Ian Somerhalder Quotations

Love is tested in so many ways. How do I articulate this? Two people are together. There are stakes, strife, struggles, all these things that make us fall for someone, love someone even more, leave someone.

To explore different parts of yourself and different emotional lives... not to hide from who you are but to actually explore who you are.

I can't let time move on without fighting tooth and nail and hopefully being a part of a revolution that is positive.

When you're really close to someone, they can make fun of you a lot and get away with it. But they sort of poke you in all of the right places.

I can write with absolutely perfect penmanship with my feet. If I broke both my arms, I could still write a girl a love letter using just my toes.

Every love story needs a catalyst of some sort.

I have the attention span of a mosquito from multitasking and all the things that have affected my poor little brain.

I have a million acquaintances but just two or three true friends. I can't hide anything from them.

Acting is such a huge part of my life. It really allows me to have a creative outlet and to actually be able to have an outlet to discuss openly the things that truly I think are relevant in the world, that make a difference.

I don't care how hot a girl is - if she doesn't like animals, it would be a major, major problem.

We're made up of energy, so who's to say you can't transmit through electrical means? If you could transmit yourself wirelessly, then it's Armageddon pretty much.

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It's the same way with women... or at least the ones I want to be with.

I work with the Humane Society a lot and have three rescue cats.

A lot of things that happen in the world make me a bit crazy.

I kind of think too much, I try do too many things at once.

It's so great to show up at work and truly enjoy every word you say.

What we're doing to the planet is inexcusable.

I mean, there are some amazing storytelling being done on the small screen right now. That's what so cool about being in television right now. Studios, networks are starting to throw more resources, better writers, more production values... and to be part of that is awesome.

I don't want to see blood spewing out but I don't mind it in controlled environment. Does it make me squeamish? No.

There are always decades that interest people. For me, that's the Roaring Twenties.

You cant get anywhere without the people who have come into your life.

Before vampires were aesthetically appealing, they were physical anomalies and ostracized outsiders whom we banished to the dark, and they didn't have the appeal that they do now.

My great-grandchildren will not be able to enjoy the Gulf Coast of Louisiana the way I have.

The most underused, under-appreciated group of people in the world is our youth.

Maybe one of the only things I do well: I cook like a maniac! I would be a chef if I weren't an actor.

I'm from New Orleans. There's a lot of vampire mystique and mythology that resonates there, and I was fascinated by it. I always wanted to play one.

Species conversation is beyond a doubt an issue that truly matters to the American public.

I don't ever want anything to come in the way of me truthfully telling a story.

Kids are meeting in coffee shops and basements figuring out what's unsustainable in their communities. That's the future.

There are certain places in the world that are kind of energy vortexes, which are phenomenal.

I don't know how to do anything else other than be an actor. If I wasn't in this, I would be in alternative energy and conservation.

I just want to make it clear that I have been working since I was ten years old.

I've sorta learned that I'm so tired of taking myself so seriously. It's so great to show up at work and truly enjoy every word you say.

The quality of life is so much higher anyplace you can ski in the morning and surf in the evening - there's something to be said for that.

I appreciate the response and the support of fans, of people who actually don't mind watching me on screen... I just don't ever want to jeopardize that.

I'm never running for office. I love being able to speak to members of Congress or members of the Senate and floating on either side, because it takes all of us. It's going to take both of them.

Oceans are one of the most important things in the world now and that is a national security threat of the United States of America, to be honest with you. That is why seeing the habitat destroyed is so short-sighted by us.

I never wanted to be one of those actors with a political agenda.

I aim to direct as much as I act at some point in time.

I have been doing commercials on camera since I was ten.

I never had any backlash from the model-turned-actor thing.

I want to bulk up. I'm a skinny guy.

The coming together of like-minded individuals through action is what's needed to see wide spread change for us, our planet and its creatures.

The film business creates a large amount of waste, and I'm not immune to waste in the business.

As an actor, you always think that whatever job you have is going to be your last. In some way, shape or form, you think you're going to screw it up and you're never going to work again.

I've never been on a TV show for more than a season and you have to continually keep it interesting and you have to keep it connected, even as you change.

You spend enough time on set as an actor and it's great when a director was at some point an actor or understands acting. They're able to finesse performances out of you that a lot directors can't get.

Lack of time and money create really bad green practices.

It's one of those things that hits you when you're not even looking for it. It's a moment when you find those words surging through your mind - "I feel so alive right now." There's varying degrees of it. Acting definitely makes me feel so remarkably alive. Sitting on a beach or walking through nature makes me come alive always.

When you look at the sheer volume of paper usage in the U.S. alone, it's truly frightening: paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, writing paper. Our consumption of trees is endless.

Water conservation goes hand in hand with education. Teaching people that if you literally run the water while you brush your teeth - we go through 602 million gallons a day of waste in the United States because people are used to hearing the water run while they brush their teeth.

If you look at all different facets, where does it come from? Education. It comes from empowerment of young people. Because the bureaucracies that are in place now, they're not going to change, they're not going to stop.

If you want change, it has to be generational. We have this unbelievable opportunity to make that change. Entertainment enables us to entice and educate mass audiences into a shift of consciousness.

Fracking is our biggest enemy right now in the U.S. Actually, not just in the U.S., because all our water systems are interconnected. Whether you're reading this in New York State or in Japan, fracking is screwing you over.

What is it that we need to do to explain to the public exactly is what is happening? We are destroying our precious water resources at this alarming rate, and again, why? When we have so many viable alternatives? "Oh,alternative power is too expensive, what about the jobs" - this is dinosaur thinking.

Oil is dead, on its way to extinction. As a group of citizens we must speak up and act towards ending fracking. Let your government know you will not tolerate a technology that not only poisons your family but our creature family at large; let them know you want sustainable power and all the jobs that will come with that new growth.

I learned from my past, and I now employ those lessons going forward, looking to the future - don't you think it's about time our government did, too?

Collaboration - the ultimate intertwining of skills, passions, and knowledge - is what concocts the most shatterproof forms of changemaking.

I was pretty shocked to learn that as many as 30,000 elephants are being killed every year to fuel the ivory trade, despite an international ban since 1989, and that 60% of forest elephants have already been wiped out. At this rate, experts say populations will become extinct in the next decade. No one needs ivory.

The will to live that possesses us to create medicine, to become firefighters or teachers, is the same will to live that is woven into all living beings.

People have amazing ideas. The main problem - I won't call it a problem, let's call it a roadblock - is if you use the analogy of a convoy of vehicles going to help a distress situation: they have all the resources needed (food, medicine, everything they need), and as the convoy is traveling, there's a rockslide. You can't get through the road. What good does any of that stuff do when you can't get it to where it needs to go?

There are so many ways to help, by either sharing your skills or expertise, joining our board of directors or advisory boards, and donating. Regardless of what or how you share with ISF, we recognize that we don't have all the answers, and that solutions lie not in commonality but in diversity. Welcoming a broad range of thinkers, creators, and doers is what makes this organization thrive.

What I've started to realize is that social media is not just technology - it's become its own entity, full of energy waves. These energy waves could be a Tweet about something you are furious about, like the Keystone Pipeline, or a piece of legislation. Instantly, energy surrounds and adds traction, influence, making it come alive

Within hours, tweetted piece of information you've just doled out has become a monsoon, a hurricane of tangible energy that is literally circulating the world. It's helped me sense the undeniable truth of quantum consciousness, the whole butterfly effect. I witness it daily. Being witness to it not only makes me come alive, it enables me to maintain hope.

The word love carries the same vibration in any language. You probably know this guy, you probably had dinner with him yesterday. The Japanese water crystal guy?

Whether that expansion is towards the beings around you or flora, fauna, and creatures. Love has so many unique yet consistent forms. People like Branson - he's an idea guru. Guys like Allan Savory - he's like Father Earth. Allan has literally discovered how to stop desertification and make Africa come alive with plant life. In each of its forms, love has an infinite scope of potential expansion, all of which I see leading to growth.

Usually you just use these words: "I give you my, I make this commitment to you, I honor this idea between us." For me, commitment boils down to honor. Because you make a commitment to protect our environment, you make a commitment to species preservation, you make a commitment to stop things like human trafficking. You make a commitment to stop smoking, to eat better. Typically, something that is positive. A positive notion of honor.

I feel vulnerable when I have no choice. It segues into every facet of life, whether it's love, work, family, or conservation. Here it is: the whole reason that I started the Ian Somerhalder Foundation was the feeling of complete vulnerability during the BP oil spill.

Our Animal Sanctuary initiative has many layers. We are aiming to create a place where abandoned and bullied creatures come together with bullied youth. We feel that bullies have leadership abilities, albeit these abilities are totally skewed and misdirected.

Through the art of personal development, we see an opportunity for these animals to inspire compassion, essentially creating a path to deep personal growth. This program [Animal sanctuary] will deploy ISF's youth development program, U Factor. The program helps youth identify their passion, cultivate their talent, amplify their purpose, and connect the younger generation to diminishing species and biodiversity.

It's the coolest thing - showing young, bright, and creative people that compassion and a compassionate life is the richest way to live. When you live that life, you create progress, productivity, and innovation.

Providing clean, efficient solar/electric generators to industries such as oil companies, spanning from film and event production, construction, disaster relief, agriculture, forestry, and nonprofit organizations. We're literally helping green oil companies, helping them find ways to pollute less while creating jobs. When I look at the breadth of positive impact these technologies can have, I truly get excited. Imagine a generator where ZERO fuel is used!

Whether it's physically having a visual of what you want to accomplish in front of you, like a running list or a vision board, or mentally visualizing and taking time to meditate, having a vision of what you are running for keeps you from running for the sake of running.

It's not who you know, it's who you don't know.

The symphonic sounds of nature awaken every cell in my body and, in that moment, without a doubt, I am truly alive.

The world is so tremendously spectacular that every visual, sense, and sparked connection swells my unrestrained passion for life. I find I feel this the most when I am immersed in nature and sliding into the bloodstream of the wilderness.

Every life lesson that trickled its way into my being came from a mutually respectful relationship between the environment and my family. We were raised to appreciate the teachings of animals and the untouched magnificence of raw natural beauty. This understanding of our precious and complex ecosystem has carried me throughout every chapter of my life and is a significant column of my identity.

If we were to focus our attention on one particular problem and neglect the others, we would fail to see the true scope of our current global issues. The changes made in that form of thinking are limited and self-contained.

If you want change, it has to be generational.

I am seeing strength in the ability of artistic expression to change our future.

Oil is dead, on its way to extinction.

Think about this: If water is the blood of our planet flowing through veinous rivers, streams, and into our oceans, what does that make coral? Our heart. We simply cannot survive without our heart; therefore, it's mandatory we heal and protect our coral reefs now.

The bureaucracies that are in place now, they're not going to change, they're not going to stop.

If you love someone when you're 20 and you carry that love with you until you're 90, it's not going to be the same dynamic.

We ultimately have to find truth in the material, and I think that transfers onto the screen. Obviously there's varying degrees of it, and we don't get it right all the time [laughs], but I think when it feels grounded, it's because we recognize the truth in the material.

It's really cool to see the transformation of reading something on a page and it coming to life.

I don't need to make money destroying my environment. Why don't I just love it and figure out a way to be more sustainable?

Sleeping with a witch would probably be pretty interesting. I hear that, and I understand that.

Very little makes me feel vulnerable these days. I hit my absolute apex of vulnerability when I returned to my home state of Louisiana, during the Gulf oil spill disaster, and witnessed mass devastation to every demonstration of life surrounding me - from grass, trees, bayous, insects, to animals and people - we all felt demolished.

More than ever, it's very apparent that we are strapped for natural resources. We configure and reconfigure to try and find a way to maintain natural assets, when, ultimately, we are overlooking the most abundant, dynamic, and powerful resource we have available to us - our youth.

I see massive potential for entertainment to create wide sweeping change.

The youth have a prodigious talent for inventing progressive ideas and alternative courses of action that elude the jaded, in-the-box minds of worn-down adults.

If we take our youth seriously, provide tools to strengthen their natural prowess, and empower them to make the changes they want to see in the world, then this planet and her creatures have the chance to heal and flourish.

Growing up in rural Louisiana, the ecosystem around our home wove harmoniously into our family and into our daily life. Every life lesson that trickled its way into my being came from a mutually respectful relationship between the environment and my family.

It's the diversity of intelligence, the diversity of creativity, that is so very much necessary to creating whole solutions.

If we recognize the interconnectedness of the changes our planet needs, we become true solutionaries and our united power is unparalleled.

Social media is changing the world, and we're all here whitnessing it.

Ideas need collective thought.

All the women in my life have really made my life what it is, and I feel so fortunate, so whole because of them.

Acting definitely makes me feel so remarkably alive.