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I’m not trying to create some impression about myself. That doesn’t interest me.

Alan Alda

I’m in the real world, some people try to steal from me, and I stop them, frequently, take them to court. I love a good lawsuit. It’s fun.
ALAN ALDA

Court Frequent People Real Some Steal Stop Them
If I can’t get the girl, at least give me more money.
ALAN ALDA

Girl Give Lease Money More
It’s not an epitaph. I felt I could look back at my life and get a good story out of it. It’s a picture of somebody trying to figure things out.
ALAN ALDA

Figure Good Life Out Somebody Story Try
You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.
ALAN ALDA

Bus Do Get Hard Know Quite Risk Work
There are two things that I get a lot of pleasure from in my life, and that is, doing what I know how to do well – that really makes me happy.
ALAN ALDA

Happy Life Make Pleasure Really Thing Well
I guess in a world uncomfortable with uncertainty, an unbeliever must be an atheist, and possibly an infidel.
ALAN ALDA

Atheist Guess Infidel Possibly Unbeliever Uncertain Uncomfortable World
It’s too bad I’m not as wonderful a person as people say I am, because the world could use a few people like that.
ALAN ALDA

Bad Few People Person Took Wonderful World
It tends to break out at unexpected times like a rare virus and mostly people with compassion and understanding are susceptible to it.
ALAN ALDA

Beak Rare Susceptible Tend Understanding Unexpected Upset Virus
Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe – you can’t take a taxi.
ALAN ALDA

Create Existence Originally Own Territory Unexplored
I try to find out what there is in the character that in a way, you can’t put into words. If I could put it into words, then it wouldn’t be a performance. And if I do put it into words, as I play it, I start to get boxed in by those words.
ALAN ALDA

Character Find Put Way Word
We’re highly social animals – I’m told by scientists that what makes us different from other animals is an acute social awareness, which is what has made us so successful.
ALAN ALDA

Acute Animal Awareness Different Highly Other Scientist Social Successful
I was always interested in figuring things out. I’d do experiments, like combining things I found around the house to see what would happen if I put them together.
ALAN ALDA

Always Combine Experiment Figure Found Happen House Interest Thing Together
[You have to be] willing to be changed by the person you’re listening to, where you’re not just waiting for a pause so you can say your thing, but you’re actually letting them have an effect on you if they can.
ALAN ALDA

Actual Effect Let Listen Pause Person Wait Will Change
If you don’t listen deeply, the connection won’t take place.
ALAN ALDA

Connections Listening Waiting
How can I ever hope to communicate something to you unless I get signals back from you that I’m on the right track or that I’ve started at some place that you’re familiar with?
ALAN ALDA

Back Communicate Familiar Home Right Signal Something Start Track
In 2003, I almost died of an intestinal blockage when I was on a mountain in Chile, filming a segment for ‘Scientific American Frontiers.’
ALAN ALDA

Blockage Country Film Frontier Intestinal Mountain Segment
Working on The West Wing was similar in many ways to my experience on M*A*S*H, because you had people willing to work late at night to get it just right.
ALAN ALDA

Late Many Night People Similar Way West Willing Wing Work
Our lives depend on good communication. Good communication helps personal relationships, it helps bosses and employees get along better. We rely on it.
ALAN ALDA

Communication Depend Good Live Our Place
My relationship with science is as someone who’s curious and hungry to know, hungry to understand. So all I have to offer is my ignorance and my curiosity, which is a good combination, as long as they come together.
ALAN ALDA

Curious Hungry Relationship Science Someone Understand
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while or the light won’t come in. If you challenge your own, you won’t be so quick to accept the unchallenged assumptions of others.
ALAN ALDA

Assumption Come Every Light Once Scrub Window World
Selling out was frowned on, whereas now you can major in it at business school.
ALAN ALDA

Business Frown Major Out School Sell
Jean Paul Sartre says in “No Exit” that hell is other people. Well, our task in life is to make it heaven. Or at least earth.
ALAN ALDA

Earth Exit Heaven Make Other People Say
Why do ordinary people become the target of this curiosity simply by virtue of the fact that other people recognize their names and faces but know nothing else about them? Why do we care what they think, what they wear, what they eat?
ALAN ALDA

Act Care Curiosity Eat Face Name Nothing Ordinary People Recognize Simply Target Virtue Wear
They’re supposed to be gigantic explosions and they’re just these insignificant little dots. If you step back from things far enough you realize how important and powerful you are.
ALAN ALDA

Back Dot Explosion Gigantic Important Insignificant Little Powerful Step Suppose Thing
I found I wasn’t asking good enough questions because I assumed I knew something.
ALAN ALDA

Ask Assume Enough Found Good Knew Question Something
I let a tarantula walk across my hand, and I ate rat soup.
ALAN ALDA

Across Hand Ate Let Rat Soup Tarantula
I have a final word of advice to our students. If you work very, very hard, this is the kind of actor, writer and director you may turn out to be, and if you work extra hard, this is the kind of person you may turn out to be.
ALAN ALDA

Advice Director Extra Final Kind Person Student Word Writer

I’m not trying to create some impression about myself. That doesn’t interest me.

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I’m not trying to create some impression about myself. That doesn’t interest me.

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