I started out to be a person on the street, just like everybody else. I didn't start out to be a singer. But I got sort of swept up in this singing thing, and after I got involved in it it got really important to me if I was good or not.
Interpretation
Janis Joplin reflects on her unexpected journey to stardom and the importance of self-improvement.
In this quote, Janis Joplin shares her humble beginnings and how her passion for singing evolved from a casual interest into a significant part of her identity. It illustrates the idea that success can often come unexpectedly and how one's dedication to mastery can become a central pursuit in life.
In practice
In a motivational speech to students about pursuing their dreams and passions.
I gotta go on doin' it the way I see it...I got no choice but to take it like I see it. I'm here to have a party while I'm on this earth...I'm gettin' it now, today. I don't even know where I'm gonna be twenty years from now, so I'm just gonna keep on rockin', cause if I start saving up bits and pieces of me...man, there ain't gonna be nothing left for Janis.
When I sing, I feel like when you're first in love. It's more than sex. It's that point two people can get to they call love, when you really touch someone for the first time, but it's gigantic, multiplied by the whole audience. I feel chills.
Like most girls I'm always really self-conscious about do I look fat, if my legs are short, if I'm weird shaped, but when I go on stage, man, it never occurs to me. I think I look beautiful.
I won't quit to become someone's old lady.
Audiences like their blues singers to be miserable.
You can feel all things at once, so why not wear all things at once?
As a fighter pilot I know from my own experiences how decisive surprise and luck can be for success, which in the long run comes only to the one who combines daring with cool thinking.
You want to be the last company in a category. Those are the ones that are really valuable.
I just do what I got to do and go out and be myself, on and off the court, and take care of my obligations. That's generally your own destiny-knowing what you have to take care of.
If we recognize our talents and use them appropriately, and choose a field that uses those talents, we will rise to the top of our field.
It doesn’t matter how strong or capable you are; if you don’t have a big heart, you will not succeed.
He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.
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