Whenever I get an idea for a song, even before jotting down the notes, I can hear it in the orchestra, I can smell it in the scenery, I can see the kind of actor who will sing it, and I am aware of an audience listening to it.
Richard RodgersRead
There isn't anything I wanted to do that I haven't. At the same time, there isn't anything I've ever done that I didn't want to do better.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on achieving one's desires while acknowledging a continuous pursuit of improvement.
Richard Rodgers emphasizes the duality of accomplishment and aspiration. While he expresses satisfaction in having pursued all his desires, he also recognizes a perpetual yearning for perfection and growth in his endeavors. This reflects a mindset of both completion and ambition, suggesting that even the most successful individuals strive for greater heights.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire individuals to pursue their dreams while aspiring to improve.
Whenever I get an idea for a song, even before jotting down the notes, I can hear it in the orchestra, I can smell it in the scenery, I can see the kind of actor who will sing it, and I am aware of an audience listening to it.
In many ways, a song-writing partnership is like a marriage. Apart from just liking each other, a lyricist and a composer should be able to spend long periods of time together - around the clock if need be - without getting on each other's nerves. Their goals, outlooks, and basic philosophies should be similar.
I would like, if I can, to broaden the possibilities of the musical theater. I think there's a better 'Oklahoma!' someplace, a better 'West Side Story.' And I'd like to be mixed up in it.
If somebody wants to sing my songs after I'm gone, nobody will be happier than my dead body.
If you do everything that everyone else does in business, you're going to lose. The only way to really be ahead, is to 'be different'.
I got the chance to be the secretary of state; I'm an international relations specialist. It doesn't get better than that.
There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.
If you want a solid future, you need to create it. You can take charge of your future only when you take control of your income source. You need your own business.
You just have to keep trying to do good work, and hope that it leads to more good work. I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything. Yes, I want to look back and know that I was terrible at a variety of things.
Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself.
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