I think when you begin to think of yourself as having achieved something, then there's nothing left for you to work towards. I want to believe that there is a mountain so high that I will spend my entire life striving to reach the top of it.
Interpretation
Constantly striving for improvement prevents complacency and fosters growth.
Cicely Tyson's quote emphasizes the importance of continuous effort and ambition in life. It suggests that recognizing one's achievements can lead to complacency, and instead, one should always view their goals as a distant mountain to climb, ensuring they remain motivated and engaged in the pursuit of personal growth and self-improvement throughout their life.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech to inspire ambition in students.
How do you project a character if you don't have a sense of where she is from? I've always just gotten on a plane to go to the area to get a sense of what it is like, to smell it, feel the earth, hear people talk, go to the marketplaces.
I saw that I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. So I made a choice to use my career as a platform to address the issues of the race I was born into.
I don't think you can measure wealth in dollars and cents. I really don't believe that at all because there are some things that money cannot buy. One of them is health. And the other is security in your relationships and friends.
One of the things I have always said about the man-woman relationship is that I don't want anybody to walk ahead of me, and I don't want anybody to walk behind me. I want a man who will walk along beside me. And that's how I feel about equal rights.
Unless a piece really said something, I had no interest in it. I have got to know that I have served some purpose here.
When I attack a role, be it TV, film or stage, the first thing I say is, I don't want to know anything. If it's good I don't want to hear it; if it's bad I don't want to hear it. The only thing either thing can do is distract me. I like to stay focused
For every sale you miss because you're too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you're not enthusiastic enough.
Getting out of bed is like the foundation of the discipline, and I think it carries over into everything else.
Work is an antidote for anxiety, and ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility. Whatever our circumstances in life, my dear brethren, let us do the best we can and cultivate a reputation for excellence in all that we do. Let us set our minds and bodies to the glorious opportunity for work that each new day presents.
The future will not belong to those who sit on the sidelines. The future will not belong to the cynics. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Remember, success is a journey not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.
Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.
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