Wallace Stegner Quotes

There's very few people - like Shakespeare - who, no matter what, were gonna do what they did. For the rest of us, there's a lot of events that have to happen in order for things to end up the way they are.

I think there's a million talented people out there, it's just a matter of luck a lot of the time.

Do not miss a single chance - not one single opportunity - to tell someone how wonderful they are, how special they are, how important to you they are, how incredible as a person they are, how beautiful they are inside and out. Do not miss a single opening in which to insert such a comment, genuinely felt and genuinely meant.

I do love compliments, yet I'm often embarrassed to say what I think to the person when I get a compliment. I so often feel that they have not gone far enough.

I believe that you should praise people whenever you can; it causes them to respond as a thirsty plant responds to water.

Being snubbed is not always a bad thing at awards shows because you end up getting a lot of people coming up to you and telling you how great you are.

I think girls in general need to be more complimentary... It just makes people feel better.

Never let an opportunity pass to give a well-deserved compliment.

Consider carefully before you say a hard word to a man, but never let a chance to say a good one go by. Praise judiciously bestowed is money invested.

Tony Bennett said to me, "Wow, your talent is amazing." Maybe he's a bore, maybe he's a jerk, but when he said that to me, I didn't need anything more than that.

I am not always happy with the compliments Estonia has received.

The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for luck.

I've come to learn that you can be very, very talented, but if you're not at the right place at the right time... It's a lot of luck.

Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret.

Acting is a mix of luck and choice. I got lucky.

I guess other people's compliments motivate you.

Ballplayers, like everyone else, like to get told they did something right.

You can be great only if it is your destiny.

Ability is nothing without opportunity.

You have to be talented. You have to work hard; you have to get the right pieces flowin' for you at the right time. And that's just what happened to me. I can't explain what happened.

By patting somebody on the back, a boy or a girl, a professional dancer, male, female, it really makes people feel good and I know it certainly made me feel good.

I was given a talent to play cricket. I don't know why I was given it. But I was. I owe it to all those who wish it had been them to give of my best, every day.

You are only as great as the opportunities that are given to you.

Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck.

There are many people that struggle and struggle and have all the talent in the world, but for some reason they are not successful. You never know why those things happen.