--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had progressed on stage as a performer…" description: "\"I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't progressed as a human being.\" — Elton John" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png" --- # I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't… ![“I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't progressed as a human being.” quote by Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png) > “I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't progressed as a human being.” [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success in a craft does not guarantee personal growth; true fulfillment requires evolving as a person alongside professional achievements. **In simple terms:** Career success isn’t enough without personal development. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑awareness while pursuing goals. Themes personal growth self‑development balance humility Mood reflective inspired Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - performing arts - leadership roles - public speaking - career transitions Key Concepts identity mindfulness emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure personal growth? - What habits support holistic development? A Different Perspective Personal growth can be slower than career milestones, causing frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hadn Progressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hadn-progressed-1110891/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Performer Hadn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performer-hadn-1110890/) [Performers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performers/) [Progressed Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressed-human-1110892/) [Progressed Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progressed-stage-1110889/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Stage Performer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage-performer-736581/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [I used to play for 200 people and now I'm selling out places that hold 16,000 people. It's a big change, and it's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/i-used-to-play-for-200-people-and-now-i-m-selling-out-places-that/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) > [I am a street performer as much as I am a stage performer. Yes, I have a television show, but every trick, every 'Mindfreak'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-angel/i-am-a-street-performer-as-much-as-i-am-a-stage-performer-yes-i-have/) [Criss Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-angel/) > [I really never had any thought about being a legitimate actor, like a stage performer. I wanted to make movies. I wanted to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-elliott/i-really-never-had-any-thought-about-being-a-legitimate-actor-like-a/) [Sam Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-elliott/) > [As an ex-stand up, I can tell you that a comedy club isn't a place you go looking to get the abuse you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/as-an-ex-stand-up-i-can-tell-you-that-a-comedy-club-isn-t-a-place-you/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [I wanted to try everything. I learnt a lot from playback singing. But at heart, I'm a pop rock singer; I'm a stage performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/i-wanted-to-try-everything-i-learnt-a-lot-from-playback-singing-but/) [Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/) > [In the end, I didn't think I was good enough to use sax as a stage performer to get where I wanted, and thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engelbert-humperdinck/in-the-end-i-didn-t-think-i-was-good-enough-to-use-sax-as-a-stage/) [Engelbert Humperdinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/engelbert-humperdinck/) > [Being a stage performer for me, was - to be in front of people was just something that just came very naturally to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-currie/being-a-stage-performer-for-me-was-to-be-in-front-of-people-was-just/) [Cherie Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-currie/) > [You don't know being a performer what kind of performance you're going to give. You know you can give a certain quality of performance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/you-don-t-know-being-a-performer-what-kind-of-performance-you-re/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [It was also great to have the Backstreet Boys appear on stage with me because I have gotten to know them all a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/it-was-also-great-to-have-the-backstreet-boys-appear-on-stage-with-me/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I think that's what makes a great show: when the performers onstage aren't putting on a show, they're legitimately just having a freaking awesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grammer/i-think-that-s-what-makes-a-great-show-when-the-performers-onstage/) [Andy Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grammer/) > [One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [The process of putting intangible thoughts into an imperfect system of notation - which is difficult enough, depending on your ideas - acquaints you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/the-process-of-putting-intangible-thoughts-into-an-imperfect-system/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) [K. Anders Ericsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-anders-ericsson/) ## More by Elton John > [For me music is so passionate. I have to give it my all every time I go onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/for-me-music-is-so-passionate-i-have-to-give-it-my-all-every-time-i/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [No tears to damn you when jealousy burns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/no-tears-to-damn-you-when-jealousy-burns/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [And we have come so far like that. I mean, the advances on the medication side have been enormous, and the advances on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/and-we-have-come-so-far-like-that-i-mean-the-advances-on-the/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/mars-ain-t-the-kind-of-place-to-raise-your-kids-in-fact-it-s-cold-as/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-love-the-idea-of-the-teachings-of-jesus-christ-and-the-beautiful/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I'm not bored with my life. I'm not just making the records and touring, I would find that boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-m-not-bored-with-my-life-i-m-not-just-making-the-records-and/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I love places that have an incredible history. I love the Italian way of life. I love the food. I love the people. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-love-places-that-have-an-incredible-history-i-love-the-italian-way/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I used to get my money at the end of the week, buy my mum something, or buy a record, and that was it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-used-to-get-my-money-at-the-end-of-the-week-buy-my-mum-something-or/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [We have a society where every hit maker and TV presenter is gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/we-have-a-society-where-every-hit-maker-and-tv-presenter-is-gay/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I'm very relaxed. I'm very happy with my personal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-m-very-relaxed-i-m-very-happy-with-my-personal-life/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [You can beat her, but don't mistreat her. Oh, don't believe that woman please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/you-can-beat-her-but-don-t-mistreat-her-oh-don-t-believe-that-woman/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [The Backstreet Boys can sing their asses off. I'm not so sure about those other boy bands. But Backstreet Boys have my ultimate respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/the-backstreet-boys-can-sing-their-asses-off-i-m-not-so-sure-about/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [I grew up at my grandmother's house, and she had a beautiful garden. I used to hate mowing the lawn and weeding, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-grew-up-at-my-grandmother-s-house-and-she-had-a-beautiful-garden-i/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [ He \[Ryan White\] had a kind of angelic aura about him. And his family, too, it's like, they are going through all this suffering,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/he-ryan-white-had-a-kind-of-angelic-aura-about-him-and-his-family-too/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Welcome to the world of bullshit, my dear. You have arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/welcome-to-the-world-of-bullshit-my-dear-you-have-arrived/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) [Explore all 352 Elton John quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Browse all 6,948 Human beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't progressed as a human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elton John" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer-but-i-hadn-t-progressed-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer-but-i-hadn-t-progressed-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/elton-john-849_human-beings_i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer_1696878.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had progressed on stage as a performer, but I hadn't progressed as a human being.” — Elton John", "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": "Elton John", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had progressed on stage as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer-but-i-hadn-t-progressed-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-had-progressed-on-stage-as-a-performer-but-i-hadn-t-progressed-as-a/#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 } } ] } ```