The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.

— Margot Fonteyn Simpson's Contemporary Quotations‎ (1988)

Source and credibility

Wikiquote does not flag this quote as disputed or misattributed.

Source: As quoted in Simpson's Contemporary Quotations‎ (1988) by James Beasley Simpson; also quoted in Running on Empty: Meditations for Indispensable Women (1992) by Ellen Sue Stern, p. 235
Work: Simpson's Contemporary Quotations‎, 1988
Source quality: Secondhand citation Quoted from another book or article rather than from the original.

More by Margot Fonteyn

I need to have a purpose in life and for that I might sacrifice some of the luxuries that I enjoy; fortunately I am fairly adaptable. I try to be aware, flexible and unbiased in my thinking. If I have learnt anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?

Margot Fonteyn : Autobiography‎ (1975)

All Margot Fonteyn quotes →

Notes from Wikiquote

Paraphrased variants: The most important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous. Take your work seriously, but never yourself.

Topics

More quotes by Margot Fonteyn

Genius is another word for magic, and the whole point of magic is that it is inexplicable.

Thoughts from Earth (2004)

Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike.

Margot Fonteyn : Autobiography‎ (1975)

Minor things can become moments of great revelation when encountered for the very first time.

Margot Fonteyn : Autobiography‎ (1975)

If I have learnt anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?

Margot Fonteyn : Autobiography‎ (1975)

What a beautiful step! I shall never be able to do it.

Encyclopedia of World Biography (1998)

All Margot Fonteyn quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Margot Fonteyn (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.

The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.

Share this quote

Notes from Wikiquote

Topics

More quotes by Margot Fonteyn

You may also like

Attribution