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Identity


Identity

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Quotations

George Bernard ShawLife isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

28 likes
Stanislaw Jerzy LecIn order for you to be yourself, you have to be somebody first.

—  Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, 1906-1966, Polish author of maxims

14 likes
Ralph Waldo EmersonTo be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

—  Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1884, American philosopher

13 likes
Bob DylanI'm glad I'm not me.

—  Bob Dylan, 1941-, American singer [Nobel 2016]

12 likes
Mahatma GandhiA man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.

—  Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, Indian leader of independence

11 likes
José SaramagoInside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are.

—  José Saramago, 1922-2010, Portuguese writer [Nobel 1998]

     (Blindness, 1995)

11 likes
Lao-TzuWhen I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

—  Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher

10 likes
Golda MeirTrust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.

—  Golda Meir, 1898-1978, Israeli Prime Minister

10 likes
Simone De BeauvoirSelf-knowledge is not knowledge but a story one tells about oneself.

—  Simone De Beauvoir, 1908-1986, French writer

9 likes
Lao-TzuThe snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.

—  Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher

7 likes
José SaramagoWe are more our flaws than our qualifications.

—  José Saramago, 1922-2010, Portuguese writer [Nobel 1998]

7 likes
Andy WarholIt’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.

—  Andy Warhol, 1928-1987, American artist

6 likes
Oscar WildeBe yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

—  Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer

6 likes
G. K. ChestertonDo not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.

—  G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English writer & critic

6 likes
Jean CocteauBe yourself. The world worships the original.

—  Jean Cocteau, 1889-1963, French artist

6 likes
Karl JungYou are what you do, not what you say you'll do.

—  Karl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss psychiatrist

6 likes
Alain de BenoistMy identity is not a blind fortress, a breastplate behind which I hide to cut myself off from others. It is this window which belongs only to me thanks to which I can discover the world.

—  Alain de Benoist, 1943-, French philosopher

6 likes
Margaret AtwoodYou can forget who you are if you're alone too much.

—  Margaret Atwood, 1939 -, Canadian writer

6 likes
Alfred TennysonI am a part of all that I have met.

—  Alfred Tennyson, 1809-1892, English poet

5 likes
Wolfgang GoetheOne must be something in order to do something.

—  Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher

5 likes
Friedrich NietzscheTo become what one is, one must not have the faintest idea what one is.

—  Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher

5 likes
Oscar WildeMost people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

—  Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer

5 likes
Gore VidalStyle is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.

—  Gore Vidal, 1925-2012, American writer

5 likes
Karl JungI am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.

—  Karl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss psychiatrist

5 likes
Marlen DietrichI'm not an actress, I'm a personality.

—  Marlen Dietrich, 1901-1992, German-American actress

5 likes
Jean BaudrillardIt is always the same: once you are liberated, you are forced to ask who you are.

—  Jean Baudrillard, 1929-2007, French intellectual

4 likes
Jean-Paul SartreA man is what he wills himself to be.

—  Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher

4 likes
Albert CamusMan is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.

—  Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French writer, Nobel 1957

4 likes
André GideIt is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.

—  André Gide, 1869-1951, French writer, Nobel 1947

4 likes
Friedrich von SchlegelOnly a man who is at one with the world can be at one with himself.

—  Friedrich von Schlegel, 1772-1829, German writer

4 likes
Coco ChanelHow many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but to be someone.

—  Coco Chanel, 1883-1971, French fashion designer

4 likes
Franz KafkaThe word sein has two meanings in German: “I am” and “his”.

—  Franz Kafka, 1883-1924, Bohemian writer

4 likes
Marlen DietrichI am at heart a gentleman.

—  Marlen Dietrich, 1901-1992, German-American actress

4 likes
Jean BaudrillardAmericans may have no identity, but they do have wonderful teeth.

—  Jean Baudrillard, 1929-2007, French intellectual

4 likes
William ShakespeareWe know what we are, but know not what we may be.

—  William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ Hamlet

3 likes
Lao-TzuThe way to do is to be.

—  Lao-Tzu, 6th cent. BC, Chinese philosopher

3 likes
Woody AllenMy one regret in life is that I am not someone else.

—  Woody Allen, 1935-, American actor & film director

3 likes
Jean-Paul SartreI exist, that is all, and I find it nauseating.

—  Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher

3 likes
Fernando PessoaIt's been a long time since I've been me.

—  Fernando Pessoa, 1888-1935, Portuguese poet & writer

3 likes
Sigmund FreudWe are what we are because we have been what we have been.

—  Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis

3 likes
André GideBe faithful to that which exists within yourself.

—  André Gide, 1869-1951, French writer, Nobel 1947

3 likes
RumiHow do I know who I am or where I am? How could a single wave locate itself in an ocean?

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

3 likes
Bob DylanAll I can be is me- whoever that is.

—  Bob Dylan, 1941-, American singer [Nobel 2016]

2 likes
Vladimir NabokovAll the information I have about myself is from forged documents.

—  Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer

2 likes
Bo BennettSuccess is not in what you have, but who you are.

—  Bo Bennett, 1972-, American self-help guru

2 likes
Luigi PirandelloThere is someone who is living my life. And I know nothing about him.

—  Luigi Pirandello, 1867-1936, Italian writer (Nobel 1934)

Gertrude SteinRose is a rose is a rose is a rose.

—  Gertrude Stein, 1874-1946, American writer

     (meaning: things are what they are)

ErasmusThe summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is.

—  Erasmus, 1469-1536, Dutch humanist

Nicolas Gomez Davila“Finding himself,” for modern man, means dissolving himself in any collective entity.

—  Nicolas Gomez Davila, 1913-1994, Colombian writer

George EliotOur deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

—  George Eliot, 1819-1880, English writer

John SteinbeckPeople like you to be something, preferably what they are.

—  John Steinbeck, 1902-1968, American writer, Nobel 1962

André MalrauxA man is the sum of his actions, of what he does, of what he can do. Nothing else.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

Noel CowardYou'll never decide what you want until you've decided who you are.

—  Noel Coward, 1899-1973, British playwright

Terry PratchettThis book had two authors, and they were both the same person.

—  Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015, British writer

Robert Louis StevensonTo be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.

—  Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894, Scottish writer

Marshall McLuhanViolence, whether spiritual or physical, is a quest for identity and the meaningful. The less identity, the more violence.

—  Marshall McLuhan, 1911-1980, Canadian academic & media theorist

Marshall McLuhanAll forms of violence are quests for identity. When you live on the frontier, you have no identity. You’re a nobody.

—  Marshall McLuhan, 1911-1980, Canadian academic & media theorist

Hermann HesseI realize today that nothing in the world is more distasteful to a man than to take the path that leads to himself.

—  Hermann Hesse, 1877-1962, German writer, Nobel 1946

Jorge Luis BorgesI am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.

—  Jorge Luis Borges, 1899-1986, Argentine writer

Henry MillerThe imperfections of a man, his frailties, his faults, are just as important as his virtues.You can't separate them. They're wedded.

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

Frank SinatraDon’t hide your scars. They make you who you are.

—  Frank Sinatra, 1915-1998, American singer

Søren KierkegaardThe question is not “To be or not to be,” it is what we should be until we are not.

—  Søren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher

Søren KierkegaardThe most common form of despair is not being who you are.

—  Søren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher

Saul BellowExcuse me ... but I reject your definitions of me.

—  Saul Bellow, 1914-2005, Canadian-American writer, Nobel 1976

Milan KunderaThe eye... the point where a person's identity is concentrated.

—  Milan Kundera, 1929-2023, Czech writer

Joseph ConradI don't like work... but I like what is in work – the chance to find yourself. Your own reality – for yourself, not for others – which no other man can ever know.

—  Joseph Conrad, 1857-1924, British-Polish writer

Charles DickensI must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.

—  Charles Dickens, 1812-1870, British writer

Italo CalvinoWho are we, who is each one of us, if not a combination of experiences, information, books we have read, things imagined?

—  Italo Calvino, 1923-1985, Italian writer

Quotes in Verse

Emily DickinsonI am nobody! Who are you?
Are you a nobody, too?

—  Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet

4 likes
Emily DickinsonTill it has loved, no man or woman can become itself.

—  Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet

Funny Quotes

Lily TomlinI always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.

—  Lily Tomlin, 1939-, American actress

6 likes
Ashleigh BrilliantI'm in search of myself
have you seen me anywhere?

—  Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist

Movie Quotes

Spartacus (1960)I'm Spartacus!...

—  from the film Spartacus (1960)

3 likes



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2024: Manolis Papathanassiou