"Dreams don't have deadlines. I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it"
About this Quote
The second sentence sharpens the move. "Bigger and better" nods to the standard language of success, but he undercuts its grimness with "having more fun with it". That little pivot is the subtext: joy as strategy, not garnish. In music, especially rap, seriousness is often treated as proof of authenticity, while fun is dismissed as fluff. LL flips that value system, implying longevity comes from play, curiosity, and the willingness to treat reinvention as an adventure instead of a midlife crisis.
Context matters here because LL Cool J is a cross-platform survivor: charting rapper, actor, host, brand. His career is basically a case study in refusing the "era" model. The intent isn’t just to inspire; it’s to normalize late-stage ambition and to reclaim creative freedom from timelines that were never designed to serve artists in the first place.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: CBS News: LL Cool J proud to play a Navy SEAL on "NCIS" (LL Cool J, 2011)
Evidence: "Dreams don't have deadlines," LL Cool J said. "... I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it.". This wording appears in the CBS News write-up of an interview segment on "The Early Show" (published May 3, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT). This is a primary-source publication (a contemporaneous news transcript/recap of LL Cool J speaking). I did not find evidence that this full two-sentence quote first appeared in a book, lyrics, or a dedicated speech earlier than this CBS News publication; many quote-collection sites instead attribute it (incorrectly or loosely) to a May 6, 2013 Facebook post, but the CBS News publication predates that. Other candidates (1) Anne of Green Gables (Chap. 26) (Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1913) primary60.0% Song: "Anne of Green Gables (Chap. 26)" by Lucy Maud Montgomery |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
J, LL Cool. (2026, February 20). Dreams don't have deadlines. I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dreams-dont-have-deadlines-im-thinking-of-doing-152717/
Chicago Style
J, LL Cool. "Dreams don't have deadlines. I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it." FixQuotes. February 20, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dreams-dont-have-deadlines-im-thinking-of-doing-152717/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Dreams don't have deadlines. I'm thinking of doing bigger and better things and having more fun with it." FixQuotes, 20 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/dreams-dont-have-deadlines-im-thinking-of-doing-152717/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.













