Maureen O'Hara Quotes

I've been accused of being too flexible, too willing to mold myself to men, and that's something I'm constantly working on.

I don't make demands. I don't tell you how it should be. I'll give you options, and it's up to you to select or throw 'em away. That should be the headline: If you're insecure, don't call.

I'm in control of myself. I take yes or no from no one.

I never allow myself to be pressured.

You have a right to say no. Most of us have very weak and flaccid 'no' muscles. We feel guilty for saying no. We get ostracized and challenged for saying no, so we forget it's our choice. Your 'no' muscle has to be built up to get to a place where you can say, 'I don't care if that's what you want. I don't want that. No.'

I know how to stand up for myself. I say no when I want to, yes when I want to, and no one can really change my mind.

I was taught to be demure, so it was harder for me to learn how to stand up for myself and go, 'What do I want? What are my desires?'

I have never given others a chance to exploit me.

I made a decision a few years back to never again do anything professionally that I didn't want to do.

No one is going to tell me I'm too small to do whatever, to do anything. That's not up to them, and I'll never give anyone that power to say that.

I'd rather believe in my own choice and see it all go wrong than do something I'm not fully convinced of and later feel guilty about it.

I'm not trying to keep anybody happy.

A real woman is someone who knows what she wants. If you want to stay home, that's fine, but you have to be clear-eyed.

Sticking to your values, listening to your instincts, making your own choices is so important.

When you make the right decision, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.

I just have a way about me where people know that they don't tell me what to do, they kind of just wait for me to do it.

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

My advice to women in general: Even if you're doing a nine-to-five job, treat yourself like a boss. Not arrogant, but be sure of what you want - and don't allow people to run anything for you without your knowledge.

I have made the choices that work best for me. I know I cannot please everyone, and that's fine.

If you allow men to use you for your own purposes, they will use you for theirs.

I always say it's worth doing what you want to do, not letting people manipulate you. It's worth holding out. It's worth having pride.

Nothing that you do will ever feel good if you let people convince you that you have no choice.

I'm a very loyal person and I allowed myself to be defined as somebody who was doing Gordon's bidding. I should have fought back harder to define myself at an earlier stage.

Not 100 percent of the time, but I feel like I'm good at being direct. I know what I want, and I feel like I can tell people, 'I want this; I don't want this. I want you; I don't want you. I hope for this, and this is right, and this is wrong for me.'

I'm going to stand up for what I need to do, not what everybody else wants me to do.