Turned Down Quotes

• After being Turned Down by numerous Publishers, he had decided to write for Posterity.

  George Ade

  Writing, Belief, Publishers

  Fables in Slang (1900) p. 158

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• You can prepare all you want, but if you never roll the dice you'll never be successful.

  Shia LaBeouf

  Successful, Yale, Want

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• I was turned down by every record label in L.A. Perseverance is three quarters of the game. Talent's only a quarter. Being able to withstand the word 'no' over and over can build you a pretty tough skin. I knew if I just kept at it, at the very least I'd get better at my craft.

  Sheryl Crow

  Perseverance, Games, Skins

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• I'd be satisfied just coaching in high school. I turned down a number of colleges when I was teaching in South Bend, Indiana, before I went into the service. I honestly believe that if I hadn't enlisted in the service, I would never have left high school teaching. I'm sure I would have never left.

  John Wooden

  Believe, Teaching, School

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• I have turned down a lot of money for things that would have made me feel cheesy.

  Tom Petty

  Cheesy, Made, Feels

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• I'd love to do a golf movie. I turned down Don Johnson's role in 'Tin Cup.' I regret that.

  Dennis Quaid

  Regret, Golf, Tin

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• I turned down 'Harry Potter' and 'Spider-Man,' two movies that I knew would be phenomenally successful, because I had already made movies like that before and they offered no challenge to me. I don't need my ego to be reminded.

  Steven Spielberg

  Successful, Men, Two

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• The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed: the major record labels let Apple take over the digital-music business; Blockbuster refused to buy Netflix for a mere fifty million dollars; Excite turned down the chance to acquire Google for less than a million dollars.

  James Surowiecki

  Opportunity, Apples, Google

  "Groupon Clipping". www.newyorker.com. December 20 & 27, 2010.

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• He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and with no more idea of being turned down.

  Hunter S. Thompson

  Jobs, Ideas, Way

  Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “The Rum Diary: A Novel”, p.165, Simon and Schuster

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• And I believe in the 13 years Judge Roberts was there, he never turned down a request to give some assistance on a pro-bono case, and this was no different.

  Fred Thompson

  Believe, Years, Giving

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• For a while, I was saying 'no' way too often. I turned down 'An Officer and A Gentleman,' 'Splash' and 'Midnight Express.' I could name you tons more. I would go off and experience life instead of working - I was learning to fly jets, went on an African safari, sailed the Caribbean - which wasn't necessarily bad.

  John Travolta

  Names, Gentleman, Midnight

  Parade Interview, parade.com. December 4, 2007.

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• People think I appear on television to promote my image. That's not fair. I hate filming. I turned down 'Strictly Come Dancing.' But television is a wonderful opportunity to promote scientific ideas. 'Super Doctors' is a very thoughtful piece.

  Robert Winston

  Hate, Thoughtful, Opportunity

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• Sometimes, I think I could have been a major movie star with the vast mansion and staff. I look at my Volvo and think it could be a limousine. I think of the roles I turned down. But then I wouldn't have had any children.

  Kristin Scott Thomas

  Movie, Stars, Children

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• She took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling for a long moment. A raindrop moved slowly down her neck; he watched as it turned down the slope of her breast to disappear inside the collar of her shirt. He was seriously contemplating becoming jealous of a droplet of water. Yorkshire was obviously damaging to his sanity.

  Sarah MacLean

  Jealous, Long, Water

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• I turned down twelve films last year... Huge money films, but I had no respect for the writer or the work.

  Shia LaBeouf

  Years, Lasts, Twelve

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• The Dancing Girls of Lahore was offered to dozens of British publishers and was turned down by everyone. It is still on offer in the U.K., but I'm not confident there will be any takers.

  Louise Brown

  Girl, Dancing, Lahore

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• In 1980, Atari was bringing in around two billion dollars in revenue and Chuck E. Cheese's some five hundred million. I still didn't feel too bad that I had turned down a one-third ownership of Apple - although I was beginning to think it might turn out to be a mistake.

  Nolan Bushnell

  Mistake, Thinking, Chuck E Cheese

  Nolan Bushnell, Gene Stone (2014). “Finding the Next Steve Jobs: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture Talent”, p.14, Simon and Schuster

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• I turned down many chances to be on TV before 'Pop Idol' because I really wasn't interested in being famous. I didn't need it and didn't want it.

  Simon Cowell

  Idols, Needs, Want

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• I've turned down jobs because I've said, 'Honestly, I can't find my way in. I can't do it. I love you, as a director. I think the script is good. You deserve better than I think I can do.'

  David Duchovny

  I Love You, Jobs, Thinking

  "David Duchovny Talks GOATS, CALIFORNICATION, Working in TV Versus Film and Possible Future THE X-FILES Movies". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. August 11, 2012.

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• I turned down some movies that were quite good. mainly on the basis of taste.

  Dick Van Dyke

  Taste, Bases

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• I turned down a movie this summer because it was nine weeks in Vancouver and my oldest daughter is 14. I've got four more summers with her. I'm not giving away nine weeks of her summer to go do a silly movie.

  Jeff Foxworthy

  Movie, Summer, Daughter

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

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• Everything I got comes from Elijah Mohammed. He taught me who I was, he made me proud, he made me fearless, he made me love my own, I’ve turned down millions to keep from selling out my people, the beautiful name Mohammed Ali. And white people cannot destroy me like they have other big ministers of his in the past by telling us oh, you speak good, you should be the leader.White people make me thinkin' that I'm smart, and as soon as I leave Elijah you can get me. But as long as I stay with the Honorable Elijah Mohammed I'm safe.

  Muhammad Ali

  Beautiful, Smart, Past

  Source: thefederalist.com

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• I know I did the right thing by taking time off to raise my son. But it also came at a price. I turned down many opportunities over the years because I didn't want to leave him for long periods of time. And in Hollywood, as in any business, the calls stop coming when you don't answer.

  Arsenio Hall

  Son, Opportunity, Years

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• I am aware that somewhere along the line, I've subconsciously turned down the pitch of my speech, like a silencer of a gun that softens the sound of its firing. Now, even when I yell, I don't feel like I am using my full voice.

  Koren Zailckas

  Gun, Voice, Sound

  Koren Zailckas (2006). “Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood”, p.8, Penguin

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• The panther prowled around me in a loose, wide circle. Its mouth turned down, almost in a pout, and it seemed disappointed that I wasn't going to run away. Or scream, at the very least. Its tail, which was at least three feet long, twitched back and forth in what seemed to be annoyance. Or maybe anticipation. I didn't know. I'd always been more of a dog person. I cleared my throat, and the panther stopped and flicked up one of its rounded ears. Listening. "Um, nice kitty?

  Jennifer Estep

  Running, Dog, Nice

  Jennifer Estep (2012). “Mythos Academy Bundle: First Frost, Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost & Dark Frost”, p.160, Kensington Publishing Corp.

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