So if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready, and that is how I run my life.

Smith’s line distills a pragmatic philosophy of preparation: discipline and consistent practice reduce the need for last-minute scrambling when opportunities or crises arise. The colloquial phrasing (“ain’t gotta”) underscores that this is meant as lived, everyday advice rather than abstract self-help. In a career defined by rapid shifts—music, television, blockbuster film, and public scrutiny—the sentiment frames success as less about sudden inspiration than about maintaining habits that keep one capable under pressure. It also implies a moral dimension: readiness is a form of responsibility to oneself and to others who depend on one’s performance.