In the past when I was in Hollywood, I was like a dog. I felt humiliated. My English was not good. People would even ask me 'Jackie Who?'.
Interpretation
This quote reflects Jackie Chan's struggles and feelings of humiliation during his early career in Hollywood due to language barriers and lack of recognition.
Jackie Chan shares a personal experience from his early days in Hollywood, where he faced significant challenges, including language difficulties and a lack of recognition, which made him feel degraded and marginalized. He likens this experience to that of a dog, highlighting the sense of being looked down upon and the struggle for acceptance in a foreign environment. This quote underscores the journey of overcoming adversity and gaining respect through perseverance.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles in your career.
American stuntmen are smart - they think about safety. When they do a jump in a car, they calculate everything: the speed, the distance... But in Hong Kong, we don't know how to count. Everything we do is a guess. If you've got the guts, you do it. All of my stuntmen have gotten hurt.
One thing I did pick up from Cannonball Run was the use of bloopers and outtakes under the final credits, which I've done in all my movies since.
Martial arts is not for hurting people, it's for protecting people.
Martial arts is for defense. It's not for attacking. So when people are fighting, always, always, defend.
We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people.
Why did I become Jackie Chan? Mostly because I work very hard. When people were sleeping, I was still training.
With all humility, I think, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Infinitely more important than the vain attempt to love one's neighbor as one's self. If you want to hit a bird on the wing you must have all your will in focus, you must not be thinking about yourself, and equally, you must not be thinking about your neighbor; you must be living with your eye on that bird. Every achievement is a bird on the wing.
The only worthwhile achievements of man are those which are socially useful.
The biggest message I have for young women is, Don't start cutting off branches of your career tree unnecessarily early. Sometimes women say, I know I want to have a family or play in the local symphony, and they start pulling themselves out of their career path. You don't have to take yourself out of the running before you even start.
The greatest thrill in my life was to represent the United States of America.
In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
As soon as baseball becomes a job, as soon as I stop caring, as soon as the smile goes away, I'll hang up my spikes and do something else.
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