"We forfeit three-quarters of ourselves in order to be like other people."
— Arthur Schopenhauer
“We, however, want to become those we are—human beings who are new, unique, incomparable, who give themselves laws, who create themselves.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"Of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?"
— Diogenes
"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
— Marcus Aurelius
"I often warn people: Somewhere along the way, someone is going to tell you, 'There is no "I" in team.' What you should tell them is, 'Maybe not. But there is an "I" in independence, individuality and integrity.'"
— George Carlin
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become."
— Heraclitus
“Each of us bears a productive uniqueness within him as the core of his being; and when he becomes aware of it, there appears around him a strange penumbra which is the mark of his singularity.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."
— Heraclitus
"Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience."
— Diogenes
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others."
— Confucius
"Don't be concerned with other people's impressions of you. They are dazzled and deluded by appearances. Stick with your purpose. This alone will strengthen your will and give your life coherence."
— Epictetus
“Everyone has innate talent, but only a few are born with and trained to a sufficient degree of toughness, persistence, and energy that any one of them really becomes a talent, that is, becomes what he is, which is to say: discharges it in works and actions.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. Once you have determined the spiritual principles you wish to exemplify, abide by these rules as if they were laws, as if it were indeed sinful to compromise them. Don't mind if others don't share your convictions. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer."
— Epictetus
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are."
— Carl Jung
"But above all, in order to be, never try to seem."
— Albert Camus
"No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!"
— Friedrich Nietzsche
"You can’t, if you can’t feel it, if it never
Rises from the soul, and sways
The heart of every single hearer,
With deepest power, in simple ways.
You’ll sit forever, gluing things together,
Cooking up a stew from other’s scraps,
Blowing on a miserable fire,
Made from your heap of dying ash.
Let apes and children praise your art,
If their admiration’s to your taste,
But you’ll never speak from heart to heart,
Unless it rises up from your heart’s space."
— Goethe