"This has always been a motto of mine: Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work."

Work

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on work by Bette Davis resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in work is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

More quotes by Bette Davis  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Bette Davis

"Basically, I believe the world is a jungle, and if it's not a bit of a jungle in the home, a child cannot possibly be fit to enter the outside world."

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"The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

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More about Work

"Stand-up came out of three things. Frustration, necessity and arrogance. I didn't have a great career ahead of me in anything. Someone literally said to me, 'You should try stand-up,' and took me to a venue."

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"You can't but know that if you can capture the emotions of the audience as well as their minds, the play will work better, because it's a narrative art form."

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"Temporary success can be achieved in spite of lack of other fundamental qualities, but no advancements can be maintained without hard work."

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"Individuality is founded in feeling and the recesses of feeling, the darker, blinder strata of character, are the only places in the world in which we catch real fact in the making, and directly perceive how events happen, and how work is actually done."

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