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Steve Martin’s words of wisdom

Steve Martin's advice for success: "Be so good they can't ignore you," he told Charlie Rose in 2007. Here, Martin hosts the Academy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in 2001.

Steve Martin’s advice for success: “Be so good they can’t ignore you,” he told Charlie Rose in 2007. Here, Martin hosts the Academy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in 2001.

  (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

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Steve Martin is the 43rd recipient of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award. Here is a look at what the comedian-actor-musician-writer has to say about achieving success.

Steve Martin's words of wisdom

“Mike Nichols once told me that I always aimed high in something low,” he said in a 1994 Times interview. “I loved that.”

  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Steve Martin's words of wisdom

Sometimes it’s the simplest advice that’s hardest to come by, but the most essential. To quote Aziz Ansari quoting Steve Martin in a 2010 Forbes article: “The best advice is what Steve Martin used to say, ‘Be undeniably good.’ ” Above, Martin wins a Grammy for comedy record in 1978.

  (Bill Varie / Los Angeles Times)

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