Your soul is all that you possess. Take it in hand and make something of it.
—Martin H. Fischer
Follow your own path, no matter what people say.
—Karl Marx (1818–1883) German Philosopher, Economist
My life should be unique; it should be an alms, a battle, a conquest, a medicine.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
You have of late stood out against your brother, and he hath taken you newly into his grace; where it is impossible you should take true root but by the fair weather that you make yourself; it is needful that you frame the season for your own harvest.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
All men are sculptors, constantly chipping away the unwanted parts of their lives, trying to create their idea of a masterpiece.
—Eddie Murphy (b.1961) American Actor
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.
—George Moore (1852–1933) Irish Writer
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; the hardest victory is over self.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
It is the individual who knows how little they know about themselves who stands the most reasonable chance of finding out something about themselves before they die.
—S. I. Hayakawa (1906–92) Canadian-born American Academic, Elected Rep, Politician
We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.
—Jane Austen (1775–1817) English Novelist
Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
A criminal becomes a popular figure because he unburdens in no small degree the consciences of his fellow man, for now they know once more where evil is to be found.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet deep down in his private heart no man much respects himself.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself: see what thy soul doth wear. Dare to look in thy chest; for ‘Tis thine own: And tumble up and down what thou findst there. Who cannot rest till he good fellows find, he breaks up house, turns out of doors his mind.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Self-denial is simply a method by which man arrests his progress.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Life ceases to be a fraction and becomes an integer.
—Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) American Baptist Minister
There is such a thing as honest pride and self-respect.
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–80) American Preacher, Poet
There are chapters in every life which are seldom read and certainly not aloud.
—Carol Shields (1935–2003) American-born Canadian Novelist, Short Story Writer
Present yourself always
As who you would be,
And that is the person
The world will see.
—Robert Brault
I loathe the expression “What makes him tick.” It is the American mind, looking for simple and singular solution, that uses the foolish expression. A person not only ticks, he also chimes and strikes the hour, falls and breaks and has to be put together again, and sometimes stops like an electric clock in a thunderstorm.
—James Thurber
Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.
—Indian Proverb
Who’s not sat tense before his own heart’s curtain?
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian Poet
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Youth! There is nothing like youth. The middle-aged are mortgaged to Life. The old are in Life’s lumber-room. But youth is the Lord of Life. Youth has a kingdom waiting for it. Every one is born a king, and most people die in exile.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they’re worn out and times—and this is the worst of all—before we have new ones.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
One of the very best of all earthly possessions is self-possession.
—George D. Prentice (1802–70) American Journalist, Editor
I am my own heaven and hell.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
For souls in growth, great quarrels are great emancipators.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile