Logo - Feel The Words

Doing Quotes

On action, effort and the discipline of doing the work.

These lines describe doing in its many forms: the overlap between film and television production, the uncertainty built into research, and committing to work you believe in even without much recognition. For more, see our Action quotes.

The very first thing I ever did, I was doing some work for the French Cultural Center. They wanted a little recording set up. And I got wire. A wire recorder. The wire came off spools, and to cut and...

Quotes by D. A. Pennebaker

I don't play the bass. I'm not in a band. I tried to think of ways I could touch base with the troops and support what we're doing.

Quotes by D. B. Sweeney

I discovered at the age of five that I could sing, and I realised people liked it. The sound that came out made people happy, so I kept doing it.

Quotes by Cynthia Erivo

What I was doing was servicing the needs of my constituents and I was not allowed to do that because I did not toe the line on U.S. policy for Israel.

Quotes by Cynthia McKinney

I have lost stories and many starts of novels before. Not always as punishment for 'telling,' but more often as a result of something having gone cold and dead because of a hiatus. Telling, you see, is the same as...

Quotes by Cynthia Ozick

I loved doing 'Dead Like Me.' That role was phenomenal to me.

Quotes by Cynthia Stevenson

No matter what you do, people are gonna try to emulate you. Whether it's a dunk by Michael Jordan or a swing by Ken Griffey Jr., kids are doing the same things.

Quotes by Curtis Granderson

That was the era when we might have destroyed Russia completely and not even skinned our elbows doing it.

Quotes by Curtis LeMay

When I was writing my first two books I was also freelancing and teaching and doing other odd jobs.

Quotes by Curtis Sittenfeld

When you're working with a big star, you always wonder what it's going to be like. Hugh Jackman puts you at ease within 10 minutes. He has such a wonderful energy and is so generous when you're doing a scene....

Quotes by Cush Jumbo

We're doing a workshop over the first two weeks of December, I believe, with Graciella Daniele directing it.

Quotes by Cy Coleman

It's hard for women to talk about these things, and for the doctors to really talk about it too, and to even have the knowledge of what's going on. That's why I'm doing this and urging women to speak out...

Quotes by Cybill Shepherd

Around 10 years old I started being into church and being around the church. I started doing poetry - I was doing all clean poetry, totally clean.

Quotes by Cupcakke

I like to have control over what I'm doing, and that no one else is controlling me.

Quotes by Cupcakke

Anything guys can do, girls can, and most of the time, they're out there working harder and doing it better.

Quotes by Cupcakke

But I want you to know that what I'm doing here I'm doing as a ballplayer, a major league ballplayer.

Quotes by Curt Flood

Every dollar I can't commit to my company that's paid in taxes is paying a government that I believe is too big and doing way too much that I don't want done.

Quotes by Curt Schilling

At the height of our fame, we didn't see anything. We didn't leave the hotel because we were doing interviews all day. We may have traveled the world, but we saw nothing.

Quotes by Curt Smith

I don't think we ever really think about it when we're doing it, because if you sort of go in with a plan of attack, it tends to take away the natural rhythm of songwriting.

Quotes by Curt Smith

I see bands that have been around for a long time who go through the motions. They're tired and they shouldn't really be doing it any more. We are doing it because we like it.

Quotes by Curt Smith

You may also like

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "doing" mean across these quotes?
The quotes use "doing" to describe the actual craft of working (film vs. TV production), following through on belief in your own work, playing certain kinds of roles, and even the nature of research itself.
Is there a quote comparing film and TV work?
Yes: "When you're doing the work, film and TV are exactly the same. TV is just film in reduced pieces." For more on taking action rather than just planning, see Action.
Is there a witty quote about research here?
Yes: "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing" is a short, self-aware take on the research process.
Does this page include anything about acting roles or casting?
Yes, one quote describes being cast more often as a villain-type ("more Iago than Hamlet") while insisting the real goal is playing people doing the right thing rather than simple villains. For more on positive action, see Doing Good.
Is there a quote about believing in your own work despite doubt?
Yes, one recalls finding award shows hard to watch early in a music career, "because I believed in what I was doing" even while unsure of having a real shot. For more short, punchy takes on getting things done, see Doin or Doers.

Also see our Doing Good quotes for a values-driven angle, or Doers quotes celebrating people who take action.