"Because I was deaf, I had a very positive mental attitude. You have to show people you can do anything"
About this Quote
The subtext sits inside that verb: “show.” O’Neil isn’t only talking about doing the thing; she’s talking about managing the audience. As an actress and stunt performer famous for speed and daredevil feats, she lived in industries built on spectacle and gatekeeping. You don’t get cast, hired, insured, or believed on private confidence alone. You have to convert competence into proof that can’t be ignored. The phrase “people” quietly names the doubters and the decision-makers: producers, crews, journalists, and a culture trained to treat disabled bodies as fragile or dependent.
Her “very positive mental attitude” reads less like self-help and more like armor: a disciplined refusal to let others narrate her life for her. It’s also a small critique of the systems that demand this performance of can-do resilience from disabled people just to be seen as viable. O’Neil makes it sound simple, almost cheerful. That’s the power move. She wraps defiance in optimism, then dares you to argue with the results.
Quote Details
| Topic | Overcoming Obstacles |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: On This Day She (Tania Hershman, Ailsa Holland, Jo Bell, 2021) modern compilationISBN: 9781789462722 · ID: FwYAEAAAQBAJ
Evidence:
... Kitty. O'Neil. (1946–2018). On this day in 1976, American Kitty O'Neil became the fastest woman alive, reaching ... Because I was deaf I had a very positive mental attitude. You have to show people you can do anything.' Within six ... |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
O'Neil, Kitty. (2026, March 4). Because I was deaf, I had a very positive mental attitude. You have to show people you can do anything. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/because-i-was-deaf-i-had-a-very-positive-mental-184030/
Chicago Style
O'Neil, Kitty. "Because I was deaf, I had a very positive mental attitude. You have to show people you can do anything." FixQuotes. March 4, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/because-i-was-deaf-i-had-a-very-positive-mental-184030/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Because I was deaf, I had a very positive mental attitude. You have to show people you can do anything." FixQuotes, 4 Mar. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/because-i-was-deaf-i-had-a-very-positive-mental-184030/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.




