I've managed to keep a clear head and remain sane in this business because I remain a kid off-camera.
Interpretation
Staying grounded and preserving childlike wonder helps maintain sanity in a demanding profession.
In this quote, Leonardo DiCaprio highlights the importance of retaining a sense of innocence and playfulness, which aids in navigating the pressures and complexities of his career in the entertainment industry. By keeping a 'clear head' and staying connected to his inner child, he suggests that one can better cope with the challenges of adulthood and fame, ultimately preserving one's mental health and personal authenticity.
In practice
During a motivational speech on creativity, I quoted DiCaprio to emphasize the importance of maintaining a playful attitude.
Mozambique is having an economic resurgence but still four out of 10 people there have HIV or AIDS...There's astounding conditions but what I was left with...was the power of the human spirit there and the fact these people have been through so much and they were still dancing in the streets
The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. As for myself, I'm not really sure who I am. I change every day.
My career should adapt to me. Fame is like a VIP pass wherever you want to go.
I lived in Hollywood and, ironically, I didn't know you could just go out and get an agent and go on auditions and try and become an actor, I thought it was like a Masonic thing, like a blood line you had to belong to β until I was 13. Then I realised what you had to do. It is the one thing I know I want to do for the rest of my life.
As a young boy, I was obsessed with endangered species and the extinct species that men killed off. Biology was the subject in school that I was incredibly passionate about.
Mother Earth is hurting. And she needs a generation of thoughtful, caring and active kids like all of you to protect her for the future.
What you do has far greater impact than what you say.
For the warrior, there is no "better" or "worse"; everyone has the necessary gifts for his particular path.
Going through war and living is a very important process. You realize how vulnerable you are and how lucky you are to be in the right place at the right time. As a matter of fact, I have a history of luck.
I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
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