People with honorary awards are looked upon with disfavor. Would you let an honorary mechanic fix your brand-new Mercedes?
—Neil Simon
Wisdom doesn’t come with age. Wisdom comes with wisdom.
—Neil Simon
Sudden money is going from zero to two hundred dollars a week. The rest doesn’t count.
—Neil Simon
Topics: Money
There’s no such thing as a sure thing. That’s why they call it gambling.
—Neil Simon
Writing is an escape from a world that crowds me. I like being alone in a room. It’s almost a form of medication- an investigation of my own life. It has nothing to do with “I’ve got to get another play.”
—Neil Simon
Sports is the only entertainment where, no matter how many times you go back, you still don’t know the ending.
—Neil Simon
Don’t listen to those who say, “It’s not done that way.” Maybe it’s not, but maybe you will. Don’t listen to those who say, “You’re taking too big a chance.” Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most importantly, don’t listen when the little voice of fear inside of you rears its ugly head and says, “They’re all smarter than you out there. They’re more talented, they’re taller, blonder, prettier, luckier and have connections … ” I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you’ll be a person worthy of your own respect.
—Neil Simon
Topics: Risk
If you can go through life without ever experiencing pain you probably haven’t been born yet. And if you’ve gone through pain and think you know exactly why, you haven’t examined all the options.
—Neil Simon
Topics: Self-Discovery
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Ben Hecht American Screenwriter
Arthur Miller American Playwright
Eugene O’Neill American Playwright
Lily Tomlin American Comedy Actress
Mario Puzo American Novelist
Carl Reiner American Comedian
Orson Welles American Film Director, Actor
Truman Capote American Novelist
Stephen Sondheim American Musician
Cicely Tyson American Actress