Logo - Feel The Words

Being Quotes

On identity, openness and staying true to yourself.

This set of quotes explores what it means to simply be: holding onto a child's spontaneity, embracing honesty that feels inappropriate in creative work, or aging with flexibility instead of resistance. For more on self-belief, see our Able quotes.

If you look at footage of the Newfoundland Regiment, you see they are at rest and giddy and being silly with one another. Silliness is the antidote to trench warfare.

Quotes by Michael Winter

Curiously, many Democrats have acceded to Clintonism not because of their cold practicality and political professionalism, but because the Clintons are the sworn enemy of the right. The Clintons, in other words, while hardly being left, have been defined as...

Quotes by Michael Wolff

I was surprised by how much I like being a father; surprised at what a decent father I am, because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to dump my selfishness.

Quotes by Michael Zaslow

For me, a career highlight was being on 'Battlestar Galactica.' Roles like that don't come along very often.

Quotes by Michael Trucco

The single most important thing in learning my craft was being on the stage.

Quotes by Michael Trucco

I believe people are afraid to be still because we're used to being stimulated.

Quotes by Michael W. Smith

Speculative joy, the joy derived from being right and being rewarded, may well be similar to the rush felt by a winning gambler.

Quotes by Michael Steinhardt

We toured that record for a year, which turned out to be the culmination of ten years of being constantly on the road. We were sick to death of touring.

Quotes by Michael Stipe

Peter was sick of being a pop star, the guitar god, and so he decided to teach himself other instruments. Among the instruments that he picked up was the mandolin.

Quotes by Michael Stipe

I'm tired of being this solemn poet of the masses, the enigma shrouded in a mystery.

Quotes by Michael Stipe

So, we went from being an Athens band to being a Georgia band to being a Southern band to being an American band from the East Coast to being an American band and now we're kind of an international phenomenon.

Quotes by Michael Stipe

Every lesson I learned as a kid was at the dinner table. Being Greek, Sicilian and Ruthenian - we are an emotional bunch. It is where we laughed, cried and yelled - but most importantly, where we bonded and connected.

Quotes by Michael Symon

Being an American musician means being adventurous.

Quotes by Michael Tilson Thomas

Being a conductor is kind of a hybrid profession because most fundamentally, it is being someone who is a coach, a trainer, an editor, a director.

Quotes by Michael Tilson Thomas

Being a skeptic just means being rational and empirical: thinking and seeing before believing.

Quotes by Michael Shermer

Being deeply knowledgeable on one subject narrows one's focus and increases confidence, but it also blurs dissenting views until they are no longer visible, thereby transforming data collection into bias confirmation and morphing self-deception into self-assurance.

Quotes by Michael Shermer

The case for exploiting animals for food, clothing and entertainment often relies on our superior intelligence, language and self-awareness: the rights of the superior being trump those of the inferior.

Quotes by Michael Shermer

In the Eisenhower era, when earnings over $400,000 were subject to 91 percent taxes and the world was a smaller place, you could count the truly wealthy on one hand: Getty, Dupont, Mellon, Rockefeller, though even those fortunes were being...

Quotes by Michael Shnayerson

It is not possible to assert publicly that Monsanto is anything other than venal without being accused of being a sellout, a fraud, or worse.

Quotes by Michael Specter

No one should be surprised when Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda detonate a weapon of mass destruction in the United States. I don't believe in inevitability. But I think it's pretty close to being inevitable.

Quotes by Michael Scheuer

Frequently Asked Questions

What perspectives on "being" show up in these quotes?
The quotes touch on being from a particular place ("Being from Louisiana and a big outdoorsman"), being childlike as a performer, being inappropriate as part of the craft of acting, and being flexible and open as part of aging well.
Is there a quote here about acting and creativity?
Yes, two: "As an actor, you always want to reach back to being a child and having the spontaneity and the imagination of a child," and "There's so much we can't express in our day-to-day interaction with people because it's considered inappropriate. And acting is all about being inappropriate." For more on consistent character traits, see Always.
What does this page say about aging?
"Aging gracefully means being flexible, being open, allowing change, enjoying change and loving yourself" offers a positive take on getting older, tied closely to the idea of "being" open to change.
Is there anything here about personal identity or background?
Yes: "Love the show 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.' Being from Louisiana and a big outdoorsman, I'm a big fan of 'Duck Dynasty' as well" ties personal identity to place and interests. For more quotes centered on personal likes, browse Like.
How does this page relate to the Able quotes page?
"Being" here is about states and qualities of a person - childlike, open, flexible - while Able focuses more on capability and what someone can do. Also check Good for more positive, character-focused quotes.

You may also like our Good quotes on positive character traits and Always quotes on consistency and steadfastness.