N. Scott Momaday Quotes
A word has power in and of itself. It comes from nothing into sound and meaning; it gives origin to all things.
Quotes to Explore
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The first book I sat down to write was an historical romance. It was really bad and thankfully no one ever saw it.
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There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism, and I learn from that and better myself. I'm not expecting anyone to be sycophantic in any way; I never expected that.
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There was a time I desperately needed for the world to know that I was no category guy. My whole goal in life was to reach that certain success where people will say, 'Hey, that guy can do anything. He's the Evel Knievel of music. He's jumping over 15 buses!'
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You know, as any parent will say, you know, life happens.
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One of the questions writers bump up against in their work, whether they know it or not, is about lying. Because fiction is a form of deceit, and one's abilities are measured by how convincingly one can persuade readers that these events really happened.
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I would love the opportunity to create my own program. I feel like a TV show with a format of monologue with lots of sketches thrown in could be really fun. But you know, that may never happen. Minimally, I just want to keep making stand-up.
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I'd definitely be up for 'EastEnders.' Just the same as I would if 'Coronation Street' was offered. Either way, it would be like going back to my roots.
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If I focus on being an activist and my job is to be a rapper, I'm not going to be as good of a rapper. I need to focus on hip-hop and focus on making the music, so that when the activists come to me and they need my voice to create a platform, then I've got enough people listening to me. Not because I'm conscious, but because I'm dope.
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Apparently, I'm very good at firing a gun without blinking, which is unusual. That's why so many action characters have to wear sunglasses during shoot-out scenes. That's my party trick.
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When I was a postdoc, I jotted every fresh thought on a three-by-five card and kept them in a card catalogue.
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Spiritual practice should not be confused with grim duty. It is the laughter of the Dalai Lama and the wonder born with every child.
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To read too many books is harmful.
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It was among farmers and potato diggers and old men in workhouses and beggars at my own door that I found what was beyond these and yet farther beyond that drawingroom poet of my childhood in the expression of love, and grief, and the pain of parting, that are the disclosure of the individual soul.
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I think there's always satisfaction that comes from digging in and telling a story and being on the front line and writing about it. I think there's a venue available if you look. Even print journalism is in good shape in areas.
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There is always a multitude of reasons both in favor of doing a thing and against doing it. The art of debate lies in presenting them; the art of life lies in neglecting ninety-nine hundredths of them.
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Too often, when you are close to people in power, you're trying to make them happy; you're trying to tell them what they want to hear. But I find that really good leaders don't want that. They want the truth. And you do them a service, and yourself a service, by just being honest and straightforward.
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We did it Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster - closed and forgotten within the first year.
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I know I'm going to be remembered for football. That's why I work so hard at it.
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I feel naked without jewelry. If I'm having a bad hair day, I pick something from my huge collection of hats.
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The difficult thing is that vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I'm willing to show you. In you, it's courage and daring. In me, it's weakness.
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There is a secret agreement between past generations and the present one. Our coming was expected on earth. Like every generation that preceded us, we have been endowed with a weak Messianic power, a power to which the past has a claim. That claim cannot be settled cheaply.
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In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development.
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I always connected renting a car with being an adult. If you think about it, it's the last frontier of your youth. You can join the military at 18, drink when you're 21, but you can't rent a car.
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A word has power in and of itself. It comes from nothing into sound and meaning; it gives origin to all things.
