The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Independence
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau Walden · 1849

Quotes

“Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn a living at it. One should earn one’s living by work of which one is sure one is capable. Only when we do not have to be accountable to anyone can we find joy in scientific endeavor.”

Albert Einstein · Letter to E. Holzapfel, 1951 · Primary source

“Who will let you? That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”

Ayn Rand · The Fountainhead, 1943 · Primary source

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

Helen Keller · The Story of My Life, 1903 · Primary source

“Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.”

Thomas Jefferson · Letter to Thomas Jefferson Smith, 1825 · Primary source

“The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice and the desire for personal independence—these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank my stars that I belong to it.”

Albert Einstein · Ideas and Opinions , 1954 · Primary source

“An empty bag cannot stand upright.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“A plowman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“If you’d have a servant that you like, serve yourself.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Most marriages don’t add two people together. They subtract one from the other.”

Ian Fleming · Diamonds Are Forever, 1956 · Primary source

“We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“The one thing in the world of value is the active soul.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“To be great is to be misunderstood.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms which cannot help itself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“We must be our own [friend] before we can be another’s.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Friendship, 1841 · Primary source

“It is better to be alone than in bad company.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The Transcendentalist, 1842 · Primary source

“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

Henry David Thoreau · Walden, 1849 · Primary source

“For my greatest skill has been to want but little.”

Henry David Thoreau · Walden, 1849 · Primary source

“Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.”

Henry David Thoreau · Walden, 1849 · Primary source

“I desire that there may be as many different persons in the world as possible; but I would have each one be very careful to find out and pursue his own way, and not his father’s or his mother’s or his neighbor’s instead. The youth may build or plant or sail, only let him not be hindered from doing that which he tells me he would like to do.”

Henry David Thoreau · Walden, 1849 · Primary source

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”

Richard Feynman · Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, 1985 · Primary source

“Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you.”

William Blake · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1790 · Primary source

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Thomas Jefferson · Declaration of Independence, 1776 · Primary source

“Painters, writers, musicians are lonely people. So are statesmen and admirals and generals. But then, I added to be fair, so are criminals and lunatics. Let’s just say, not to be too flattering, that true Individuals are lonely.”

Ian Fleming · The Spy Who Loved Me, 1962 · Primary source

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · No reliable source

Works

Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1841
Self-Reliance

An argument for trusting individual judgement, resisting conformity, and living according to one’s own convictions rather than external approval.

Read summary·Explore 15 quotes
Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1870
Old Age

An examination of ageing, considering its physical limitations alongside the experience, judgement, perspective and forms of independence that later life can bring.

Read summary·Explore 1 quotes
Albert Einstein · 1951
Letter to E. Holzapfel

Advice to a student that science is best pursued outside paid employment, with a living earned by other, dependable work.

Read summary·Explore 1 quotes

Related Tags

Self-reliance 49 Simplicity 35 Transcendentalism 32 Experience 30 Responsibility 27 Courage 25 Action 23 Initiative 21 Perspective 21 Nature 20 Character 20 Learning 19 Integrity 19 Adaptation 17 Ambition 17 Friendship 16 Nonconformity 14 Individuality 13 Aspiration 12 Agency 10 Human potential 10 Reflection 10 Individualism 10 Justice 9 Relationships 9 Originality 9 Self-direction 7 Self-trust 7 Wisdom 7 Poverty 6 Marriage 6 Social pressure 6 Discernment 6 Intrinsic motivation 5 Personal agency 5 Public opinion 5 Personal responsibility 5 Practical wisdom 5 Ageing 5 Belonging 4 Defiance 4 Necessity 4 Self-respect 4 Potential 4 Status 3 Standards 3 Isolation 3 Inner conviction 3 Solitude 3 Inner life 3 Self-belief 3 Scientific vocation 2 Patronage 2 Career advice 2 Self-determination 2 Material security 2 Social rank 2 Loneliness 2 Self-sufficiency 2 Material restraint 2 Expectations 2 Candour 2 Personal sacrifice 2 Einstein Archives 2 Jewish tradition 1 Dignity of labour 1 Original thought 1 Company 1 Personal pace 1 Few wants 1 Personal conviction 1 Personal vocation 1 Plain speaking 1 Mutual commitment 1 Divine Providence 1 Civic honour 1 Patent office 1