My Drive in Life Is from This Horrible Fear of Being Mediocre

Creator: Madonna Louise Ciccone, American singer, songwriter, and artistic entrepreneur

Context: In 1991 “Vanity Fair” published a profile of Madonna within which she discussed her “iron will” and her trepidation. Emphasis added to this excerpt by QI:[1] 1991 April, Vanity Fair, The Misfit by Lynn Hirschberg (Profile of Madonna Louise Ciccone), Start Page 158, Quote Page 198, Column 1, Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Verified with photocopies)

“And all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. I’m always struggling with that fear. I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being and then I get to another stage and think I’m mediocre and uninteresting. And I find a way to get myself out of that. Again and again. My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that’s always pushing me, pushing me.

Related Article 01: “Mediocrity is My Biggest Fear” said Robert Downey Jr.

References

References
1 1991 April, Vanity Fair, The Misfit by Lynn Hirschberg (Profile of Madonna Louise Ciccone), Start Page 158, Quote Page 198, Column 1, Conde Nast Publications, New York. (Verified with photocopies)