The mirror is not you. The mirror is you looking at yourself.
George BalanchineRead
First comes the sweat. Then comes the beauty if you're very lucky and have said your prayers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success requires hard work and dedication, often followed by fortunate outcomes.
This quote by George Balanchine emphasizes the importance of hard work ('sweat') as a precursor to achieving success and fulfillment ('beauty'). It suggests that while tireless effort is essential, luck and a positive mindset, represented by 'prayers', can play a significant role in attaining one's goals.
Themes
SweatBeautyHard WorkSuccessLuck
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire students during finals week as they prepare for their exams.
More from George Balanchine
All quotes βI don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.
George BalanchineRead
God creates, I do not create. I assemble and I steal everywhere to do it - from what I see, from what the dancers can do, from what others do.
George BalanchineRead
Most ballet teachers in the United States are terrible. If they were in medicine, everyone would be poisoned.
George BalanchineRead
One is born to be a dancer. No teacher can work miracles, nor will years of training make a good dancer of an untalented pupil. One may be able to acquire a certain technical facility, but no one can ever 'acquire an exceptional talent.' I have never prided myself on having an unusually gifted pupil. A Pavlova is no one's pupil but God's.
George BalanchineRead
The pointes for girls, I always say, have to be like an elephant's trunk; strong and yet flexible and soft.
George BalanchineRead
Similar quotes
I have my dream job. If I was seven years old and you asked me what I'd want to be 30 years from now, I'd say exactly who I am. So, 'rare' and 'lucky' are the exact right words. It took a lot of hard work, and I took a weird route to get here, but man, am I grateful for it.
Tom KingRead
I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'born' soccer player. Perhaps you are born with certain skills and talents, but quite frankly it seems impossible to me that one is actually born to be an ace soccer player
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The person who starts out simply with the idea of getting rich won't succeed; you must have a larger ambition. There is no mystery in business success. If you do each day's task successfully, and stay faithfully within these natural operations of commercial laws which I talk so much about, and keep your head clear, you will come out all right.
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My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in your future.
Jim RohnRead
Why was I able to be able to pass? What did I do right that allowed me to make a pass - any given pass? There's balance; there's vision.
John StocktonRead
To have made even one person's life a little better, that is to succeed.
Henry David ThoreauRead