Could Have Been Quotes - Page 2

• The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.

  Wes Moore

  Tragedy, Stories, Chill

  Wes Moore (2010). “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates”, p.11, Spiegel & Grau

  30 Copy quote

  Show source

• It was not his habit to dwell on what could have been, but what could never be.

  Alan Paton

  Habit, Has Beens

  4 Copy quote

• I honestly didn't even know who the coach was when I was coming to New York. I just wanted to win a championship; I didn't even know who was coaching. I didn't care. It could have been Aunt Jemima. They could have had the syrup coaching. I was coming here regardless. I just wanted to win a championship here.

  Metta World Peace

  New York, Aunt, Winning

  49 Copy quote

• With all the opportunities I had, I could have done more. And if I'd done more, I could have been quite remarkable.

  Katharine Hepburn

  Opportunity, Done, Remarkable

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• This is a sad, regrettable day that all of us wish could have been avoided.

  Gary Bettman

  Nhl, Wish, Avoided

  "NHL cancel remainder of the season". www.cnn.com. February 16, 2005.

  52 Copy quote

  Show source

• I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.

  Nikki Giovanni

  Inspirational, Life, Inspiring

  Nikki Giovanni (1988). “Sacred cows-- and other edibles”, William Morrow & Co

  55 Copy quote

  Show source

• She was convinced that she could have been happy with him, when it was no longer likely they should meet.

  Jane Austen

  Should, Darcy, Happy With Him

  Jane Austen (1813). “Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. : In Three Volumes”, p.149

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• The Human Species could have been great but instead we became satisfied with lights on our tennis shoes.

  George Carlin

  Light, Shoes, Tennis

  10 Copy quote

• When the music stopped, it could have been forever since we'd begun. My grandfather took a step back, and the light grew yellow at his back. 'I'm going,' he said. 'Where?' I asked. 'Don't worry, sweetheart. You're so close.' He turned and walked away, disappearing rapidly into spots and dust. Infinity.

  Alice Sebold

  Light, Dust, Yellow

  4 Copy quote

• If I could have been a marine biologist I would have, but I didn't have that kind of intelligence. Numbers were never my strong point.

  Nicolas Cage

  Strong, Marine, Numbers

  11 Copy quote

• Don't "pole-vault over mouse truds" - by the time you've discussed the many options available to you, the problem itself could have been long behind you had you simply disposed of those rodent droppings with a simple tissue and dumped them into the garbage!

  Wayne Dyer

  Simple, Long, Rodents

  10 Copy quote

• I've been a sports fan all my life, and like most other actors, I'm convinced I could have been a pro athlete if Hollywood hadn't come calling.

  Jamie Foxx

  Sports, Athlete, Hollywood

  4 Copy quote

• Representatives of the American intelligence agencies - and I hope they won't be angry - but they could have been more professional, and the diplomats as well. After they found out that he was flying to us, and that he was flying as a transit passenger, there was pressure from all sides - from the Americans, from the Europeans - instead of just letting him go to a country where they could operate easily.

  Vladimir Putin

  Country, Gay, Agency

  4 Copy quote

• He who could have been a torch and stoops to being a pair of jaws is a deserter.

  Jose Marti

  Torches, Pairs, Stoops

  "Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos" edited by Carlos Ripoll, 1994.

  16 Copy quote

  Show source

• I could have been a cult writer if I'd kept writing surrealistic novels. But I wanted to break into the mainstream, so I had to prove that I could write a realistic book.

  Haruki Murakami

  Book, Writing, Realistic

  4 Copy quote

• These days, I find I'm applying a little more patience to my process. If I look back on my work, I can see those songs I bailed on could have been better, that had those great two verses and then I kind of coasted from there. These days, if a song is giving me trouble, I put it aside and pick it up later, and keep doing that, for a year if I have to, until it takes shape.

  Ani DiFranco

  Song, Writing, Years

  4 Copy quote

• What if she was meant to be, or could have been, someone important in my life? I think that's what scares me: the randomness of everything. That the people who could be important to you might just pass you by. Or you pass them by.

  Peter Cameron

  Thinking, Walking Away, People

  "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You".

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• But that quickly faded, and he frowned. "You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?" Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the bandage. "Man, you would be so embarrassed if I said it was something else." Michael looked blank. "I'm a girl, Michael, it could have been all natural, you know. Tampons?

  Rachel Caine

  Girl, Men, Bleeding

  Rachel Caine (2007). “Midnight Alley: The Morganville Vampires”, p.84, Penguin

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• They found out about him in July and stayed angry all through August. They tried to kill him in September. It was way too soon. They weren't ready. The attempt was a failure. It could have been a disaster, but it was actually a miracle. Because nobody noticed.

  Lee Child

  July, August, Miracle

  Lee Child (2001). “Echo Burning: A Jack Reacher Novel”, p.292, Penguin

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• Sometimes you imagine that everything could have been different for you, that if only you had gone right one day when you chose to go left, you would be living a life you could never have anticipated. But at other times you think there was no other way forward--that you were always bound to end up exactly where you have.

  Kevin Brockmeier

  Thinking, Way Forward, One Day

  Kevin Brockmeier (2008). “The View from the Seventh Layer: Stories”, p.123, Vintage

  37 Copy quote

  Show source

• That could have been his second yellow card - if he'd already got his first one of course

  Trevor Brooking

  Football, Yellow, Cards

  6 Copy quote

• The biggest problem in the world could have been solved when it was small.

  Witter Bynner

  Mistake, Decision, World

  19 Copy quote

• A day will come when a cannon will be exhibited in museums, just as instruments of torture are now, and the people will be astonished that such a thing could have been.

  Victor Hugo

  Fighting, Museums, People

  23 Copy quote

• We were in the Arabian Desert for nine months. And I was having the time of my life. It could have been an archeological expedition, a military expedition.

  Peter O'Toole

  Travel, Military, Nine

  81 Copy quote

• Everywhere I go, I'm asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.

  Flannery O'Connor

  Education, Teacher, Women

  Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose "The Nature and Aims of Fiction" (1969)

  13 Copy quote

  Show source