Guy Fieri quotes: extra-crispy content from the face of the Food Network.
“First you have to define what success is for you, then you can start to move toward it. Everybody has their own personal definition of success, so all I say is set your goals at what you want to be. Set your goals at how you want to live. Set your goals of what you’re going to stand for. Once you form those opinions or set those parameters, then I think the path is much more clear.”
“Then remember nothing is free. Nothing I’ve ever seen worth having is for free. Everything takes time, energy, effort, respect, love. It takes all of that. It’s tough work, but if you really love it, 12 hour days aren’t as bad. If it’s something you didn’t love, 12 hour days would be impossible.”
“It’s never too late to get good at something.”
“I was raised with hippie parents, so I get down with the positive. I don’t pay attention to the negative.”
“It’s okay to make mistakes. Try different things.”
“The thing I have to be willing to do is work – I think I’m the one that is going to actually copyright the term 25/8. You ever hear of the term 25/8? It’s the cousin of 24/7. I have to go 25/8.”
“You have to be confident in who you are and what you’re doing. Of course, you try to evolve. I would never tell you, ‘Today is the best I will ever be.’ I’m always trying to be a better chef, a better dad, a better person.”
“Don’t be blind to the environment that you’re in, but be you. There’s nothing worse than getting somewhere not being yourself. And there’s nothing worse than being yourself and not having a chance to get somewhere. This is the most profound thing I’ve ever said. I gotta hold onto that one. Because I think that too many people lose track of what they’re all about and try to become something that they think people want them to be. Well then, that only gets you so far.”
“So it’s being who you are, and being aware of what you’re in, and trying to keep those streams as much as you can working in the same direction. That’s what’s served me. And it doesn’t mean I always win, and doesn’t mean that I don’t lose, and it doesn’t mean that it always feels great, it doesn’t mean that it feels bad. It’s just, I think that’s the best way to do it. And keeping your mind open. You have to be willing to work outside of your comfort zone if you’re gonna have an opportunity to understand what the world’s really about. In all facets, from music to fashion to lifestyle to whatever it may be, you gotta stay open-minded.”
“You really gotta take it from the source, and you gotta take it with the context, and that’s it. It’s the source, the context, and the awareness. And what you have to be willing to do is you have to be willing to adapt to your environment and change the things, or better the things that aren’t going as well. If you’re not willing to do that, then I don’t know what you’re gonna do [to be] successful. You always have to be willing to.”
“When you love the competition – the opportunity to achieve at simple but challenging games – some people are really into it, and I’m one of them.”
“People need to take a little bit more risk.”
“I’m not doing anything for anybody. I’m doing what I do. I specifically left the corporate world so I could wear T-shirts, blue jeans, and honestly, I always wanted to be my own boss.”
“I really believe you’ve gotta put the power in the people. They’re the ones who are gonna make the experience. Whenever you get to change somebody’s life or watch it and see it happen, it’s amazing.”
“Anybody that pays attention to hate really is wasting their time. I don’t subscribe. I don’t buy in.”
“I’ve always been an eccentric, a rocker at heart. I can’t play the guitar, but I can play the griddle.”
“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.”
“Cooking is like snow skiing: if you don’t fall at least 10 times, then you’re not skiing hard enough.”
“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity. Kids want to sauté, to cut the pizza, to see how the ingredients come together. If you let them do the fun stuff, they’ll develop skills and interests that will stay with them forever. It’s a life lesson they need to have, a skill everybody needs – to cook.”
“I don’t know what singers feel like when they make a song and people clap along and love it, but when people walk up to me and say the food was outstanding, that’s what it is all about. I cook because I like to make people happy.”
“If it tastes really good, and it’s funky, it’s funkalicious. If the guy making it is funky, he’s funkintacious.”
“Peace, love and taco grease! They’re what make the world go round (or maybe just what makes us get a little more round?).”
“I say to folks all the time, ‘Watch what you’re eating. You don’t have to eat it all. Make conscious choices. It doesn’t mean you have to starve yourself and eat carrots all day.’ Have an awareness.”
“If you slow it down, eat in courses, your body, mind, stomach will catch up with this full feeling and you won’t eat as much.”
“I was always a kid trying to make a buck. I borrowed a dollar from my dad, went to the penny candy store, bought a dollar’s worth of candy, set up my booth, and sold candy for five cents apiece. Ate half my inventory, made $2.50, gave my dad back his dollar.”
“I’ve been a car fan since I was a little, little kid. And for as young as I can remember, I had my list of all the things I wanted. Wanted a big truck. Corvette. I wanted a Chevelle. I wanted a Camaro. When I opened my first restaurant, I was standing outside of my first restaurant with a good friend of mine – college buddy. And I said, ‘I did it.’ I opened my first when I was like 25 or 26 years old. And he says, ‘Guy, you know why you’re gonna be successful?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He says, ‘Because you’ll work as hard as you have to just to support your habits.'”
“My philosophy is, ‘Where is it written that at 40 you give up all your toys?’ If I’m still having a great time doing something, I’m going to keep on doing it.”
“I get a lot of my inspiration from my family. I’m grateful for my whole family, but my dad is like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Superman, and Evel Knievel all at one time. I can think I have it all figured out, and he’ll say, ‘But did you look at that side of it?’ He shows me just how much more there is than what appears to be.”
“I’m a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of guy. I don’t have any time to be showing anybody any bag of tricks.”
“My stay-married secret would probably be exercising good communication, not when you have to but all the time. I think if you do that, you kinda just cleanse the situations, so there’s not build up. I think that’s probably the best way to do it.”
“I am just a regular dude who happened to make it. That’s all I am, man. Maybe I was preparing myself in some lifetime to become this person, but I never thought I’d have every rocket shooting off at one time.”
“I really felt that I had accomplished my goals in life. My first passion has always been to be a restaurateur, a good husband and father, and to provide for my family.”
“Look, the fame rocket is only on the upward trajectory for a limited time.”
“Lots of people make fun of me, but the truth is I’m just a man. I like food, I like people, and I like making people happy with food. I have a wife; I have two sons. I love them more than anything. Sure, my TV personality might not be for everyone, but that’s okay. I just want to live my life. Please, leave me in peace. I am a man. I have dignity. I am a man.”
“I know how lucky I am. I never take it for granted. In this country, anything can happen – anybody can be what they want to be. All I ever wanted was to be a good husband and father, a good chef, and to have my own restaurant. And the celebrity was never expected. Wouldn’t have even dared dream of it. And here I am. So anyone’s dreams can come true. And I’m very, very grateful for everything that’s come my way. I thank everyone who enjoys what I do.”
“As long as I’m making somebody happy and I’m entertaining somebody and they’re having fun and they feel good about it, then I’m doing something right. You can’t be any more appreciative of your opportunity.”
“I never knew I would go this far, but I was told by people it wouldn’t happen, and now I own four restaurants, and I have one of the best shows on the Food Network. I’m living in the Super Bowl of food. This is money!”
“You’ve got balls inviting me here.”
“Shut the front door.”
Related: Daymond John quotes.
