"Life just doesn't hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. That's the exciting part"
About this Quote
The intent is motivational, but the subtext is more revealing: agency is not just a virtue, it’s entertainment. “That’s the exciting part” reframes struggle as adrenaline, turning the grind into a feature rather than a bug. This is classic Lagasse-era Food Network optimism, when celebrity culture sold ambition as something you could learn, plate, and broadcast. The quote invites you to see your own life like a service line: mise en place, move fast, own the outcome.
Context matters because Lagasse’s persona wasn’t the contemplative artisan; it was the energetic instigator. He didn’t just cook, he “kicked it up,” making effort visible and contagious. That’s why the sentence works: it’s less about stoic self-reliance than about converting uncertainty into motion. The small stumble in “that’s” (lowercase, casual) even helps - it reads like something said off-camera, a little unpolished, which makes the message feel earned rather than packaged.
Of course, it flirts with hustle-culture blind spots, implying initiative can outrun circumstance. Still, as a piece of celebrity pragmatism, it’s effective: it makes agency feel not grim, but electric.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lagasse, Emeril. (2026, February 18). Life just doesn't hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. That's the exciting part. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-just-doesnt-hand-you-things-you-have-to-get-73072/
Chicago Style
Lagasse, Emeril. "Life just doesn't hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. That's the exciting part." FixQuotes. February 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-just-doesnt-hand-you-things-you-have-to-get-73072/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Life just doesn't hand you things. You have to get out there and make things happen. That's the exciting part." FixQuotes, 18 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-just-doesnt-hand-you-things-you-have-to-get-73072/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.









