I realised that if I did what I wanted to do, it would work.
I was a filmy kid. I was two when I faced the camera for the first time. My parents realised it pretty early, and I'm really thankful to them for their support and help.
I never expected to earn money out of writing. In fact, the idea of getting published was too bourgeois. Then, in England, I realised that writing a book was something you could do without it being laughable.
Once I realised the value of making people laugh, I got very good at it. Fast.
It is hard because I love Cornettos, so that will always be a weakness, and I've realised that bread is my nemesis. I believe bread has been sent to destroy me to the core.
I always tell the story of 'Irreplaceable.' I initially wrote 'Irreplaceable' with myself in mind, with plans of it being my record. I love that record; however, what I realised about that record was that though given the circumstances of that situation - men and women are not that different - when you sing about it, it changes things, you know?
There are things about my mum that I only realised later, things that make me admire her.
I have realised I need to tone down and be easy at times. It is good to be competitive and have a fighting spirit, but one should not go to extremes.
Life being so short, and the possible books to write so many, it's good to function by night as well as by day; but would anybody become a writer if they realised at the outset what the working hours were?
The moment I realised anyone could be watching - and this is going to sound so name-droppy - was when Ricky Martin reached out to me on Coming Out Day 2012. The Internet has this massive potential, and you can never know the effect you might have on others by just being yourself.
I first read 'Tom Sawyer' when I was in 8th grade, 13 years old. I realised since that Mark Twain just bottled what it felt like to be a child.
While I was designing my home, I was living in different houses all around the world, and I saw thermostats that were just as bad as the ones in the U.S., or houses that needed them but didn't have them. I realised that this was a worldwide problem. I thought, 'Let's fix it.'
Eventually, I realised that I wanted to try to create something myself, and that's what writing novels is. Not because I wanted to put myself in front of the world, but because I wanted to create something that would go out into the world.
One thing I realised was that everyone is different. You can't compare two human beings.
When I entered TV, I realised that it's not just all about art, but it has a business dimension as well. You need to take care of yourself. I also learned who my viewers are.
I've realised over the years I play my best when I have time to prepare for each tournament as best as possible.
You can't live your life blaming your failures on your parents and what they did or didn't do for you. You're dealt the cards that you're dealt. I realised it was a waste of time to be angry at my parents and feel sorry for myself.
As a five-year-old in Berlin in 1965, I didn't know that funny women existed. It wasn't until I got back to England that I realised women could be funny.
I realised one day that men are emotional cripples. We can't express ourselves emotionally, we can only do it with anger and humour. Emotional stability and expression comes from women.
For a long time, I thought it was all down to dedication, hard work, and visualising doing well - that worked for a bit, but then it stopped. I've realised you have to be more practical and mature to make things actually happen.
We're seeing a reaction - and people taking to the streets with pots and pans - in areas where the independence movement isn't supposed to exist. People have to choose between one model and another. Everyone in Catalonia has realised that not taking part means ratifying the politics of repression of the Spanish government.
My motivation to compete was always about improving one year to the next. At 34, I realised I'd never run any quicker, so why hang on? But I love running and still run along woodland trails and beaches every few days.
I know some players like being the centre of attention and I admit that when I first became a player I liked fame, too. But that feeling lasted only for three months. Then I realised what it was really like to be the centre of attention all the time. It isn't all good.
My attitude goes back to my childhood. I used to audition for theatrical roles, and you can't stand out in a room full of ambitious eight-year-old girls by acting the wallflower. I realised then that I couldn't do things half-heartedly.
When I went to America, I spoke so much about who I was and gave so much away in a confessional, Irish, story-telling way that I suddenly realised I had given up a lot of myself. I had to shut up.
I am a fellow commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. My husband used to be a lecturer at Leeds University, and we lived in Yorkshire for 11 years. When he gave up his job, we realised we could live wherever we liked.
I realised quite early on that, although I wasn't trying to make a career speciality of it, I was playing slightly asexual, sociopathic intellectuals.
I realised I had to work in something creative, but with a business and global element. And that I had to do it while I was still young and had an appetite for risk.
In 10 months, I was replaced from three films. That's when I realised I need to take my work seriously. It's a blessing I didn't get things easy. If I had, I wouldn't realise the value of success.
I realised that you couldn't use the tools of yesterday to communicate today's world. Basically, that was the big light that went on in my head.
'The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It led me to read a lot of Russian literature.
I went into politics on an emotional level and soon realised that emotion has nothing to do with politics.
At the end of the day, life's about realising one's human potential. I don't know if I've realised mine, but I've certainly gone a long way towards realising some goals and some dreams.
I remember the defining moment when I first realised I was famous. I was in Africa staying in the little tent city there by the Masai Mara River. Two guys with spears looked at me and said, 'Frasier?'
I'd love to do a comedy. I always told myself that I don't have funny bones, and then I was working with Dervla Kirwan in 'Uncle Vanya,' and she was like, 'Lara, you're really, really funny.' And I realised I am, and that's not even me blowing my own trumpet.
My whole life was writing, recording and touring over and over again. At some point I realised I wasn't enjoying myself any more.