"I missed so many opportunities along the way to do what I wanted to do because I didn't have the confidence to tell myself, much less anybody else, 'Yes, this is the business I wanted to be a part of,' and not feeling that I had the talent... and letting it go all the way through Notre Dame and then through two years of Navy service"
About this Quote
The most revealing subtext is how ambition is treated like a social transgression. Philbin can’t simply say, “I want to be in entertainment.” He has to justify it against institutions that are supposed to confer legitimacy: Notre Dame, the Navy, the respectable lanes for a mid-century Catholic kid from the Bronx. Those aren’t just biographical details; they’re cultural guardrails. He’s describing a world where “talent” is imagined as an inborn permission slip, and confidence is mistaken for arrogance unless it’s backed by pedigree.
It lands because it’s not a victory lap. Even after he became a fixture of American mornings, he’s still honoring the earlier version of himself who didn’t know wanting could be enough to start. In a culture that sells hustle as destiny, Philbin’s candor is a rarer story: success built not on certainty, but on finally arguing with your own gatekeeper.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Philbin, Regis. (2026, February 16). I missed so many opportunities along the way to do what I wanted to do because I didn't have the confidence to tell myself, much less anybody else, 'Yes, this is the business I wanted to be a part of,' and not feeling that I had the talent... and letting it go all the way through Notre Dame and then through two years of Navy service. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-missed-so-many-opportunities-along-the-way-to-116028/
Chicago Style
Philbin, Regis. "I missed so many opportunities along the way to do what I wanted to do because I didn't have the confidence to tell myself, much less anybody else, 'Yes, this is the business I wanted to be a part of,' and not feeling that I had the talent... and letting it go all the way through Notre Dame and then through two years of Navy service." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-missed-so-many-opportunities-along-the-way-to-116028/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I missed so many opportunities along the way to do what I wanted to do because I didn't have the confidence to tell myself, much less anybody else, 'Yes, this is the business I wanted to be a part of,' and not feeling that I had the talent... and letting it go all the way through Notre Dame and then through two years of Navy service." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-missed-so-many-opportunities-along-the-way-to-116028/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
