--- title: "10 Really Quotes By Alan Ball" description: "10 Really quotes by Alan Ball. Plus more from Alan Ball and more Really sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/555/alan-ball-7404_because_i-need-to-feel-like-the-work-i-m-doing-i_2343684.jpg" --- > [I need to feel like the work I'm doing is not necessarily important, but meaningful, at least to me, because otherwise it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-need-to-feel-like-the-work-i-m-doing-is-not-necessarily-important/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/555/alan-ball-7404_because_i-need-to-feel-like-the-work-i-m-doing-i_2343684.jpg) > [I certainly feel fortunate in my career to have been able to continue to work in different mediums. I don't ever want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-certainly-feel-fortunate-in-my-career-to-have-been-able-to-continue/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/alan-ball-7404_able_i-certainly-feel-fortunate-in-my-career_1577676.jpg) > [Not everything is going to be successful. To strive for that is really naive. You just do the best you can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/not-everything-is-going-to-be-successful-to-strive-for-that-is-really/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe3/alan-ball-7404_being-successful_not-everything-is-going-to-be-successful_1541677.jpg) > [Life is infinitely complex, and I feel like we live in a culture that really seems to want to simplify it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/life-is-infinitely-complex-and-i-feel-like-we-live-in-a-culture-that/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/alan-ball-7404_bites_life-is-infinitely-complex-and-i-feel-li_1152070.jpg) > [I don't really know what it is about vampires that makes them such a powerful symbol, metaphor, whatever in people's consciousness. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vampires-that-makes-them-such-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6c/alan-ball-7404_about_i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vam_256204.jpg) > [Television viewing has become for me a completely different experience, because I don't watch shows on a weekly basis. I wait until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-completely-different/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/alan-ball-7404_bases_television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-c_226603.jpg) > [I think all writers are armchair psychologists to some degree or another, and I think a character's sexuality is fascinating. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychologists-to-some-degree-or/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/alan-ball-7404_another_i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychol_2595508.jpg) > [I really feel like my goal, and I don't always achieve it, is to do the best work I can do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-always-achieve-it-is-to-do-the/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/alan-ball-7404_about_i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-a_2871815.jpg) > [I love to direct! I get really jazzed by directing, but directing is not the same kind of personal expression, the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by-directing-but-directing-is/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/alan-ball-7404_astray_i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by_1769650.jpg) > [It's a lot harder to find fault with the mundane details of daily existence when you really, really know on a cellular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the-mundane-details-of-daily/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/alan-ball-7404_cellular_it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the_886464.jpg) ## Other authors on Really ## More by Alan Ball > [The important thing is that he shook hands with us over the phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/the-important-thing-is-that-he-shook-hands-with-us-over-the-phone/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [“Well did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?-- Pam to Jessica, True Blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/well-did-you-call-the-hypothetical-hardware-store-and-buy-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [“Pam: I don't know what it is about me that makes people think I want to hear their problems. Maybe I smile too much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/pam-i-don-t-know-what-it-is-about-me-that-makes-people-think-i-want/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Television viewing has become for me a completely different experience, because I don't watch shows on a weekly basis. I wait until the DVD…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-completely-different/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [I don't really know what it is about vampires that makes them such a powerful symbol, metaphor, whatever in people's consciousness. But I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vampires-that-makes-them-such-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [I am a little suspicious of industry paradigms. I feel like so many movies and TV shows feel so familiar because of over-reliance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-am-a-little-suspicious-of-industry-paradigms-i-feel-like-so-many/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [“I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-had-always-heard-your-entire-life-flashes-in-front-of-your-eyes-the/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [I'm 53. I don't care about high school students. I find them irritating and uninformed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-m-53-i-don-t-care-about-high-school-students-i-find-them-irritating/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Beauty is in the strangest places. A piece of garbage floating in the wind. And that beauty exists in America. It exists everywhere. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/beauty-is-in-the-strangest-places-a-piece-of-garbage-floating-in-the/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [The difference between film and TV is the pace. You don't have the leisure of time in television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/the-difference-between-film-and-tv-is-the-pace-you-don-t-have-the/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > ['Six Feet Under' was about repressing our deepest, most primal impulses, and 'True Blood' is about giving full sway to them all the time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/six-feet-under-was-about-repressing-our-deepest-most-primal-impulses/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [I'd seen 'Interview with A Vampire' and saw Dracula movies growing up, but I never thought, 'I love vampires; I have to do a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-d-seen-interview-with-a-vampire-and-saw-dracula-movies-growing-up/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [“The idea of celibate vampires is ridiculous. To me, vampires are sex. I don't get a vampire story about abstinence. I don't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/the-idea-of-celibate-vampires-is-ridiculous-to-me-vampires-are-sex-i/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [As a writer, it's fun to create. And once you get into a long-running show with very established characters and a very established tone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/as-a-writer-it-s-fun-to-create-and-once-you-get-into-a-long-running/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [I'm from the South, so while I personally find it impossible to live there, I still have a fondness for it as a geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-m-from-the-south-so-while-i-personally-find-it-impossible-to-live/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/alan-ball/#itemlist", "name": "10 Really Quotes By Alan Ball", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I need to feel like the work I'm doing is not necessarily important, but meaningful, at least to me, because otherwise it just becomes a day job. 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I don't know why it's so powerful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vampires-that-makes-them-such-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6c/alan-ball-7404_about_i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vam_256204.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6c/alan-ball-7404_about_i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vam_256204.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6c/alan-ball-7404_about_i-don-t-really-know-what-it-is-about-vam_256204.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't really know what it is about vampires that makes them such a powerful symbol, metaphor, whatever in…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Television viewing has become for me a completely different experience, because I don't watch shows on a weekly basis. I wait until the DVD or I TiVo everything and wait until the end of a season and watch it all over a weekend. For me that's a really satisfying experience, like reading a book.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-completely-different/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/alan-ball-7404_bases_television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-c_226603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/alan-ball-7404_bases_television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-c_226603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/alan-ball-7404_bases_television-viewing-has-become-for-me-a-c_226603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Television viewing has become for me a completely different experience, because I don't watch shows on a…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think all writers are armchair psychologists to some degree or another, and I think a character's sexuality is fascinating. It's a great way to really get at the root of their identity, because it's such a personal thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychologists-to-some-degree-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/alan-ball-7404_another_i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychol_2595508.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/alan-ball-7404_another_i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychol_2595508.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/alan-ball-7404_another_i-think-all-writers-are-armchair-psychol_2595508.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think all writers are armchair psychologists to some degree or another, and I think a character's…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I really feel like my goal, and I don't always achieve it, is to do the best work I can do, and stay out of the results. Because ultimately, the result is not what the work is about. There are other people whose jobs are to focus on those results and maximize them, and that's great. Let them do their job.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-always-achieve-it-is-to-do-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/alan-ball-7404_about_i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-a_2871815.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/alan-ball-7404_about_i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-a_2871815.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e1/alan-ball-7404_about_i-really-feel-like-my-goal-and-i-don-t-a_2871815.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I really feel like my goal, and I don't always achieve it, is to do the best work I can do, and stay out of…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love to direct! I get really jazzed by directing, but directing is not the same kind of personal expression, the same kind of personal intimate expression that writing is. Because when you're directing, you're basically managing, basically getting out of people doing their job, except when you see them going astray.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by-directing-but-directing-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/alan-ball-7404_astray_i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by_1769650.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/alan-ball-7404_astray_i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by_1769650.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/alan-ball-7404_astray_i-love-to-direct-i-get-really-jazzed-by_1769650.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I love to direct! I get really jazzed by directing, but directing is not the same kind of personal…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a lot harder to find fault with the mundane details of daily existence when you really, really know on a cellular level that you're going to go, and that this moment, right now, is life. Life isn't what happens to you in 20 years. This moment, right now, is your life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Ball" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the-mundane-details-of-daily/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/alan-ball-7404_cellular_it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the_886464.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/alan-ball-7404_cellular_it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the_886464.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/alan-ball-7404_cellular_it-s-a-lot-harder-to-find-fault-with-the_886464.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a lot harder to find fault with the mundane details of daily existence when you really, really know on…” — Alan Ball", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/alan-ball/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/alan-ball/", "name": "Really Quotes by Alan Ball", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/alan-ball/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/555/alan-ball-7404_because_i-need-to-feel-like-the-work-i-m-doing-i_2343684.jpg" }, "description": "10 Really quotes by Alan Ball. 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