Wallace Stevens Quotes

What you do off the job is determining factor in how far you will go on the job.

All I like to do is work every day and have an idea what I want to do.

The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working.

I'm just like anybody else: I have stuff to do in the day, whether that's writing a song or recording a song. I try to treat everything I do as just work.

I remember so well my father's complete concentration when he went to the studio. Everything he did, every movement he made, he did with complete concentration. Then, after he had finished work, he would go to the beach or whatever, and then he would enjoy play and forget about his work.

All one's work might have been better done; but this is a sort of reflection a worker must put aside courageously if he doesn't mean every one of his conceptions to remain forever a private vision, an evanescent reverie.

I do the same thing everyday. I go to work and paint. I try to turn out as many pictures as I can.

I think writers can get a little melodramatic sometimes about their work, and it helps me not to do that, to just say, "Well, this is how I make a living, and I need to become a very good craftsman."

The latest gospel in this world is, know thy work and do it.

I like to work. I don't like to disrupt my equilibrium. I don't like to change my head. I'd rather be a third-rate actor. It's a job, and I'm dedicated in my way. I enjoy it. I'm serious about it. But if it doesn't come off, I'm not going to die.

I think people have a tendency to think of a writer as someone who wants to go take a walk, maybe case a library... I think that's great sometimes but we really treat it like Monday through Friday come in early. You're not late for inspiration. You're working through it no matter what is happening even if you're writing a terrible version.

You'll never prove you're too good for a job by not doing your best.

Writing's not precious to me. It's not a thing that requires specific environment. You know, it's my job. Just like anybody with a job, you have to do your job when you don't feel like it, regardless of how good or bad the conditions are, regardless of how good or bad you might feel on any particular day.

Everybody must have projects all the time. The maximum must be extracted from leisure ... The whole of life must look like a job, and by this resemblance conceal what is not yet directly devoted to pecuniary gain.

I always sort of talk about - to myself at least, or to my friends, about wanting to just keep life very simple. I've found it most simple here in New York. You know, it's basically I have a, in a way, a 9-to-5 job, you know? I do eight shows a week. I live in New York City. I get to walk everywhere, and you know, just be one of the people of the city. And it's actually wonderful.

It's a lot harder to keep your cool than it is to lose it. That's on any work ethic. Even if you're a big producer on a movie set, or whatever, it's a lot harder to be a pro than be a baby on your crew. That's one work ethic to keep in mind, as one bad apple could give five people a bad day, when that one person could've stepped up their own efforts a little more and not bring anyone else down.

Being a professional means doing your job on the days you don't want to do it

A really good style comes only when a man has become as good as he can be. Style is character. A good style cannot come from a bad undisciplined character.

Habits are where our lives and careers and bodies are made.

Creating art is a habit, one that we practice daily or hourly until we get good at it

Every day is a work day, and I have to work my ass off just as much as any other guy, doing whatever job they're doing. I believe in commitment and hard work, and hopefully, after that, success comes.

Work-do plays, learn your craft, and go to school. Keep working. Nobody is going to give you jobs for going to parties or any of that nonsense. Go out, look around, do things.

Habit is the daily battleground of character

My mom worked in restaurants for 60 years, and what I learned from her is a lot. But if I had to boil it down, take your work very seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. Work harder than everyone else and never complain about it. Don't go to bed if you're not proud of the product of your day; stay awake until you are.

Discipline is the servant of inspiration.