Either you're growing or you're decaying; there's no middle ground. If you're standing still, you're decaying.
Alan ArkinRead
Success has nothing to do with box office as far as I'm concerned. Success has to do with achieving your goals, your internal goals, and growing as a person. It would have been nice to have been connected with a couple more box office hits, but in the long run, I don't think it makes you happier.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True success is about personal growth and achieving individual goals rather than external measures like box office numbers.
Alan Arkin emphasizes that success is not solely defined by external achievements such as box office successes in the film industry. Instead, he believes that true success is found in achieving personal goals and growing as an individual, suggesting that an internal sense of fulfillment is more important than public recognition or financial gain.
Themes
SuccessGoalsGrowthHappinessInternal
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal development, one might say, 'Remember, as Alan Arkin put it, success is about growing as a person rather than just achieving external accolades.'
More from Alan Arkin
All quotes →I used to watch the world as if it was a performance and I would realize that certain things that people did moved me, and certain things didn't move me, and I tried to analyze, even at that age, six and seven and eight, why I was moved by certain things they did
Alan ArkinRead
If you want to be an actor and you love acting, you can do it whether you're doing something else or not. You can be connected with community theater or make your own little movies. But if you want to be a movie star, you've got a tough road ahead of you.
Alan ArkinRead
Everybody's career has ups and downs. I like to take chances; I don't like to stand still. And I don't give a damn what the market is interested in; I want to try things.
Alan ArkinRead
I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?
Alan ArkinRead
Every physicist knows that things connect with each other. To isolate things is not the way the universe works - winning best actor is arbitrary.
Alan ArkinRead
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