A Quote by Jesse L. Martin

The best decision I made at NYU was joining the Shakespeare ensemble. It literally led to everything I did after that. It gave me the kind of confidence I really needed. — © Jesse L. Martin
The best decision I made at NYU was joining the Shakespeare ensemble. It literally led to everything I did after that. It gave me the kind of confidence I really needed.
Everything that happened to me as a child was the perfect breeding ground for a rock n' roll singer. It toughened me up. I was on edge; I was needy. I needed people to like me 'cause it made me feel safe... and that gave me confidence.
God spoke to me clearly and said, 'Did I give my son Jesus on the cross expecting nothing in return?' God bankrupted heaven and gave the best gift he could give. He gave the best offering he could give. What did God need? He needed sons and daughters, he gave the very thing he needed. You can bring God a gift fully expecting something in return. Get to the phone!'
Torrid was that company that I went to as a plus-sized kid. They're the ones that kind of got me out of my shell and gave me the confidence that I needed to experiment with my wardrobe, and they really inspired me to become a plus-size designer.
My mum and dad did everything for me. They supported me, gave me a lot of advice. That support is everything. It gives you the confidence you need.
My dad made sure he gave me everything, he sacrificed what he had to, to make sure I had what I needed to perform at the best level.
I didn't know enough as a writer to understand why I needed to do this, but I understood in a very gut way that I could not entertain those thoughts of pleasing people and write this book - that it would be a very different book. Without really sort of investigating that instinct, which I'm glad for, I just made a conscious decision to put blinders on and not think about anything and put it all in. And I did. I put everything in. I had to look at the whole picture to see what I needed.
I moved to New York - I attended NYU, did a BFA in Acting at NYU. I was really into hip-hop, so I started battling, like '8 Mile.' I used to rap battle.
I asked for strength, and God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for wisdom, and God gave me problems to learn to solve. I asked for prosperity, and God gave me a brain and brawn to work. I asked for courage, and God gave me dangers to overcome. I asked for love, and God gave me people to help. I asked for favors, and God gave me opportunities. I received nothing I wanted. I received everything I needed.
I would say my best decision I ever made was to pursue my dream and give it my all. Thankfully, I have not yet made really bad decisions, I'm the kind of person to play it on the safe side.
When the Swing Lo Magellan touring wound up, it felt like the end of something for me, and I needed a break from touring. But really, the co-writing and producing I did after this gave me a different perspective on this whole thing. To me, that was like being a different spoke on the wheel.
Football helped me with confidence that I needed. It gave me a sense of independence and earning my own money and my own keep. That's what it served. It gave me the strength to be able to deal with rejection, politics, hard work, and being introduced to pain and embracing what's uncomfortable.
Folks, let me ask you a question about that. You voted in 2010, 2014. You're part of the Tea Party and you show up and you just vote. Republicans said they needed the House, and you gave it to 'em; then they said they needed the Senate, and you gave it to 'em. Do you feel like winners even after those two elections? Probably not, because you really didn't think the Republican Party was going to change their stripes and start acting on all this.
I think working on Shakespeare was a big part of my time at drama school. I'm so glad that I got to know Shakespeare and got a chance to play great parts in Shakespeare, because it really teaches you - or taught me, anyway - everything.
The Olympic medal gave me a lot of confidence, and I went and won my first Super Series in Hong Kong. So in that regards, what Rio did was give me extra motivation and the confidence that now anything can happen.
I'd done two years on a soap opera where I was shooting things every day and they gave me a hard time about that, which I think is the wrong way to teach a young actor. They just made me really, really self-conscious about everything I did, which is the opposite of what you need to be when you're filming.
I was going to be a chemical engineer - I was a science nerd - that was the plan. I secretly applied to USC and NYU and got a scholarship to go to NYU based on a dumb animated short I made. It was a huge shock to me and my family.
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