--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't sit around and wait for the…" description: "\"I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.\" — Tony Curtis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png" --- # I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring. ![“I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.” quote by Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png) > “I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.” [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker urges proactive action rather than waiting passively for opportunities to appear. **In simple terms:** Don't wait for opportunities. Key Takeaway Take initiative now. Themes initiative action proactivity patience Mood determined optimistic Type advice motivational When to use this quote - job search - creative projects - networking Key Concepts self‑efficacy goal setting motivation Questions to Reflect On - What can you start today? - How do you balance patience and action? A Different Perspective Waiting can sometimes be strategic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rings/) [Sit Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-wait/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) [Telephone Ring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone-ring-4983010/) [Telephones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephones/) [Text](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text/) [Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait/) [Wait Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-telephone-901623/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [It could be a little bit sad as a young girl to sit there and wait in front of the telephone that would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-karina/it-could-be-a-little-bit-sad-as-a-young-girl-to-sit-there-and-wait-in/) [Anna Karina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-karina/) > [So that's the telephone? They ring, and you run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/so-that-s-the-telephone-they-ring-and-you-run/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [What I like best about the telephone is that it keeps you in touch with people, particularly people who want to sell you magazine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/what-i-like-best-about-the-telephone-is-that-it-keeps-you-in-touch/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Similitude of the heart is like that of a telephone operator between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riaz-ahmed-gohar-shahi/similitude-of-the-heart-is-like-that-of-a-telephone-operator-between/) [Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riaz-ahmed-gohar-shahi/) > [You are not ashamed of our luuurve, are you, Jas?' 'Look, shut up, people might hear.' 'What do you mean, the people who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/you-are-not-ashamed-of-our-luuurve-are-you-jas-look-shut-up-people/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) > [Ever hear of a telephone, asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/ever-hear-of-a-telephone-asshole/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [One day every major city in America will have a telephone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/one-day-every-major-city-in-america-will-have-a-telephone/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [Dying's not so bad. At least I won't have to answer the telephone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/dying-s-not-so-bad-at-least-i-won-t-have-to-answer-the-telephone/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [No man who drank or smoked could ever come nearer to me than the telephone. I'd say, I won't let you - you nicotine-soaked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nation/no-man-who-drank-or-smoked-could-ever-come-nearer-to-me-than-the/) [Carrie Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nation/) > [Success is when your name is in everything but the telephone directory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/success-is-when-your-name-is-in-everything-but-the-telephone-directory/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [You can't pick up the telephone and say, 'Connect me with someone else who has a kid with leukemia.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/you-can-t-pick-up-the-telephone-and-say-connect-me-with-someone-else/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [The telephone is the most important single technological resource of later life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-comfort/the-telephone-is-the-most-important-single-technological-resource-of/) [Alex Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-comfort/) > [The telephone is virtual reality in that you can meet with someone as if you are together, at least for the auditory sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-telephone-is-virtual-reality-in-that-you-can-meet-with-someone-as/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I will take questions from the guys, but from the girls I want telephone numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-will-take-questions-from-the-guys-but-from-the-girls-i-want/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Tony Curtis > [I've always believed that service to others is rent we pay for our time on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-ve-always-believed-that-service-to-others-is-rent-we-pay-for-our/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [For instance, I always have one hanging in Budapest in the mayors office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/for-instance-i-always-have-one-hanging-in-budapest-in-the-mayors/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [We often don't think of them, we think of the great wars and the great battles, but what about losing a son or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/we-often-don-t-think-of-them-we-think-of-the-great-wars-and-the-great/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I enlisted when I was a boy. The Navy looked after me like my mother. It fed me, took care of me and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-enlisted-when-i-was-a-boy-the-navy-looked-after-me-like-my-mother/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I look at everything in an artistic way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-look-at-everything-in-an-artistic-way/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I like Vegas for its spontaneity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-like-vegas-for-its-spontaneity/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [Hollywood ... the most sensational merry-go-around ever built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/hollywood-the-most-sensational-merry-go-around-ever-built/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [“Mostly I live in this moment, right now, and I'm grateful for it. I know that most of this life lies behind me, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/mostly-i-live-in-this-moment-right-now-and-i-m-grateful-for-it-i-know/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [The service meant so much to me. You don't know privileged I feel and how lucky I am to have served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/the-service-meant-so-much-to-me-you-don-t-know-privileged-i-feel-and/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [Necking with Marilyn Monroe is like kissing Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/necking-with-marilyn-monroe-is-like-kissing-hitler/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [I'm world famous, everywhere I go there are people who love me because of I've been able to bring them some joy from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-m-world-famous-everywhere-i-go-there-are-people-who-love-me-because/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [Like an opera singer, I am able to sing out my song in paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/like-an-opera-singer-i-am-able-to-sing-out-my-song-in-paint/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [We're all brought up in a world that isn't the best place for us to be in once in a while. There are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/we-re-all-brought-up-in-a-world-that-isn-t-the-best-place-for-us-to/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [Marilyn Monro wasn't the brightest person in the world - that didn't make a difference one way or the other - but she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/marilyn-monro-wasn-t-the-brightest-person-in-the-world-that-didn-t/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) > [It's such a human condition, whether you're a great track star or a great knitting person or you paint watercolors - someone knows who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/it-s-such-a-human-condition-whether-you-re-a-great-track-star-or-a/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) [Explore all 63 Tony Curtis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) ## More Rings quotes > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/above-the-clouds-i-lift-my-wing-to-hear-the-bells-of-heaven-ring-some/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-ruined-my-hands-in-the-ring-the-referee-kept-stepping-on-them/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) [Jerry Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-glanville/) > [End-of-the-world stories tend to ring true. I've always been drawn to them, but as I wrote my own, I found surprising pleasure in creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/end-of-the-world-stories-tend-to-ring-true-i-ve-always-been-drawn-to/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable. In the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/it-is-very-pleasant-to-scratch-an-itching-ring-worm-but-the-sensation/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [When it comes to boxing I find a way to clear my mind. When it comes to boxing you have to fight. Clear your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thurman/when-it-comes-to-boxing-i-find-a-way-to-clear-my-mind-when-it-comes/) [Keith Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-thurman/) [Browse all 1,762 Rings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Curtis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-telephone-to-ring/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Rings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-telephone-to-ring/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/tony-curtis-10780_rings_i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-tele_1573549.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't sit around and wait for the telephone to ring.” — Tony Curtis", "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": "Tony Curtis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can't sit around and wait...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-telephone-to-ring/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-can-t-sit-around-and-wait-for-the-telephone-to-ring/#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 } } ] } ```