Quote Of The Day By Lucille Ball: 'Love Yourself First, And Everything Else...'

Lucille Ball is one of the 20th century's most iconic entertainers. Before she co-created and starred in the incredibly influential sitcom "I Love Lucy," Ball was just a teenager from Jamestown, New York. After a tumultuous and difficult childhood, Ball was sent to a drama school in New York City (which she attended at the same time as screen star Bette Davis). While she was passionate about becoming a star, Ball struggled to overcome her nerves and was eventually asked to unenroll. However, she stayed in the city and modeled under the name "Diane Belmont" in 1927. Ball moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s and starred in various small projects and B-movies throughout the decade. 

A turning point in Ball's career came in 1940 when she met bandleader Desi Arnaz on the RKO Pictures lot. That same year, the two starred alongside each other in "Too Many Girls," quickly fell in love, and married soon after. In 1948, she secured a lead role in the radio sitcom "My Favorite Husband" and was asked to create a television show for CBS based on the program. Ball refused to do so unless they let her include Arnaz (which they didn't). The pair developed "I Love Lucy" as a comedic stage act instead, and its success made CBS change their tune. "I Love Lucy" became a massive hit; Ball even made history by introducing then-taboo concepts like pregnancy to the small screen. After divorcing Arnaz in 1960, Ball bought him out of Desilu Productions, becoming the first woman to run a major television production studio. She went on to star in "The Lucy Show" and "Here's Lucy," among other projects, before her passing in 1989. Ball was a pioneer in the entertainment industry, which is why she is our quote of the day.

While the original source of Lucille Ball's most famous quote has been lost to time, the legendary entertainer is reported to have once said, "Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." Ball simply understood that self-love is more powerful than we realize in terms of actualizing our dreams, an incredibly inspiring philosophy.

It is difficult to achieve your dreams without confidence. As Lucille Ball famously said, loving yourself is the first step to creating the life you want. When you embrace self-love and give yourself grace, you step out into the world with an inner confidence that others can perceive. Ball knew this firsthand. Her lack of confidence and self-assurance was what led to her being asked to leave performing arts school as a teenager. Because Ball was unable to overcome her shyness and self-doubt, she could have ended her career before it even began. However, the legendary actor and producer picked herself back up and re-entered the entertainment world with a sense of self-acceptance. 

Take Ball's advice and focus on loving yourself first and foremost. You won't be able to navigate the world in a way that benefits you (and those around you) if everything you do is informed by doubt and negativity. We all know that life can be difficult, and it becomes far more troublesome if you're plagued by insecurity. It's not just Ball — every one of us must do the work internally before achieving our ultimate goals. 

• "I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste."
• "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."
• "I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't."
• "It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy."
• "I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't."
• "One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."