Copyright © 2008 by Open Horizons and John Kremer
Last modified: 3/12/08
The Quotable Books Series ...
If I Had My
Life to Live Over . . .
(sample quotations from the book)
If I had my life to live over, I wish I could be a great pianist or something. Woody Allen, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner. Tallulah Bankhead, actress
If I had my life to live over again, I would have waxed less and listened more. ... I would have cried and laughed less while watching television ... and more while watching real life. ... But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it ... look at it and really see it ... try it on ... live it ... exhaust it ... and never give the minute back until there was nothing left of it. Erma Bombeck, humor columnist, Eat Less Cottage Cheese and More Ice Cream
I have never been able, really, to regret anything in all my life. I have always been far much too absorbed in the present moment or the immediate future to think back. Albert Camus, existentialist novelist, The Stranger
Do you know my dream? I really want to become an aluminum-siding salesman. Johnny Carson, talk show host
What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner. Colette, novelist
If I had my life to life over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would have thus been kept active through use. The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. Charles Darwin, English scientist, developer of theory of evolution
If Hollywood didn't work out, I was all prepared to be the best secretary in the world. Bette Davis, actress
In my next life, I want to play another position. I want a different job. I want to own my own business, a stress-free job. Maybe I'll grow worms and sell them. Kevin Duckworth, basketball player
If I had my life to live over again, I'd be a plumber. Albert Einstein, physicist
If I were reincarnated, I'd want to come back a buzzard. Nothing hates him or envies him or wants him or needs him. He is never bothered or in danger, and he can eat anything. William Faulkner, novelist, in an interview in Writers at Work
If I had my life to live over again, I'd live over a saloon. W.C. Fields, actor and comedian
When I grow up, I want to be a little boy. Joseph Heller, novelist
If I had my life to live over, I would try to make more mistakes. I would relax. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things that I would take seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would go more places. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less spinach. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary troubles. Don Herold, author
If I had my life to live over again, I would have a different father, a different wife, and a different religion. John F. Kennedy, U.S. president
If only we could have two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, which seem as if they have to be made; and the second in which to profit by them. D. H. Lawrence, novelist
If I had a chance to do things over again, I might not start singing. It was my husband Doolittle's idea. He pushed me out there, the booger. And I'm out there now, so I might as well make the best of it. Loretta Lynn, country singer
If I hadn't started painting, I would have raised chickens. Grandma Moses, artist
If I could live my life over again, there is one thing I would change. I would want to be able to eat less. Luciano Pavarotti, opera singer
I've been given a second chance at life. I'm using it to do God's work. Father Rodriguez, character in Eraser movie
If I had my life to live over, I would take more trips, pick more daisies, climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. Ive had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, Id try to have nothing else, just moments, one after the other. Nadine Stair
If I could be reincarnated as a fabric, I would like to come back as a 38DD bra. Jesse Ventura, Minnesota governor and pro wrestler
Here are the other seven books in the Illustrated Quotable Books section. Click on the titles to see sample quotations:
The Best Things in Life Are Free: My Favorite Quotations
If at First You Dont Succeed, Try, Try Again
If God Intended Man to Smoke, Hed Have Set Him on Fire and Other Conclusions of Gods Work
Playing the Percentages: Lies, Damned Funny Lies, Statistics, and Everything in Between
When in Doubt, Kiss the Fish And Other Extremely Wise Advice
Open Horizons, P O Box 2887, Taos NM 87571; 575-751-3398