I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up. Kirk Douglas More Quotes by Kirk Douglas More Quotes From Kirk Douglas My mother and my father were illiterate immigrants from Russia. When I was a child they were constantly amazed that I could go to a building and take a book on any subject. They couldn't believe this access to knowledge we have here in America. They couldn't believe that it was free. Kirk Douglas motherfatherchildren You haven't learned how to live until you've learned how to give. Kirk Douglas havensgiving In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail. Kirk Douglas failingbraveorder Know what a loner is? He's a born cripple. He's a cripple because the only person he can live with is himself. It's his life, the way he wants to live. It's all for him. Kirk Douglas lonerwantway All children are natural actors, and I'm still a kid. If you grow up completely, you can never be an actor. Kirk Douglas growing-upkidschildren Now, why is it that most of us can talk openly about the illnesses of our bodies, but when it comes to our brain and illnesses of the mind we clam up and because we clam up, people with emotional disorders feel ashamed, stigmatized, and don't seek the help that can make the difference. Kirk Douglas differencesemotionalpeople Obey the voice within - it commands us to give of ourselves and help others. As long as we have the capacity to give, we are alive Kirk Douglas voiceinspirationhelping-others Unfortunately, once I did learn to smoke, I couldn't stop. I escalated to two packs a day very quickly, and stayed that way for about ten years. When I decided to stop, I adopted the method that my father had used when he quit. He would carry a cigarette in his shirt pocket, and every time he felt like smoking, he would pull out the cigarette and confront it: "Who stronger? You? Me?" Always the answer was the same: "I stronger." Back the cigarette would go, until the next craving. It worked for him, and it worked for me. Kirk Douglas funnyfatheryears My mother, we were a very poor family. When I was a kid, we would be in our little room, and there would be a knock on the door almost every night with a hobo begging for food. Even though we didn't even have enough to eat, my mother always found something to give them. Kirk Douglas mothernightkids The biggest lie is the lie we tell ourselves in the distorted visions we have of ourselves, blocking out some sections, enhancing others. What remains are not the cold facts of life, but how we perceive them. That's really who we are. Kirk Douglas lies-we-tell-ourselvesblocklying My kids never had the advantages I had. I was born poor. Kirk Douglas advantagepoorkids A stroke is a very difficult thing. You get depressed. . . . What I found was this: the cure for depression is to think of others, to do for others. You can always find something to be grateful for. Kirk Douglas gratitudegratefulthinking Life is like a B-picture script! It is that corny. If I had my life story offered to me to film, I'd turn it down. Kirk Douglas movielife-is-likeinspiring When I produced Spartacus, the writer was Dalton Trumbo, who spent a year in jail because he would not answer McCarthy's questions about other people. He submitted the picture under the false name of Sam Jackson. Kirk Douglas jailnamesyears The only advantage I have found in being Jewish is that I can be openly anti-Semitic. Kirk Douglas anti-semiticadvantagefound On a crowded bus in Israel, a mother was speaking to her son in Yiddish. An Israeli woman reprimanded her. "You should be speaking Hebrew. Why are you talking to him in Yiddish?" The mother answered, "I don't want he should forget he's a Jew." Kirk Douglas humormotherfunny You have not learned to live until you have learned to give Kirk Douglas giving I'm concerned that the world is a mess. That's why when I wrote my last book, Let's Face It, I dedicated it to the younger generation because, let's face it, the world is in a mess. Right now, the young people will inherit that mess. I think we have to do everything we can. Kirk Douglas bookpeoplethinking I don't need a critic to tell me I'm an actor. I make my own way. Nobody's my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss. Kirk Douglas bossactorsneeds Why can't a woman be more like a dog, huh? So sweet, loving, attentive. Kirk Douglas dogsweetfunny
