActing should be bigger than life. Scripts should be bigger than life. It should all be bigger than life.
Bette DavisRead
Today everyone is a star - they're all billed as 'starring' or 'also starring'. In my day, we earned that recognition.
Bette DavisRead
Once the love bug wears off, as it inevitably does, you are shocked to discover that you really didn't know the object of your affections at all. We know this to be so, even as we repeat the same mistake over and over and over.
Bette DavisRead
If everybody likes you, you're pretty dull.
Bette DavisRead
You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.
Bette DavisRead
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