- It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world. Dolly Parton
- “Nobody is normal once you get to know them.” ― J.W. Lynne, The Unknown
- There’s a whole category of people who miss out by not allowing themselves to be weird enough. Alain de Botton
- You are being taught everything, but you are not being taught to be yourself. This is the ugliest form of society possible, because it makes everybody miserable. Osho (Joy: The Happiness That Comes from Within)
- I’d rather be a freak than a clone. Joanne Harris
- “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
- In the real journey of life, your own intuition is your only teacher. Osho
- “Stop chasing society’s definition of success and chase your own definition of success. Success is an emotion that is experienced when you are completely fulfilled and content with where you are in life; it has nothing to do with a specific job, a specific amount of money in your bank account, or the quality of material possessions you acquire. You can be the richest man in the world, but still, feel unsuccessful, and you can be the poorest man in the world, but still, feel extremely successful.” ― Kyle D. Jones
- The tighter you cling to your current identity, the harder it becomes to grow beyond it. James Clear
- We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are. Fred Rogers
- 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
- When you have something to say, silence is a lie. Jordan Peterson
- The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw
- You are what existence wants you to be. Just relax. Osho
- To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings
- “Stop comparing yourself to others. Always strive to improve yourself to become better today than you were yesterday to serve those around you and the world.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It’s still my symbol of rebellion – against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others’ ideas. Johnny Cash
- Just stick to your principles. And rest assured that, if you remain true to them, the same people who made fun of you will come to admire you. Epictetus
- Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you. Kurt Cobain
- “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” ― Germany Kent
- To become what one is, one must not have the faintest idea what one is. Friedrich Nietzsche
- So whatever you want to do, just do it…Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential. Gloria Steinem
- Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. Dr. Seuss
- You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you. Robert Greene
- You change the world by being yourself. Yoko Ono
- You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear. Robert Greene
- Subservience of any kind is death to the spirit. Alice Walker
- It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. André Gide
- Respect your uniqueness, and drop comparison. Relax into your being. Osho (See also: self-respect quotes)
- “You were not born on earth to please anyone; you have to live life to express yourself, not to impress someone. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, and never lose yourself in search of other people’s acceptance and approval.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart