My father was a certain kind of man - I saw how he treated my mother and his family and how he treated strangers. And I vowed I would never make a film that would not reflect properly on my father's name.
Sidney PoitierRead
You don't have to become something you're not to be better than you were.
Interpretation
This quote encourages self-improvement without losing one's authentic self.
Sidney Poitier's quote emphasizes the importance of personal growth and self-acceptance. It suggests that to improve one's life and circumstances, one does not need to adopt a false persona or imitate others. Instead, the focus should be on enhancing one's true self and building upon existing strengths.
In practice
In a motivational speech at a personal development seminar.
My father was a certain kind of man - I saw how he treated my mother and his family and how he treated strangers. And I vowed I would never make a film that would not reflect properly on my father's name.
My father was the quintessential husband and dad.
I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
We suffer pain, we hang tight to hope, we nurture expectations, we are plagued occasionally by fears, we are haunted by defeats and unrealized hopes . . . The hoplessness of which I speak is not limited.
We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine.
Only when a man will not do some things is he capable of doing great things.
Every failure is a blessing in disguise, providing it teaches some needed lesson one could not have learned without it. Most so-called Failures are only temporary defeats.
A dream is a vision, a goal is a promise. You can keep your promises to yourself by remaining flexible, focused, and committed.
You have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity.
When you have to work with and exist amongst cynical, burned-out personnel on a set, it doesn't matter what you're shooting or how much you're being paid - it's not worth it.
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