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I've always said if I'm winning at one thing, I'm failing at another.
Shonda Rhimes
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Success in one area often comes at the cost of failure in another.

This quote by Shonda Rhimes captures the inherent trade-offs we face in life. It highlights the complex nature of success, suggesting that achieving excellence in one aspect may inadvertently lead us to neglect or stumble in another. It serves as a reminder that balance is crucial, and winning in one domain often requires sacrifice or challenges in another.

Themes

SuccessFailureBalanceTrade-OffsLife

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used to start a discussion about the sacrifices required for career advancement during a team meeting.

More from Shonda Rhimes

I have so much going on inside my head in terms of writing, there's such a large space in my life taken up by that. I can't imagine it being taken up by a husband and children and writing, and everything getting its due. I don't believe there is room for all of it. I really don't.
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There's always women of many different races on my shows, and there are always women who look many different ways, but there is still a size thing in this industry. It's hard. I mean to have to say, 'I want a larger woman to be an actor on my shows.' Or, 'Find me a larger woman,' is almost insulting to me.
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When the script is finished, and you're sitting around at a table read, and all the actors are reading the words that you've written, and you're hearing it out loud for the first time, that is always, every single time, no matter what, a magical process.
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We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes our expectations sell us short. Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You got to wonder why we cling to our expectations, because the expected is just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still. The expected's just the beginning, the unexpected is what changes our lives.
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In my house, you got in trouble if you didn't speak up. My mom would be furious at us if we went to school and behaved nicely if someone treated us badly. If we got in trouble because we had yelled at them or told them that they were wrong, my mother would be like, 'Good job.'
Shonda RhimesRead
When I'm hard at work, when I'm deep in it, there is no other feeling. For me, my work is at all times building a nation out of thin air. It is manning the troops. It is painting a canvas. It is hitting every high note. It is running a marathon. It is being Beyonce. And it is all of those things at the same time.
Shonda RhimesRead

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