Penn Jillette Quotes

The only secret of magic is that I'm willing to work harder on it than you think it's worth.

Penn Jillette

• Work
• Magic

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Quotes to Explore

• The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names.

  

  Harrison Birtwistle
  • You
  • Same
  • Influence

• Number 4 should have been number 1. Thanks, Honey.

  

  Jack Dempsey
  • Thanks
  • Number
  • Honey

• Boating on the lake is one of my favorite summer activities.

  

  Carl Hagelin
  • Summer
  • Favorite
  • Lake

• Modern surgery has been like a miracle to those who thought the pain was going to go on forever.

  

  Maeve Binchy
  • Pain
  • Forever
  • Thought

• Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized society.

  

  Walter Gropius
  • Life
  • Society
  • Design

• This is the people's money, and we need to use it on their priorities. Increasing the pay of members of Congress is not their priority.

  

  Sam Graves
  • People
  • Money
  • Priority

• Denial of childhood and denial of freedom are the biggest sins which humankind has been committing and perpetuating for ages.

  

  Kailash Satyarthi
  • Freedom
  • Childhood
  • Denial

• At the beginning of a new project, often before I do any actual writing, I collect photos, quotes, song lyrics, and even objects that relate to the characters or the world I'm creating.

  

  Kami Garcia
  • World
  • Writing
  • Song

• The essence of science is independent thinking, hard work, and not equipment. When I got my Nobel Prize, I had spent hardly 200 rupees on my equipment.

  

  C. V. Raman
  • Work
  • Thinking
  • Science

• I'm from Port Arthur, Texas! Little guy! Little character guy from one of the saddest oil-refinery towns in America. And here I was driving over to Beverly Hills, to 20th Century Fox, to be on 'M*A*S*H!'

  

  G. W. Bailey
  • Character
  • America
  • Guy

• There's a hardening of the culture. Reality TV has lowered the standards of entertainment. You're left wondering about the legitimacy of relationships. It's probably harder to entertain the same people with a more classic form of writing, and romantic comedies are a classic genre.

  

  Nancy Meyers
  • People
  • Writing
  • Reality

• Morrissey wrote a really gorgeous song for me. I'm crazy for that man. And he thinks I'm hip!

  

  Nancy Sinatra
  • Song
  • Man
  • Crazy

• I'm a hybrid, and I kind of like that. Raised by African parents, growing up I lived between Burkina Faso and Stains, a suburb just outside of Paris. In Stains, I had all the cultures in the world on my doorstep, and that opens up your mind.

  

  Jacky Ido
  • Up
  • World
  • Mind

• Unlike fashion, art isn't applied. It doesn't have to serve anybody. It doesn't have to be there for any other reason than to give an impression of what the world is about.

  

  Raf Simons
  • World
  • Art
  • Fashion

• When people use their hurt and make a triumph in their song, that helps other people.

  

  La'Porsha Renae
  • People
  • Song
  • Hurt

• Embrace the grease, if any, and look fresh and human. I like to look like a glazed doughnut.

  

  Paloma Elsesser
  • Look
  • Embrace
  • Fresh

• I have Dalinian thought: the one thing the world will never have enough of is the outrageous.

  

  Salvador Dali
  • World
  • Thought
  • Enough

• I think there's a fear of difference in American cinema.

  

  Ira Sachs
  • American
  • Think
  • Fear

• I never heard about tefillin. I was unfamiliar with the deep history and ritual of being an Orthodox Jew. Before you get out of bed, you say a prayer, and then you get out of bed, say another one.

  

  Ato Essandoh
  • History
  • Deep
  • Prayer

• Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In that case, I felt I was guardian of the work, staying as true to the novel as I could. I've since met the novelist, and he loves the movie and the script.

  

  Brian Helgeland
  • Work
  • Book
  • True

• I've been back to the Kansas City area a lot in the past. My sisters went to college in the area. My brother went to college in the area. I've got friends there, so there's some ties to the area.

  

  Ben Zobrist
  • Friends
  • Past
  • City

• For me, I'd rather be the inventive one, and if something doesn't work, I'll go back to the workshop, put it on the bench, and pound on it for awhile.

  

  Janet Fitch
  • Work

• All the things that happen to people in the industry today, the actors, what they have to put up with, all the people wanting to know every single moment of their lives - I think it's really sad.

  

  Tab Hunter
  • People
  • Up
  • Today

• The only secret of magic is that I'm willing to work harder on it than you think it's worth.

  

  Penn Jillette
  • Work
  • Magic