I have gone through a long apprenticeship. I have gone through enough of being a nobody. I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star! Everybody from the studio gateman to the highest executive will know it.
Interpretation
This quote reflects determination and ambition to achieve recognition and greatness after a long period of struggle.
Gloria Swanson's quote conveys her journey from obscurity to stardom, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and self-identification with success. She highlights her commitment to fully embody the role of a star, ensuring that everyone involved in her career recognizes her ambition and dedication, which serves as an inspiration for those on similar paths.
In practice
In a motivational speech to aspiring artists about believing in themselves.
So they were turning, after all - those cameras. Life, which can be strangely merciful, had taken pity on Norma Desmond. The dream she had clung to so desperately had enfolded her. Norma: You see, this is my life. It always will be! (In a whisper) There's nothing else - just us - and the cameras - and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up.
My greatest debt will always be to the movie-going public of yesterday and today, without whose love and devotion I would have had no story to tell.
Listen, I wrote 10 unsuccessful books before I broke through, so I'm looking all the time to keep my books fascinating. I want to write what people want to read, not push any message.
Every match I go into, I'm the huge favorite. I lose a set and it's, like, crazy.
Frankly I've never really subscribed to these adjectives tagging me as an 'icon', 'superstar', etc. I've always thought of myself as an actor doing his job to the best of his ability.
The key to a winning season is focusing on one opponent at a time. Winning one week at a time. Never look back and never look ahead.
As for myself, I met with as much success as I ever could have wanted. In other words, I was enthusiastically run-down by every critic of the period.
Success and profitability are outcomes of focusing on customers and employees, not objectives.
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