Another year, another list of great quotes that I wasn’t able to use in an article. So, in an attempt to kick off 2016 with a fresh list of topical pop culture references, the following are ten leadership quotes to inspire you through the holidays.
“Waking up without a purpose and going to sleep without achieving anything–like what other people call vacation or time off–makes me depressed.” —Jennifer Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly
“I’m a writer who’s had to write out of duress. My brother-in-law, Bob Doleman is a writer, but a real writer. He wrote Willow, he wrote Far and Away. He’s always writing scripts… I write because I have an assignment. I’m going to host Saturday Night Live; I have to figure out what I’m going to do for the opening… I had a special a couple of years ago for CBC where I literally didn’t know what it was except I made the deal and then I said I gotta figure it out them. If there’s an assignment that’s the way I do it.”—Martin Short, Nerdist
“Whenever you leave behind failure that means you’re doing better. If you think everything you’ve done has been great, you’re probably dumb.” —Louis C. K., GQ
“I’m fascinated by anyone willing to obsessively strive for something… whether it’s becoming a scientist, or a ballerina, or a football player, I just think that’s really interesting to me and I identify with that because I’ve lived a lot of my life the same way.” —Adam Duritz, USA Today
“Progressive thinkers [are] people who think in terms of doing things in a way that is more effective.” —RuPaul Charles, WTF
“I remember when there was some interference from NBC with Seinfeld when we first started doing it, and fortunately I didn’t have a family at the time, so it was very easy for me to say to them, ‘No, I’m quitting. I’m not going to do that. I don’t want to do that and I can’t do it.’ And for me, it wasn’t a big deal to just pack up and go home… That’s the first piece of advice I’ll give anybody who wants to get into this: Don’t have a family for a while, until you’re successful, because it will just make it very hard to ever get out of things and you’ll always have to compromise.” —Larry David, NPR
“People judge you by your actions, not by your intentions.” —Dax Shepard, Off Camera
“[To trigger creativity] you do a simple task. I’ve written some of my best stuff while unloading the dishwasher because you’re distracted — and yet you’re not. I’ve read Zen masters talking about the same thing. Plus, of course, you get brownie points with your wife.” —Don Henley, Rolling Stone
“Somehow, self-deprecation is considered modesty and my confidence was considered arrogance, and it’s considered a bad thing to compliment yourself. We’re always told to compliment everyone around you and talk yourself down. I don’t know how we’re expected to look at ourselves healthily if we’re told to talk about ourselves negatively.” —Ronda Rousey, Esquire
“I think the tiniest little thing can change the course of your day, which can change the course of your year, which can change who you are.” —Taylor Swift, Seventeen
Have a happy, healthy and productive new year! See you in 2016.
David
