Amy poehler quotes

Saying "yes" doesn't mean I don't know how to say no, and saying "please" doesn't mean I am waiting for permission.

Be easy on yourself. Have fun. Only hang around people that are positive and make you feel good. Anybody who doesn't make you feel good, kick them to the curb. And the earlier you start in your life the better. The minute anybody makes you feel weird and non-included or not supported, you know, either beat it or tell them to beat it.

The answer to a lot of your life's questions is often in someone else's face. People's faces will tell you amazing things. Like if they are angry, or nauseous, or asleepTry to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don't know about. Limit your 'always' and your 'nevers.' Continue to share your heart with people even if it has been broken.

I had no idea how to get guys to notice me. I still don't. Who cares?

Any time you talk to anyone about something that they love, they're, like, their most beautiful. It's a cool gift to get to talk to people about what they love.

You have to be where you are to get where you need to go.

In conclusion, I invite the media to all grow a pair. And if you can't, I will lend you mine.

To some people, not caring is supposed to be cool, commenting is more interesting than doing, and everything is judged and then disposed of in, like, five minutes. I'm not interested in those kinds of people. I like the person who commits and goes all in and takes big swings and then maybe fails or looks stupid; who jumps and falls down, rather than the person who points at the person who fell, and laughs. But I do sometimes laugh when people fall down.

Try putting your iPhones down every once in a while and look at people's faces.

You have to remember that goodbyes are temporary because no one ever really leaves and nothing lasts forever. People are always with us, because they are in our hearts and in our memory. The only thing we can depend on is change... Life is just a series of moments -- a string of pearls that make up the necklace of your life and so every once in a while, to complete the circle, you need to end a chapter.

Telling me to relax or smile when I'm angry is like bringing a birthday cake into an ape sanctuary. You're just asking to get your nose and genitals bitten off.

A person's tragedy does not make up their entire life. A story carves deep grooves into our brains each time we tell it. But we aren't one story. We can change our stories. We can write our own.

People who read are people who dream, and we connect through the stories we live and tell and read.

I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody's passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn't mind leading.

President Bush threw out the first pitch Monday at Cincinnati's great American ball park. 18 Iraqis were killed.

Change is the only constant. Learn to surf your life instead of planting your feet.

Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that- that's what life is.

A new poll reveals that 56% of Americans believe that Wal-Mart is bad for the country, while the other 44% work there.

Listen. Say yes. Live in the moment. Make sure you play with people who have your back. Make big choices early and often.

I find that, in general, the amount of sharing men do with each other in one year is about the same as what I share with my female friends while we wait for our cars at the valet.

If you can surf your life rather than plant your feet, you will be happier.

I'd say any good set or any comedy that I've worked on, that's worked, has been comedians pitching ideas back and forth to each other. A lot of like, 'What if you say this? What about this?'

Any painful experience makes you see things differently. It also reminds you of the simple truths that we purposely forget every day or else we would never get out of bed.

Rooting for other people's failure does get in the way of your success.

The truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not.

I think going from laughing to crying to laughing to crying - making those quick turns adds years to your life.

I know enough now to know I know nothing.

Always remember your kid's name.

Sleep can completely change your entire outlook on life. One good night's sleep can help you realize that you shouldn't break up with someone, or you are being too hard on your friend, or you actually will win the race or the game or get the job. Sleep helps you win at life.

If you do a scene and you really like a character in it or a premise in it to write it down and to work on it so that you can have five or six characters that you can pull out in an audition.

Nice manners are the secret keys to the universe.

Ignore what other people think. Most people aren’t even paying attention to you.

The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are.

Because of various security lapses, some senators are calling for a probe of the security at the offices of the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation will be conducted by the Department of Irony.

That is the motto women should constantly repeat over and over again. 'Good for her! Not for me.'

Continue to share your heart with people even if it's been broken.

Opening your heart and being courageous and telling people that you care about them or like them or that you think they're special only makes you a better, bigger, kinder, softer, more loving person, and only attracts more love into your life.

Stop whining about getting old. It's a privilege. A lot of people who are dead wish they were still alive.

When I began doing theatre in high school I saw that I could get laughs from people but I didn't really connect that to going on and becoming a comedian. I was interested in acting and while I was at Boston College I was part of an improv group, Mother's Fleabag, which had a long history and has been known as one of the best college improvisation groups in the U.S.

Sometimes painful things can teach us lessons that we didn't think we needed to know.

Taking risks and making choices is what makes life so exciting.

It’s never overreacting to ask for what you want and need.

We don't want to be afraid to make a choice because we're afraid to make a mistake because most decisions aren't final. Feelings change all the time. You can always change your mind and taking risks and making choices is what makes life so exciting because we never know what's going to happen. Every day something new comes our way.

The minute anyone makes you feel weird and non-included or not supported, you know, either beat it or tell them to beat it.

Nobody looks stupid when they are having fun.

Dreams never wear you down.

I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do.

I love my boys so much I fear my heart will explode. I wonder if this love will crack open my chest and split me in half. It is scary, this love.

I like hard work and I don’t like pretending things are perfect.

The great thing about taking big chances when you're younger is you have less to lose, and you don't know as much. So you take big swings.

Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don't know about. Limit your 'always' and your 'nevers.'

I also think if you're an actor and you can improvise, when you go on an audition and you can improvise you're just a genius. If you can, you know, take a Tide commercial and you can just say one funny line that's not in the commercial they think you're a genius.

It doesn't matter how much you get; you are left wanting more.

Calling people 'sweetheart' makes most people enraged.

Vulnerable people are powerful people. Opening your heart and sharing it means you're going to get so much love in your life. and it's the way to true connection and real purpose and meaning in your life, in my opinion.

Just breathe. Sometimes you're only a few breaths away from feeling better.

It's nice to be short, because people expect less from you.

As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.

Watching great people do what you love is a good way to start learning how to do it yourself.

When I had a job catering, I catered a wedding for the Smashing Pumpkins bassist in Indiana. And I served Billy Corgan shrimp off a tray.

I want to be around people who dream and support and do things.

I am interested in people who swim in the deep end. I want to have conversations about real things with people who have experienced real things. I'm tired of talking about movies and gossiping about friends. Life is crunchy and complicated and all the more delicious.

I want to be around people that do things. I don't want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people who dream and support and do things.

I think we should stop asking people in their 20s what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do. Instead of asking students to 'declare their major' we should ask students to 'list what they will do anything to avoid.' It just makes a lot more sense.

Please don't drive drunk, okay? Seriously... But by all means, walk drunk. That looks hilarious. Everyone loves to watch someone act like they are trying to make it to safety during a hurricane.

Anybody who doesn't make you feel good, kick them to the curb. And the earlier you start in your life, the better.

Sleep is out... tired is the new black.

I worked at an ice cream parlor called Chadwicks. We wore old-timey outfits and had to bang a drum, play a kazoo, and sing 'Happy Birthday' to people while giving them free birthday sundaes. Lots of ice cream scooping and $1 tips.

It’s very hard to have ideas. It’s very hard to put yourself out there, it’s very hard to be vulnerable, but those people who do that are the dreamers, the thinkers and the creators. They are the magic people of the world.

I grew up watching skating all the time in the Olympic stuff.

There's only, like, five perfectly symmetrical people in the world, and they're all movie stars, and they should be, because their faces are very pleasing to look at, but the rest of us are just a jangle of stuff, and the earlier you learn that you should focus on what you have and not obsess about what you don't have, the happier you will be.

There's something so romantic about being broke in New York. You gotta do it. You have to live there once without any money, and then you have to live there when you have money. Let me tell you, of the two, the latter is far better.

I don’t really believe in cars, but I drive one every day and I love that it gets me places and makes life so much easier and faster and I don’t know what I would do without it.

It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for.

Always remember your kid’s name. Always remember where you put your kid. Don’t let your kid drive until their feet can reach the pedals. Use the right size diapers…for yourself. And, when in doubt, make funny faces.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that New Orleans, when rebuilt, will be a chocolate city. And he will be the delicious nut in the center.

I've always dreamed of growing up to be Amy Poehler.

Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that - that is what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that's really special and if you're not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself.

I cannot stress enough that the answer to life's questions is often in people's faces. Try putting your iPhones down once in a while, and look in people's faces. People's faces will tell you amazing things. Like if they are angry, or nauseous or asleep.

Too often we women try to tackle chaos that is not ours to fix.

I really do believe that anything in life - any obstacle or challenge - can be made better with humor.

Hey, guess what? Turns out the free market? Not so free. Wall Street was hit hard Monday when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America, and insurance giant AIG neared a collapse of its own. Basically, if your commercials air during golf tournaments, you're done.

Going from crying to laughing that fast and hard happens maybe five times in your life and that extreme right turn is the reason why we are alive, and I believe it extends our life by many years.

Other people are not medicine.

You become more attractive when you love yourself. You ATTRACT the right things when you have a sense of who you are.

Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it.

Don't treat your heart like an action figure wrapped in plastic and never used.

Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.

If you can speak about what you care about to a person you disagree with without denigrating them or insulting them, then you may actually be heard.

No one looks stupid when they're having fun.

When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart becomes a room with wide-open windows. You laugh hard every day.

Sometimes you need to know to quit while you're ahead or at least before things get much worse!

I think the hardest thing is to know what you want, ask for it, and then to stop talking.

Ang Lee's been nominated for best director for "Life of Pi," which is what I'm going to call the six weeks after I take this dress off.

My idea of the perfect exercise class is this: The teacher gives us all a hug and goes, “You did it! You showed up! Let’s lie down.” We all lie down and she’s like, “How is everybody feeling?” We’re like, “Great!” And the teacher’s like, “Great!” Then we all get to leave 20 minutes early.

However, if you do start crying in an argument and someone asks why, you can always say, 'I'm just crying because of how wrong you are.'

Sleep and I do not have a good relationship. We have never been good friends. I am constantly chasing sleep and then pushing it away. A good night's sleep is my white whale. Like Ahab, I am also a total drama queen about it. I love to talk about how little sleep I get. I brag about it, as if it is a true indication of how hard I work.

Girls have to fight against a lot of the same stuff we did growing up... peer pressure, exploitation, etc. But what worries me the most is this trend that caring about something isn't cool. That it's better to comment on something than to commit to it. That it's so much cooler to be unmotivated and indifferent.

Education is power, it changes your whole life, it can create a life for yourself. So the more educated you are, the more you learn about what you care about, you become a more caring person. And if you can speak about what you care about to a person you disagree with, without denigrating or insulting them, then you may actually be heard. And you may even change their mind, or they may change yours.

Don't treat your heart like an action figure wrapped in plastic and never used. And don't try to give me that nerd argument that your heart is a 'Batman' with a limited-edition silver bat-erang and therefore if it stays in its original packing it increases in value.

It's not communism, it's shouldn't be that everybody gets a try no matter how good or bad they are. It's our profession and our art, so we should eventually strive to be working with the best people.

It's easier to be brave when you're not alone.

When young girls are encouraged to explore what they find interesting, they grow up to be interesting women.

Do work that you are proud of with your talented friends.

Any actor or actress that tells you that they don't watch their stuff is lying.

Everybody is interesting when they are interested in something.

The creation of the UCB Theatre is by far my proudest professional accomplishment.

Don't think. Get out of your head. Stop planning and just go.

The earlier you learn that you should focus on what you have, and not obsess about what you don't have, the happier you will be.

I lived in Chicago for a few years and got a sense of - kind of that broad-shouldered, windy, um, stern, Midwestern, warm-slash-passive aggressive, wonderful - every adjective I can think of, very cold.

You deserve love and you'll get it.

Prince Harry this week toured the Jersey Shore with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. It was the first meeting between the Prince, of the House of Windsor, and the Governor, of the House of Pancake.

Don't start a scene where two people are talking about jumping out of a plane. Start the scene having already jumped. If you are scared, look into your partner's eyes. You will feel better.

There's power in looking silly and not caring that you do.

When in doubt, make funny faces.

We need to remember what's important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work, it doesn't matter. But work is third.

You aren't allowed to feel special, but no one knows the specific ways you are in pain.

I am tired of being tired and talking about how tired I am.

You never know what's around the corner unless you peek. Hold someone's hand while you do it. You will feel less scared.

If I wanted to see Jonah Hill masturbate at a pool party, I'd go to one of Jonah Hill's pool parties.

Open-faced sandwiches take risks and live big and smile with all their teeth. These are the people I want to be around.

Masters of Sex is the degree I got from Boston College.

Treat your career like a bad boyfriend... Your career wont take care of you. It won't call you back or introduce you to its parents. Your career will openly flirt with other people while you are around... You have to care about your work, but not about the result. You have to care about how good you are and how good you feel, but not about how good people think you are or how good people think you look.

Creativity is connected to your passion, that light inside you that drives you. That joy that comes when you do something you love. That small voice that tells you, 'I like this. Do this again. You are good at it. Keep going.' That is the juicy stuff that lubricates our lives and helps us feel less alone in the world.

When you do talk about yourself, or to yourself... try to picture you talking to your own daughter, or your younger sister. Because you would tell your younger sister or your daughter that she is beautiful, and you wouldn't be lying. Because she is. And so are you.