15 Inspiring U.S. President Quotes that Screenwriters Can Learn From

Knowledge and wisdom comes from all walks of life and can be applied to almost any context if you look at it from the right perspective.

In celebration of the United States of America's Independence Day, here are 50 quotes from U.S. Presidents that all screenwriters can learn from.

1. “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who make excuses.” ― George Washington (1732–1799)

This is perhaps the most deadly plague that can spread through a screenwriter's mind — excuses. You can blame Hollywood, contest judges, work schedules, and any other outside elements, but in the end, it's on you to break through those Hollywood barriers.

2. “Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.” ― John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)

The screenwriters that make it are those that have courage and don't cower when obstacles present themselves. They're the ones that persevere through the seemingly endless difficulties that Hollywood is sure to bombard them with.

It's not easy. It never will be. Your dream will never come to light the way you want it to. Have courage and persevere through anything and you'll surely see success.

3. “You don’t know what you can miss before you try.” ― Franklin Pierce (1804–1869)

If you're trying to choose between any number of concepts for your next script, never pick the easiest one because it will be the most simple to tackle. The concepts that seem hard to crack or impossible to write are usually the ones that stand out more in Hollywood's eyes — at least at the spec writing level. You won't know what you can or can't write until you actually try.

4. “I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.” ― Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)

When you first start out as a screenwriter, you're sure to progress slower than those that have been doing it for quite awhile. But that doesn't matter. The key thing to remember is to always move forward with everything you do.

Don't linger on one script for multiple years. Write one and then move onto the next. With every script you tackle, the better your writing becomes.

Don't let the scenes you write meander. The story must always be moving forward with each and every moment in your script.

Whether you're moving fast or slow, just be sure to be moving forward in all aspects of your screenwriting.

5. “There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness or courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. They teach the truth by living it.” ― James Garfield (1831–1881) 

When you pursue your Hollywood ambitions, always do so with kindness, courage, loyalty, and integrity. During the journey, you may take on any number of roles — screenwriter, intern, assistant, development executive, producer, director, etc. Be sure to be the best possible person you can be as you do so. Even in lower tier Hollywood jobs that you take on while waiting for your big break — mail room messenger, studio security guard, barista, etc.

Always exude kindness, courage, loyalty, and integrity, no matter where you are on the Hollywood totem pole. People will notice and they'll likely be more willing to take a chance on you.

6. "In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline with all of them came first." ― Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)

Man or woman, young or old, in the end, succeeding in screenwriting will require immense self-discipline. You can't rely on writing groups, mentors, agents, managers, development executives, or producers. If you can't self-discipline yourself, you'll never make it as a professional screenwriter.

Pick a deadline — and stick to it. Have high expectations of yourself. Challenge yourself more than most others would. That's how any great screenwriter, any great director, any great actor, any great athlete, and any great leader has prevailed and succeeded. None of them ever relied on anyone else but themselves, even if they did get help along the way.

7. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” ― Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)

Screenwriting is hard. In fact, it's damn near impossible to achieve the great success that we read about. Failure is a rite of passage that can last for years — decades for some.

While most won't make it for whatever reason, the fact that you're trying makes you a success story above most others in this world. Most people don't pursue their dreams. They eventually live their lives with regret, always asking themselves, "What if?"

Failure is hard. But it's not nearly as difficult as living with the fact that you never tried.

8. “Be patient and calm; no one can catch a fish with anger.” ― Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)

Cynicism leads to anger and anger leads you nowhere.

It's not Hollywood's fault that there are tens of thousands of people trying to do what you're doing. It's not Hollywood's fault that they have to reject 99.9% of them.

If you let that cynicism take hold of you and turn into anger towards the very industry that you're trying to break into, you'll never make any progress.

Be positive and learn from your mistakes and rejections.

9. “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight — it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)

Know that you, the screenwriter, can out-write the best of them. It doesn't matter if you're not Quentin Tarantino, Aaron Sorkin, Nancey Meyers, or Diablo Cody. All that matters is the talent you have, harbor, nurture, and display within your writing.

Just write great scripts. They'll get noticed, even if you're not a Hollywood big shot.

10. “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” ― John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)

Conforming to the standards and trends of Hollywood won't allow you, or Hollywood, to grow. Screenwriters need to always be pushing the envelope. Yes, you have to play their game, however, you also have to find ways to create hybrids of both what they want and what new and out-of-the-box ideas and concepts that you can bring to the table.

11. "You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can." ― Jimmy Carter (born 1924)

First and foremost, you have to believe in yourself as a screenwriter. You have to believe that you can make that deadline. You have to believe that you can crack that story. And sometimes, you'll find by the end of the writing day you've discovered that you have done it even better than you thought you could.

12. "Never let the things you can’t do stop you from doing what you can." ― Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)

If you can't move to Los Angeles, but still have this screenwriting dream, don't let that stop you. If you can't quit your day job to focus solely on your scripts, don't let that stop you. If you can't seem to achieve anything beyond rejection after rejection, don't let that stop you.

All screenwriters have to find their own path. Some may be easier than others, but all are difficult. The ones that succeed are the ones that find their way under, over, around, or through any obstacle that comes their way.

13. “I have opinions of my own – strong opinions – but I don’t always agree with them.” ― George H.W. Bush (born 1924)

Your characters and stories are dear to you. Your first instinct when getting feedback or studio notes will always be to defend them. You'll have your own strong opinions to convey, however, always keep an open mind. Always remember that someone else might have a better take, a better perspective, or a better idea overall.

In Hollywood, you must be collaborative. Both film and television are collaborative mediums so be sure to communicate your opinions, but always be willing to not agree with some in the end. That's collaboration. And that's how you accept feedback as well.

If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.

14. "If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." ― Bill Clinton (born 1946)  

You need to fail before you prevail. There's no way around that. Mistakes and rejections shouldn't be looked upon as negative experiences. They should be treated as gifts to help you grow as a person and as a screenwriter.

So when you start collecting those rejections and ingesting that negative feedback when you put your scripts out there, use that information to better yourself and your writing. And yes, never quit. If screenwriting is the right path for you (see below), learn from your mistakes and rejection and never, ever quit.

15. “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress” ― Barack Obama (born 1961)

Screenwriting isn't for everyone. Nor is acting, directing, or producing. It's hard and they can't let everyone in.

As you pursue such dreams, in the end you might find that whatever path you're on isn't for you. Many that pursue particular dreams often end up discovering that what they were striving to achieve wasn't what they really wanted in the end. Many studio executives (not necessarily on the creative level), managers, agents, studio accountants, marketing executives, and more once thought that screenwriting, acting, directing, or producing were their dreams.

Point being, there are many paths to take in Hollywood. Eventually, you'll reach a point where your gut will tell you whether or not the path you're on is right for you. If not, there's no shame in that. You're being lead another way. If so, and you're willing to keep walking that path, you'll surely make progress with a lot of hard work.