Jim Parsons Quotes

I just feel that no matter what comes in a career - and mine has been all over the map - you must stay at the table, pick up the cards you're dealt and play them.

Make films whenever and however you can - don't take no for an answer.

Nobody was like, 'Kimberly, we're going to let you anchor general news or host a show or do any of that.' I at first started out doing legal analysis, but I had to make the case to my bosses... give me a shot, give me a chance, and I was able to do that: say, 'Let me fill in. Let me show you my range. Nothing to lose here - it's the holidays.'

I wasn't a rebel. It kind of clicked in my head, like, if I want to do this, I can go out and do it. Some kids, it clicks for them, and it doesn't work out. But thank God for me it did work out. I put in all those hard hours of work, and it has gotten me to where I am.

The biggest hurdle is rejection. Any business you start, be ready for it. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is the successful people do all the things the unsuccessful people don't want to do. When 10 doors are slammed in your face, go to door number 11 enthusiastically, with a smile on your face.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't wait for opportunities to fall from the sky.

The best roles you have to fight for. You have to really want to do it and you have to go after it.

As a performer, you can't just sit around waiting for the phone to ring. You have to write and develop projects for yourself, because casting people aren't always going to see you the way you want to be seen. Write a one-person show, shoot a short film, do plays, whatever - activity breeds activity. No one's interested in a stay-at-home actress.

Nothing has been handed to me my entire life. You have to go there and take it. My mom taught me that.

I knew I'd get an opportunity, and it's up to me to make the most of it whether I got drafted or not. If you can play, you'll get to play, regardless of that.

I didn't really have to struggle in the industry, but I've never shied away from hard work.

Sometimes you don't get in through the front door. Sometimes you don't get in through the back. Sometimes you got to climb through the window. That doesn't mean the opportunity wasn't there. There's a way; you've just got to find it.

I sometimes wonder if I pushed myself to get out there and meet people I'd get more work.

I was crazy poor, but I was learning and putting myself out there and getting hired to do whatever gig I could and auditioning.

I tell people that the best thing that can ever happen to you is getting fired, and you can either sink or swim, and I swam like hell. The reason why I swam the way I swam was because there was nothing else for me.

When I get the opportunity, I try my best.

When you can't wait for your ship to come in, you've got to row out to it.

When people say to me: "Oh don't worry, if one door closes another one opens..." If one door closes for me, go through the window - I'm not interested in waiting around for people to give me opportunities. I try and make things happen and if I am given opportunities I take them and work harder.

Success doesn't come to you; you must go to it. The trail is well traveled. If you want to walk it, you can.

Just because the road ahead is long, is no reason to slow down. Just because there is much work to be done, is no reason to get discouraged. It is a reason to get started, to grow, to find new ways, to reach within yourself and discover strength, commitment, and determination. The road ahead is long and difficult, but it’s filled with opportunity. Start what needs starting. Finish what needs finishing. Get on the road. Stay on the road. Don’t give up.

I just love people. I love this country. I am the American dream. I grew up by the airport with a dirt yard. Never in my life should I have been a success. So that's what I love about this country [USA], is you get out there and you have the opportunity and you work hard at it, and you can be a success.

People talk about getting lucky breaks in their careers. I’m living proof that the “lucky breaks” theory is simply wrong. You get to make your own luck... The world is run by those who show up…not those who wait to be asked.

You know, never say never.

The policy that can strike only while the iron is hot will be overcome by that perseverance, which ... can make that iron hot by striking and he that can only rule the storm must yield to him who can both raise and rule it.

I'm constantly reminding myself that the world owes us nothing. We have to make our way and we have to work hard, persevere and make our own way in the world because the world isn't waiting for us, so let's let the world know we are here.