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.

A lot of my building blocks - who I am kind of as an artist - all came from being in L.A.

Quotes by Steve Aoki

I would just sketch everything that was being made for the collections.

Quotes by Stephen Sprouse

Yeah; I'm a much better blues player than anybody knows, but being in the kind of group I'm in, we were always trying to make popular records.

Quotes by Stephen Stills

I would not have so many scripts being driven by demographics. The play's the thing - not the 18-35 year old male age group.

Quotes by Stephen Tobolowsky

On a single day, I read articles where I was described as being alternately 'lanky,' 'pudgy,' 'doughy,' 'balding,' 'utterly forgettable,' and 'constantly irritating.'

Quotes by Stephen Tobolowsky

The fact that the same symbolic programming primitives work for those as work for math kinds of things, I think, really validates the idea of symbolic programming being something pretty general.

Quotes by Stephen Wolfram

I see people with laptops as being enslaved to something they can't live without.

Quotes by Stephen Rea

Aspen's investment in TesoRx will assist in the work being undertaken to bring this product to market and in investing behind TesoRx's pipeline and technology that has the potential to be used for a wide range of different applications.

Quotes by Stephen Saad

It's hard to imagine anyone accusing Lionel Shriver of being a timid writer.

Quotes by Stephen McCauley

Early on, I got some criticism from other gay writers and queer theorists for being too 'assimilationist,' probably because my characters are outsiders, even in the gay world.

Quotes by Stephen McCauley

My experiences in high school, in which I was used to being unfairly labeled, unfairly maligned, gave me the thick skin that I needed.

Quotes by Stephen Miller

A lot of NBA owners sit at the midcourt. But we love being under the basket and seeing the players.

Quotes by Stephen Pagliuca

We were delighted to have Nigel as a producer. The only problem is that Nigel is so famous that he seems to dominate most interviews without being there.

Quotes by Stephen Malkmus

I thought the best route to being the great actor I wanted to be was to play the great classical parts.

Quotes by Stephen Mangan

If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a moody folk singer, sitting on stools and being very depressing.

Quotes by Stephen Mangan

My favourite store is All Saints. Having spent years dressed in a dinner suit and a bow tie as a professional player, it is wonderful being able to wear normal clothes again.

Quotes by Stephen Hendry

I was planning on being a starving artist.

Quotes by Stephen Hillenburg

I formed my own studio, carried my own deficits, owned one-hundred percent of my negatives, and made a lot of mistakes, but we ended up being the third largest TV studio in Hollywood.

Quotes by Stephen J. Cannell

People are being incentivized for the wrong things. We've heard about a lot - doctors for procedures rather than creating wellness or maintaining wellness.

Quotes by Stephen J. Dubner

Being from the South, I was really into Southern rap, but I listened to a lot of stuff from all over.

Quotes by Stephen Jackson

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.