Quotessence
Home / Authors / Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox Quotes

Actor

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsParkinson'sPeopleParkinsonThinkingI CanWayKnowsLooksKids

Famous Michael J. Fox Quotes

“There's something I have about being Canadian - there's a distance it gives you when you live in the States and operate in American culture. You approach familiar things a different way; you come at it from a different angle. It's a trait that runs through a lot Canadian artists' work and actors' work and musicians' - that kind of special remove.”

WayGivingKindDifferentStatesRunningArtistCultureActorsSpecialApproachMusicianDistanceFamiliarDifferent WaysRemoveTraitsAngleAmerican CultureDifferent AnglesFamiliar Things
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“If you were to rush into this room right now and announce that you had struck a deal - with God, Allah, Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Bill Gates, whomever - in which the ten years since my diagnosis could be magically taken away, traded in for ten more years as the person I was before - I would, without a moment's hesitation, tell you to take a hike.”

IfsYearsPersonsMomentsChristRoomsDealsTakenRight NowTenBillsGatesDiagnosisKrishnaHesitation
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“I owned a Ferrari, a Range Rover, a Mercedes 560SL convertible, a Jeep Cherokee and a Nissan 300ZX. I can't remember the intricate decision tree I had to climb in order to determine which one to drive to work on any given day - it probably had something to do with the weather, or which car had more gas in the tank, or upholstery that best matched whatever shirt I happened to throw on that morning.”

I CanRememberOrderGivenDecisionMorningHappenedTreeCarDetermineWeatherRangeShirtsClimbsGasTanksIntricateMatchedFerrariCherokeeJeepsUpholsteryRange Rover
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“To be brutally honest, for much of that time, I was the only person in the world with Parkinson's. Of course, I mean that in the abstract. I had become acutely aware of people around me who appears to have the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but as long as they didn't identify with me, I was in no rush to identify with them. My situation allowed, if not complete denial, at least a thick padding of insulation.”

PeopleIfsWorldMeanPersonsLongCoursesSituationHonestDiseaseDenialAbstractSicknessThickSymptomsParkinsonParkinson'sBrutally HonestInsulation
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“It’s all about control. Control is illusory. No matter what university you go to, no matter what degree you hold, if your goal is to become master of your own destiny, you have more to learn. Parkinson’s is a perfect metaphor for lack of control. Every unwanted movement in my hand or arm, every twitch that I cannot anticipate or arrest, is a reminder that even in the domain of my own being, I am not calling the shots. I tried to exert control by drinking myself to a place of indifference, which just exacerbated the sense of miserable hopelessness.”

IfsMatterHandsGoalMy OwnPerfectDestinyMovementMastersArmsCallingDegreesShotsNo Matter WhatDrinkingUniversityMetaphorMiserableIndifferenceHopelessnessDomainRemindersAnticipateUnwantedIllusoryParkinsonParkinson'sLack Of ControlCalling The Shots
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“With Parkinson's, it's like you're in the middle of the street and you're stuck there in cement shoes and you know a bus is coming at you, but you don't know when. You think you can hear it rumbling, but you have a lot of time to think. And so you just don't live that moment of the bus hitting you until it happens. There's all kinds of room in that space.”

ThinkingKnowsKindMomentsHappensSpaceRoomsStreetsMiddleLike YouShoesStuckAll KindsThat MomentBusHittingTime To ThinkCementParkinsonParkinson's
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“There's an idea I came across a few years ago that I love: My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations. That's the key for me. If I can accept the truth of 'This is what I'm facing - not what can I expect but what I am experiencing now' - then I have all this freedom to do other things.”

IfsYearsI CanIdeasSuccessGrowsAcceptingAcceptanceKeysExpectationsYears AgoDirectProportionInverseAccepting The Truth
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“Turning fully toward the glass, I consider what I see. This reflected version of myself, wet, shaking, rumpled, pinched, and slightly stoop, would be alarming were it not for the self-satisfied expression pasted across my face. I would ask the obvious question, 'what are you smiling about?' But I already know the answer: 'It just gets better from here.'”

KnowsSelfWould BeFacesAsksAnswersExpressionGlassesObviousSatisfiedVersionsGet BetterWetShakingStoops
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image

“[Constant curiousity leads to happiness:] I wake up curious every day and every day I'm surprised by something. And if I can just recognize that surprise every day and say, 'Oh, that's a new thing, that's a new gift that I got today that I didn't even know about yesterday,' it keeps me going. It keeps me more than going. It keeps me enthusiastic and grateful!”

IfsKnowsI CanTodayWake UpGratefulConstantSurpriseYesterdayCuriousAnticipationNew ThingsEnthusiasticCuriousity
Author:Michael J. Fox
Create image