#authenticity

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone.

If it be the author's pleasure you should act a poor man, a cripple, a governor, or a private person, see that you act it naturally.

If you ever happen to turn your attention to externals in order to please anyone, be assured that you have ruined your scheme of life.

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

Do you not know that a good man does nothing for the sake of appearance, but solely for the sake of doing right?

If you have assumed a character beyond your strength, you have both played that poorly, and neglected that which you might have filled with credit.

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear. When intellectual cleverness arises, great hypocrisy begins.

Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written with his blood. Write with blood, and thou wilt find that blood is spirit.

Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.

What does your conscience say? 'You shall become who you are.'

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

Remain faithful to the earth, and do not believe those who speak to you of other-worldly hopes!

Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not within the power of the will.

A genuine saint never considers himself holy. He considers himself a normal human being who knows how to be himself.

I'd rather be whole than good.

The greatest tragedy of the family is the unlived lives of the parents.

Bizarre as it may sound, there are times when it is better to be unfaithful to one's principles than to one's soul.

Speak, that I may see you; for the soul reveals its stature through the words it chooses.

I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live.

The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.

A friend to all is a friend to none.

To be loved is near to being honored, and honor is what most men covet; but true friendship is chosen for itself alone.

The voice of conscience does not command from outside; it calls from the deepest ground of personal being.

We are never so ridiculous through the qualities we have as through those we pretend to have.

A genuine man is not one who boasts of virtues, but one who is never surprised to discover his own weaknesses.

We should gain more by letting ourselves be seen as we are than by attempting to appear what we are not.