Ryan Seacrest quotes: mega millionaire TV and radio host on being busy, defining his real job, escapism, and more.
“Always trust your guts. I decided to up and leave college to go pursue my dream. I was scared to death, but at the same time I was never more sure of anything in my life.”
“Make sure you happen to the day instead of it happening to you, but no matter the circumstances, you still only get one shot to make a day that matters.”
“Listen to people just as much as they talk and always be up for laughing, even if it’s at yourself.”
“You have the tools you need. You are equal to the challenges that lie ahead. This is your day and your amazing life is waiting for you. Go make it happen.”
“Failure? Scared to death of it.”
“But I would like to warn against the fear of failure. While I meet countless people through my work, those who blindly ignore public opinion and the advice of others leave the biggest impressions.”
“As much as we all talk about the future and how so many things are merging, there is a simplicity that is crucial.”
“Without someone giving you a shot, opening a door, believing that your obsession is a real thing when you’re young, you don’t get the opportunity. Every single day I’m reminded of that.”
“I’m a big advocate of being around the things that you want to do eventually, and being around people who are doing them.”
“When I moved to Hollywood, one of the first people I ever wanted to meet wasn’t a movie star. It was a disc jockey, it was Casey Kasem. Kasem is a legend, a guy I used to listen to growing up. And not only listen to, but pretended to be.”
“I think it’s so important for young people to have mentors, and to have people to turn to for advice and study.”
“What I love about the environment we live in and we work in, is that there are no boundaries anymore. We can do a lot of different things. It keeps us going.”
“With the evolution of technology, kids really need to be computer-savvy.”
“I find each project, although it’s compartmentalized, informs me in some facet. I wake up every day wanting to be informed.”
“When you’re in the center of something, on a ride, I don’t think you realize what it is until it’s over.”
“Some people meet people in the grocery store, but I get my tomatoes and I’m out.”
“We meet no ordinary people in our lives. If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.”
“It’s in my blood to be on the radio every day. I’ve done it since I was 16 years old.”
“I always wanted to be in Los Angeles on the radio or on television, and so I think I continue to do a lot because I remember when I didn’t have any of it. I’m so grateful that I get to do it, and I feel like as long as I have the opportunity, I should do as much as I humanly can.”
“Talking is what I do, but listening is my job.”
“I really appreciate the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs. They are dreamers and tireless workers, qualities I relate to. I also learn a lot just interacting with them. They raise smart questions and solve problems proactively and swiftly. I hope to continue to have the chance to work with new companies – it’s fun, and fuels my curiosity.”
“Equity, ownership, production fees, license fees – those are the vocabulary words that are exciting to me.”
“The actual ‘break’ I think would have to be American Idol. When it started, we realized it was something significantly special and unique. What it did for me, individually, was motivate me to do more. I saw it as an opportunity to expand my businesses because I now had access to get the meeting that I didn’t have before the success of that show.”
“My company is in the business of content, delivering content, so whether you see it or taste it or hear it or smell it, that’s what I do every day.”
“What I’ve figured out how to do is make people feel comfortable on television and on the radio, which enables me to have access to them, which is key for what I do.”
“I’m someone who thinks that where there’s a void, I need to fill it, but I’m trying to have patience and a little bit of discipline.”
“I believe that one of the things I’ve tried to do is work hard and take the business very seriously.”
“I use every opportunity, whether on my radio show or on television, to break stereotypes.”
“Mine’s a pretty simple strategy: there’s not a lot of talent here, but there’s a lot of hustle. I have to be in every place I can, and be busy.”
“Fortunately for me, I’m in this unique business of not singing, not dancing, not performing – just kind of being there.”
“I knew I could control one thing, and that is my time and my hours and my effort and my efficiency.”
“I work best inundated with things, when it’s like raining information.”
“I’m 100% better with a little bit of controlled chaos. I just know if I have three things to do, or nine things to do, I’m just better at them if I have nine.”
“And I think more than anything else, I know when I go to bed that no one’s working harder doing what I’m doing, and I think, quite frankly, that hard work at some point was gonna pay off.”
“People refer to me as disciplined, a hard worker. I’m gratified that my hard work is recognized – and a little worried, now that I am turning 40, that maybe I am working too hard. I’m striving for more balance… and taking steps to achieve this. Lately I have been practicing yoga, which has upped my quotient of stillness.”
“I’m shy in my personal life.”
“The combination of a blazer over any T-shirt with a pair of jeans is foolproof.”
“Part of wearing a tee is saying, ‘I’m comfortable and casual.'”
“I could lie and pretend that I hunt and camp, but that wouldn’t be me. Clothes? Shopping? That’s stuff I like!”
“I always just wanted to be a cheesy guy on television.”
“I literally get up and get to do the one thing I dreamed about doing every day. And that is being a part of a television show and a radio show that is based in Hollywood.”
“I think the legacy that I hope to leave is that people think of me as their friend on the radio, their friend on TV, who made it look pretty easy and was a source or a conduit for escapism. I don’t do surgery and it’s not rocket science. And the shows that I’m a part of are versions of escapism.”
