My school was 90 percent white, but 90 percent of the kids I played with were black. So I got the best of both worlds. I think that is where my comedy developed.
Will SmithRead
There is no pain worse than not achieving a dream when it is your fault. If God did not want you to have it, that is one thing. But if you do not get what you desire because you are lazy, there is no pain worse than that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Failing to achieve your dreams due to your own lack of effort is deeply painful.
This quote by Will Smith emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility in the pursuit of our dreams. It suggests that the most profound pain comes not from external forces denying us our desires, but from our own inaction or laziness that prevents us from achieving what we truly want. The sense of regret and disappointment in oneself can be far greater than any hardship caused by circumstances outside of our control.
Themes
DreamsPainResponsibilityMotivationEffort
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to high school students about pursuing their goals.
More from Will Smith
All quotes →In my mind, I've always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y'all just didn't know yet.
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The first eight years of schooling was with all white people. So that helped me to understand how white people think. I think that transition is what helped me bridge the gap, because that's what my success has really been about: bridging the gap between the black community and the white community.
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We all want to be in love and find that person who is going to love us no matter how our feet smell, no matter how angry we get one day, no matter the things we say that we don't mean.
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I'm profoundly changed. There's a bittersweet emotion that I feel from playing this role. . . . I want the world to be different because I was here. However lofty or crazy or delusional that may sound, I want people's lives to be better because I was here.
Will SmithRead
The separation of talent and skill is one of the largest misconceptions in modern society. Talent is something you born with, but skill can only be attained through Hours and Hours of hard work perfecting your talent as a craft. Which is why Talent will fail you without skill.
Will SmithRead
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