"Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting"
About this Quote
Ambition rarely looks noble up close; it mostly looks repetitive. Morley’s line punctures the mythology of “big shots” by shrinking them back down to size: not geniuses touched by fate, just ordinary people with an unusually high tolerance for the boring part. The wit is in the deflation. “Big shots” suggests swagger and status, but Morley replaces it with a near-childish image of someone who simply won’t stop taking shots, missing, adjusting, trying again. Celebrity and authority get reframed as stamina.
The subtext is quietly democratic and quietly ruthless. Democratic because it implies the ladder isn’t guarded by secret passwords; it’s climbed through persistence. Ruthless because it refuses to romanticize talent. You don’t become imposing by waiting to feel ready, or by being “discovered”; you become imposing by continuing when you’re still a “little shot” and everyone can see it.
Context matters: Morley wrote in an early 20th-century America that was industrializing its dreams, professionalizing the arts, and turning success into a public spectacle. In that environment, “big shot” is already a cultural type - the self-made man, the salesman, the impresario - and Morley’s jab lands as both encouragement and warning. Keep shooting, yes. But notice what the metaphor smuggles in: success isn’t a coronation, it’s a shooting range. The only difference between the powerful and the anonymous is who can absorb more recoil.
The subtext is quietly democratic and quietly ruthless. Democratic because it implies the ladder isn’t guarded by secret passwords; it’s climbed through persistence. Ruthless because it refuses to romanticize talent. You don’t become imposing by waiting to feel ready, or by being “discovered”; you become imposing by continuing when you’re still a “little shot” and everyone can see it.
Context matters: Morley wrote in an early 20th-century America that was industrializing its dreams, professionalizing the arts, and turning success into a public spectacle. In that environment, “big shot” is already a cultural type - the self-made man, the salesman, the impresario - and Morley’s jab lands as both encouragement and warning. Keep shooting, yes. But notice what the metaphor smuggles in: success isn’t a coronation, it’s a shooting range. The only difference between the powerful and the anonymous is who can absorb more recoil.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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