"It's ironic that at age 32, at probably the greatest moment of my career, with The Godfather having such an enormous success, I wasn't even aware of it, because I was somewhere else under the deadline again"

In this quote, Francis Ford Coppola assesses a moment in his life where he was experiencing great success, yet was totally uninformed of it. At the age of 32, throughout the peak of his profession and with the huge success of his film The Godfather, Coppola confesses that he was not totally present to value it. Rather, he was consumed by the pressure of satisfying a deadline, which took him away from completely experiencing and enjoying his accomplishments. This paradox highlights the sacrifices and obstacles that featured success, along with the value of existing and mindful in the midst of it all.