--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not the first one to say it, but that…" description: "\"I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is a heightened sense of present tense.\" — Bill Pullman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png" --- # I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is… ![“I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is a heightened sense of present tense.” quote by Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png) > “I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is a heightened sense of present tense.” [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stage performance heightens awareness of the present moment, making time feel immediate and vivid. **In simple terms:** Being onstage makes you fully feel the now. Key Takeaway Embrace the present fully. Themes presence performance mindfulness Mood focused energized Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - acting - public speaking - live events Key Concepts temporal perception flow state Questions to Reflect On - How does stage presence affect your daily life? - What practices keep you grounded after performances? A Different Perspective The intensity can be exhausting after long runs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Present tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-tense/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Now this is this, or seems to be. 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You find the past perfect and the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-like-a-grammar-lesson-you-find-the-past-perfect-and-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [And the first till last alshemist wrote over every square inch of the only foolscap available, his own body, till by its corrosive sublimation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/and-the-first-till-last-alshemist-wrote-over-every-square-inch-of-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“That’s probably the worst thing about death. Is turns into was. Everything that was once present tense is now in the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-reese/that-s-probably-the-worst-thing-about-death-is-turns-into-was/) [Caleb Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-reese/) ## More by Bill Pullman > [With modern medicine prolonging life no matter what condition you're in, it seems like we're working towards immortality by science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/with-modern-medicine-prolonging-life-no-matter-what-condition-you-re/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I like to wear my dad's shoes to auditions as sort of a lucky thing. I feel like I'm on solid ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-like-to-wear-my-dad-s-shoes-to-auditions-as-sort-of-a-lucky-thing-i/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > ['The Virginian' has a very important romantic story line that you don't find in a lot of Westerns... At the heart of the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/the-virginian-has-a-very-important-romantic-story-line-that-you-don-t/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I've been lucky to be a part of many blockbuster movies... in which it's hard to get to that level of being memorable, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-ve-been-lucky-to-be-a-part-of-many-blockbuster-movies-in-which-it-s/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [The first Westerns I saw as a child were those little 8-mm. home movies put out by Castle Films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/the-first-westerns-i-saw-as-a-child-were-those-little-8-mm-home/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [That's how we invaded Iraq, through the fear of an 'evil empire,' and it just makes people feel like bulls with the toreadors -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/that-s-how-we-invaded-iraq-through-the-fear-of-an-evil-empire-and-it/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I've been lucky to have opportunities with David Lynch in 'Lost Highway' and Jennifer Lynch in this movie 'Surveillance,' so I've always boomeranged around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-ve-been-lucky-to-have-opportunities-with-david-lynch-in-lost/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [I noticed that in 'The Revenant,' as much as it is a good story of revenge and endurance, there are times that you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-noticed-that-in-the-revenant-as-much-as-it-is-a-good-story-of/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [There's definitely a pattern of great British shows that get reinvented in America and do really well here, but I think 'Torchwood' is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/there-s-definitely-a-pattern-of-great-british-shows-that-get/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [The idea of taking classic American stories and reinterpreting them for a time and place is not just commercially viable. 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Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. I just used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/oh-i-m-a-great-believer-in-the-power-of-the-pause-radio-is-a-bit/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/i-have-to-say-i-grew-up-with-fashion-because-my-mother-was-a/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [I first got into boxing when I was quite young. I was about 12 when I won my first boxing match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/i-first-got-into-boxing-when-i-was-quite-young-i-was-about-12-when-i/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) Browse all 9,159 First quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is a heightened sense of present tense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that-time-onstage-is-a-heightened/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that-time-onstage-is-a-heightened/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/bill-pullman-4126_first_i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that_2472612.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not the first one to say it, but that time onstage is a heightened sense of present tense.” — Bill Pullman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not the first one to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that-time-onstage-is-a-heightened/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/i-m-not-the-first-one-to-say-it-but-that-time-onstage-is-a-heightened/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```