The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
Lily TomlinRead
Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a concern about achieving success in an ordinary or uninspired environment.
Lily Tomlin's quote reflects a common anxiety among individuals who strive for excellence in a world that often seems satisfied with mediocrity. It underscores the struggle between personal ambition and the prevailing norms of society, suggesting that oneβs pursuit of success can feel overwhelming when surrounded by average expectations.
Themes
SuccessMediocrityWorryAmbitionSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to encourage striving for excellence despite societal norms.
More from Lily Tomlin
All quotes βThe road to success is always under construction.
Lily TomlinRead
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.
Lily TomlinRead
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Lily TomlinRead
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
Lily TomlinRead
Sometimes I feel like a figment of my own imagination.
Lily TomlinRead
Similar quotes
A real businessman or entrepreneur has no enemies. Once he understand this, the sky's the limit.
Jack MaRead
I still have my first paycheck. It was just, I think, a dollar or two that I got when I started as a songwriter with BMI, and I had some songs there that I had through the company, and in the mail I got this big old check for, like, a dollar and a half or something. Somebody had recorded one of my songs.
Dolly PartonRead
Our premise is there are going to be a lot of winners. It's not winner take all. Other people do not have to lose for us to win.
Jeff BezosRead
The road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads β in the end β to the best within us.
Jesse OwensRead
I think the ability to hit - some guys have it and some guys don't - but I think how dedicated you are to trying to get the most out of yourself, I think kind of determines how good you are and for how long. I was born with the ability to hit, but my work ethic has taken it to the next level.
Tony GwynnRead
Donβt just climb the ladder of success - a ladder that leads, after all, to higher and higher levels of stress and burnout - but chart a new path to success, remaking it in a way that includes not just the conventional metrics of money and power, but a third metric that includes well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving, so that the goal is not just to succeed but to thrive.
Arianna HuffingtonRead