--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never…" description: "\"“[As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves perfect...”\" — Frances Mayes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png" --- # \[As Chevalley says,\] 'Sicilians never want to improve for… ![“[As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves perfect...” quote by Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png) > ““\[As Chevalley says,\] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves perfect...”” [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may resist improvement because they believe they are already perfect, leading to stagnation. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism blocks growth. Key Takeaway Challenge self‑perceived perfection. Themes self‑delusion stagnation growth Mood reflective critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - team management - creative projects Key Concepts perfectionism self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What areas do you assume you’re perfect in? - How can you foster a growth mindset? A Different Perspective Improvement requires humility and openness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chevalley Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chevalley-says-4679529/) [Says Sicilians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-sicilians-4679528/) [Sicilians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sicilians-1661284/) [Sicilians Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sicilians-want-1661282/) [Think Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-perfect/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[As Garibaldi says,\] 'Sleep, my dear Chevalley, sleep, that is what Sicilians want, and they will always hate anyone who tries to wake them...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-garibaldi-says-sleep-my-dear-chevalley-sleep-that-is-what/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [My family was all born in Sicily and I'm Italian-American. They're the real thing. They're authentic Italians, and honestly they're the most open-minded, nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinny-guadagnino/my-family-was-all-born-in-sicily-and-i-m-italian-american-they-re-the/) [Vinny Guadagnino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinny-guadagnino/) > [“Sicilians never forget and they never forgive. This is a truth you must always keep in mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-falco/sicilians-never-forget-and-they-never-forgive-this-is-a-truth-you/) [Edward Falco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-falco/) > [Sicilians, Calabrians, Neapolitans - there were real differences between them, and then all of a sudden they're all living in the US, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-carpignano/sicilians-calabrians-neapolitans-there-were-real-differences-between/) [Jonas Carpignano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-carpignano/) > [In all of human history no country or no people have suffered such terrible slavery, conquest and foreign oppression and no country and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/in-all-of-human-history-no-country-or-no-people-have-suffered-such/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Never care what other People think of you,because you will be Perfect to Someone..Â¥ !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracesel-collado/never-care-what-other-people-think-of-you-because-you-will-be-perfect/) [Gracesel Collado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracesel-collado/) > [The next time you think your perfect try walking on water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-time-you-think-your-perfect-try-walking-on-water/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think everyone is the perfect owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-ranieri/i-think-everyone-is-the-perfect-owner/) [Claudio Ranieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-ranieri/) > [Do you think you can make the world a better place? I do not think you can. It is already perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-you-think-you-can-make-the-world-a-better-place-i-do-not-think-you/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“Nobody is perfect, if you think you are, you're a perfect nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-simmons/nobody-is-perfect-if-you-think-you-are-you-re-a-perfect-nobody/) [Terence Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-simmons/) > [I don't think perfect is interesting. I think what makes life exciting is the imperfections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frann/i-don-t-think-perfect-is-interesting-i-think-what-makes-life-exciting/) [Mary Frann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-frann/) > [“Every day, I would wake up and think you were perfect and every night I'd go to sleep thinking that, somehow, during the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/every-day-i-would-wake-up-and-think-you-were-perfect-and-every-night/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [So that's one of the reasons why we took time between the last one and this one, was to make sure that we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burk/so-that-s-one-of-the-reasons-why-we-took-time-between-the-last-one/) [Bryan Burk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burk/) > [I have never meant a person that was perfect. We all make mistakes. Even the people that think they're perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-never-meant-a-person-that-was-perfect-we-all-make-mistakes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know why you're not perfect? You do everything perfectly and you think you are perfect, but the mere fact that you think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-why-you-re-not-perfect-you-do-everything-perfectly-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Frances Mayes > [If you've got a plot the size of a car or a tiny yard in Italy, you're going to be growing tomatoes and basil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/if-you-ve-got-a-plot-the-size-of-a-car-or-a-tiny-yard-in-italy-you-re/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“Always, I liked the infinitive 'to go.' Let's go, let's go. let's really go. 'Andare' was the first verb I learned to conjugate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/always-i-liked-the-infinitive-to-go-let-s-go-let-s-go-let-s-really-go/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [ “\[As Garibaldi says,\] 'Sleep, my dear Chevalley, sleep, that is what Sicilians want, and they will always hate anyone who tries to wake them...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-garibaldi-says-sleep-my-dear-chevalley-sleep-that-is-what/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [All afternoon in the deck chair, I try to describe to my notebook the colors of the water and sky. How to translate sunlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/all-afternoon-in-the-deck-chair-i-try-to-describe-to-my-notebook-the/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [Life offers you a thousand chances... all you have to do is take one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/life-offers-you-a-thousand-chances-all-you-have-to-do-is-take-one/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [The Only Thing More Surprising Than the Chance She's Taking...Is Where It's Taking Her!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/the-only-thing-more-surprising-than-the-chance-she-s-taking-is-where/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [The Italians have their priorities right: They're driven, they do their work, but they really enjoy the day-to-day and they don't put off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/the-italians-have-their-priorities-right-they-re-driven-they-do-their/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [Anytime the perfume of orange and lemon groves wafts in the window; the human body has to feel suffused with a languorous well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/anytime-the-perfume-of-orange-and-lemon-groves-wafts-in-the-window/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [It’s daunting to find the language so foreign, so distant, but also so thrilling. One is absolved of responsibility when the language is incomprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/it-s-daunting-to-find-the-language-so-foreign-so-distant-but-also-so/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“There are reasons we congregate in these hot spots- to worship beauty and to feel its effects light up the electrolytes in the bloodstream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/there-are-reasons-we-congregate-in-these-hot-spots-to-worship-beauty/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“And my mother, whose radius of travel was short, tied the letters with ribbon and kept them in her desk, When you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/and-my-mother-whose-radius-of-travel-was-short-tied-the-letters-with/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [I got the idea that to write books would be the best way to spend a life. I never thought of anything else that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/i-got-the-idea-that-to-write-books-would-be-the-best-way-to-spend-a/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [In America, people are just so straightforward when they dislike things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/in-america-people-are-just-so-straightforward-when-they-dislike-things/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“At Bramasole, the first secret spot that draws me outside is a stump and board bench on a high terrace overlooking the lake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/at-bramasole-the-first-secret-spot-that-draws-me-outside-is-a-stump/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [“Writing a poem doubles, triples the experience or connection that initiated it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/writing-a-poem-doubles-triples-the-experience-or-connection-that/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) [Explore all 86 Frances Mayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) ## More Think Perfect quotes > [You know why you're not perfect? You do everything perfectly and you think you are perfect, but the mere fact that you think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-why-you-re-not-perfect-you-do-everything-perfectly-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have never meant a person that was perfect. We all make mistakes. Even the people that think they're perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-never-meant-a-person-that-was-perfect-we-all-make-mistakes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So that's one of the reasons why we took time between the last one and this one, was to make sure that we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burk/so-that-s-one-of-the-reasons-why-we-took-time-between-the-last-one/) [Bryan Burk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burk/) > [“Every day, I would wake up and think you were perfect and every night I'd go to sleep thinking that, somehow, during the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/every-day-i-would-wake-up-and-think-you-were-perfect-and-every-night/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [I don't think perfect is interesting. I think what makes life exciting is the imperfections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frann/i-don-t-think-perfect-is-interesting-i-think-what-makes-life-exciting/) [Mary Frann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-frann/) > [“Nobody is perfect, if you think you are, you're a perfect nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-simmons/nobody-is-perfect-if-you-think-you-are-you-re-a-perfect-nobody/) [Terence Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-simmons/) > [Do you think you can make the world a better place? I do not think you can. It is already perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-you-think-you-can-make-the-world-a-better-place-i-do-not-think-you/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I think everyone is the perfect owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-ranieri/i-think-everyone-is-the-perfect-owner/) [Claudio Ranieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-ranieri/) > [The next time you think your perfect try walking on water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-time-you-think-your-perfect-try-walking-on-water/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never care what other People think of you,because you will be Perfect to Someone..Â¥ !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracesel-collado/never-care-what-other-people-think-of-you-because-you-will-be-perfect/) [Gracesel Collado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracesel-collado/) > [The girls that think their perfect are fake,and the one who think there nothing they are perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-perez/the-girls-that-think-their-perfect-are-fake-and-the-one-who-think/) [Alex Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-perez/) > [There's a time in your life where you're not quite sure where you are. You think everything's perfect, but it's not perfect... Then one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/there-s-a-time-in-your-life-where-you-re-not-quite-sure-where-you-are/) [Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/) > [I don't think anyone is the perfect one to play me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-don-t-think-anyone-is-the-perfect-one-to-play-me/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [You don't have to be perfect to be happy. If you think you have to be perfect in order to be happy you'll always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-don-t-have-to-be-perfect-to-be-happy-if-you-think-you-have-to-be/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I think the perfect hug is when someone hugs me without asking me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv/i-think-the-perfect-hug-is-when-someone-hugs-me-without-asking-me/) [Shiv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv/) [Browse all 69 Think Perfect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-perfect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves perfect...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Mayes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-to-improve-for-the-simple/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Think Perfect" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-to-improve-for-the-simple/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/frances-mayes-7779_think-perfect_as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-t_565582.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never want to improve for the simple reason that they think themselves…” — Frances Mayes", "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": "Frances Mayes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[As Chevalley says,] 'Sicilians never want...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-to-improve-for-the-simple/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/as-chevalley-says-sicilians-never-want-to-improve-for-the-simple/#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 } } ] } ```