--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can only be as good as you dare to be…" description: "\"You can only be as good as you dare to be bad.\" — John Barrymore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg" --- # You can only be as good as you dare to be bad. ![“You can only be as good as you dare to be bad.” quote by John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg) > “You can only be as good as you dare to be bad.” [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One's moral limits define how good one can become; daring to be bad expands potential. **In simple terms:** Being daring expands moral capacity. Key Takeaway Challenge moral comfort zones. Themes ethics self-improvement risk Mood provocative thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - creative pursuits - risk-taking experiments Key Concepts moral flexibility personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What does “bad” mean in your life? - When is daring morally justified? A Different Perspective Being bad can cause harm and loss of trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [There was an old brochure for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts with a quote from Robert Redford or someone, that said, "You're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/there-was-an-old-brochure-for-the-american-academy-of-dramatic-arts/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [But sometimes it's good to dare yourself to do the unthinkable. And rather than stand in front of an audience with no clothes on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/but-sometimes-it-s-good-to-dare-yourself-to-do-the-unthinkable-and/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [“Good. 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Especially with 'Star Wars;' I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-tend-to-get-reactions-just-by-being-on-screen-because-i-guess-i-m/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Why stop now? Seduce me, Brian.I dare you." 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It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Barrymore > [America is the country where you can buy a lifetime supply of aspirin For one dollar and use it up in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/america-is-the-country-where-you-can-buy-a-lifetime-supply-of-aspirin/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [In Genesis, it says that it is not good for a man to be alone; but sometimes it is a great relief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/in-genesis-it-says-that-it-is-not-good-for-a-man-to-be-alone-but/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [My head is buried in the sands of tomorrow, while my tail feathers are singed by the hot sun of today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/my-head-is-buried-in-the-sands-of-tomorrow-while-my-tail-feathers-are/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o clock in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/i-would-like-to-find-a-stew-that-will-give-me-heartburn-immediately/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [ Mr. \[John\] Barrymore's smile was the smile of an actor who hates actors, and who knows that he is going to kill two or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/mr-john-barrymore-s-smile-was-the-smile-of-an-actor-who-hates-actors/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/why-is-there-so-much-month-left-at-the-end-of-the-money/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [When archaeologists discover the missing arms of Venus de Milo, they will find she was wearing boxing gloves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/when-archaeologists-discover-the-missing-arms-of-venus-de-milo-they/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [“happiness always sneaks in through a door you din't know you left open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/happiness-always-sneaks-in-through-a-door-you-din-t-know-you-left-open/) [john barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [He neither drank, smoked, nor rode a bicycle. 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It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I should not dare to call my soul my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-should-not-dare-to-call-my-soul-my-own/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Nobody calls me a racist when I do redneck jokes. Jeff Foxworthy can do as many 'You might be a redneck jokes' as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/nobody-calls-me-a-racist-when-i-do-redneck-jokes-jeff-foxworthy-can/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [Dare to dream! Never underestimate the Power of Our Dream!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-dream-never-underestimate-the-power-of-our-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why stop now? Seduce me, Brian.I dare you." "I've always found it hard to turn aside a dare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/why-stop-now-seduce-me-brian-i-dare-you-i-ve-always-found-it-hard-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I tend to get reactions just by being on screen, because I guess I'm physically queer-coded or something. Especially with 'Star Wars;' I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-tend-to-get-reactions-just-by-being-on-screen-because-i-guess-i-m/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [Who would dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/who-would-dare-assign-to-art-the-sterile-function-of-imitating-nature/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [I drink, I huff, I strut, look big and stare; And all this I can do, because I dare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-villiers/i-drink-i-huff-i-strut-look-big-and-stare-and-all-this-i-can-do/) [Theresa Villiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-villiers/) Browse all 2,415 Dare quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can only be as good as you dare to be bad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Barrymore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-be-bad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dare" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-be-bad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac8/john-barrymore-20453_dare_you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-b_2612863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can only be as good as you dare to be bad.” — John Barrymore", "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": "John Barrymore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can only be as good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-be-bad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/you-can-only-be-as-good-as-you-dare-to-be-bad/#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 } } ] } ```