David Hasselhoff quotes: “The Hoff” reflects on his success and struggles and the joke we call life.
“Believe in yourself, that no matter what you want to do, your dreams can come true.”
“Get in the game. No matter what you are working on, get in the game. Learn the business. Talk to people and find out what is going on. Believe in yourself and keep a positive attitude. See it, believe it and live it. Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Pick up the phone and make the call.”
“If you’re not in the game, you can’t hit a home run. Maybe you strike out 99% of the time, but you could still hit a home run. Or you might hit a single, and a single gets you on base. And then you can steal second base. You can steal third base. You might even be able to steal home. But you’ve got to get in the game.”
“I define the word success as ‘respect.’ When I look in the mirror, I self-respect myself for that hard work that I’ve done. When I respect myself, look out, because there is no stopping me.”
“Life happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
“Remember, sometimes, life gives you a wake-up call. It’s not how hard you get knocked down, it’s how fast you get up. And then you get up and it’s like, ‘Okay, I shouldn’t have done that.’ And then you move forward. That’s where I’m at in life. I can take what God delivers, the good and the bad, and I learn from it all. I just keep moving forward.”
“When you realize that life isn’t fair, you don’t act out, you don’t get overly wasted, you don’t get self-indulgent. You just move forward.”
“If you stand still long enough, you’ll get stuck.”
“And sometimes the hardest thing you can do is walk away. But you got to. And, when you do, it changes your life.”
“Failure usually works for me in the end.”
“I think laughter is the best medicine. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you can’t laugh at life and the silliness of it all.”
“You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself. It’s like you’ve got a bucket full of your problems – if you can’t empty that bucket by laughing at yourself then you’re in trouble.”
“If I make mistakes and people want to make fun of it, I laugh harder at myself than anybody else. It’s kind of a way of picking yourself up and moving forward.”
“Embarrassed about? The problem with me is that nothing embarrasses me. Everything I’ve done ends up working in my favor. Even when I make mistakes and people exploit my mistakes on television or on the internet, and they use it to make fun of me, it’s just kind of working in my favor at the end. It’s really strange.”
“Celebrity means that I can affect people in a positive way. In a cornball way, I think being a celebrity is about making a difference, too.”
“If you don’t respect me you’re not gonna get that respect back.”
“I think people respect me because they feel like – I’m kind of like Christmas. I come back every year. You can’t get rid of me. I just keep coming back.”
“I let people down easy with inspiration.”
“Being a father… I have a great relationship with my kids. That to me is more important than anything. I’m proud of the way they turned out, and I’m proud of our relationship. When I’ve needed someone to care for me, they’ve told me the truth. And if you’re lucky in this business – in this world – if you have five people that will love you enough to tell you the truth, you could live a long, happy life and we are livin’ large right now.”
“Spirituality – prayer – is a big part of my life.”
“My one ambition was to go to Broadway, and I never gave up on that dream.”
“All I want to do is be onstage. A performer needs to perform.”
“I embrace everything.”
“I knew I’d be successful; I’ve believed it since I was eight. If you’re small and you can play soccer, or you can hit a baseball or you can write then do it, do it, do it. The only person who can stand in your way is yourself.”
“Beyond its entertainment values, Baywatch has enriched and in many cases helped save lives. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to continue with a project which has had such a significance for so many.”
“I’m six foot four, an all-American guy, and handsome and talented as well!”
“Image is what people perceive my life to be. It’s nothing like the truth.”
“It seems like my whole life has been, ‘Let’s make fun of David Hasselhoff,’ but ‘The Hoff’ has made me a lot of money. I’m honored that it’s known all over the world. There are people in Abu Dhabi calling me ‘The Hoff.’ In a mosque!”
“If I don’t work out, I feel anxious. I absolutely love my workout time. It’s a time where I can decompress and not get stressed out about anything.”
“Ninety-nine percent of people now call me ‘The Hoff’ – and it’s out of respect.”
“‘The Hoff’ has become larger than life, so I can’t do anything small any more. If I mess up, it becomes big no matter what it is, so if I do something positive, it has to be equally big.”
“[On dealing with his alcoholism in the public eye] Major benefits. It’s like I have seven million parole officers. It’s made me become accountable. That’s what you have to be as a parent. You have to be accountable. And maybe being a celebrity has made me accountable.”
“I just do whatever happens. Whatever’s thrown in front of me, because it’s fun, it’s fun! Can I do plumbing? Can I stop the sink from leaking? No. It’s impossible. I don’t know how to repair anything. But I know how to entertain. And that’s what I do.”
“I feel like Elvis. Only alive.”
“I’m going to have a blast. Who cares? Once you realize life isn’t fair and it’s a bit of a joke, then you can get on your Hoff Train and take a ride.”
“And I’ve had a great ride, and I’m very honored to have been in this business. Come on, I’m a television star. Nobody on television is curing cancer. I’m happy if I managed to affect people in a positive way.”
“I’m trying to document all the amazing things that have happened to me. It’s about facing your fears and using your power in a positive way.”
“The secret is just to be cool. Be cool and have fun.”
