This page leans into self-knowledge — not as self-obsession, but as self-honoring. Oscar Wilde imagined the old world’s “Know Thyself” evolving into a new-world blessing: “Be Thyself.” These voices invite that same inner steadiness, the kind that lets your spirit stand tall. ✨
Know Thyself was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, “Be Thyself” shall be written. ~ Oscar Wilde
We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open. ~ Shakti Gawain
Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself would never become a butterfly. ~ André Gide
Try to discover your true, honest, untheoretical self. ~ Brenda Ueland
If we were brought to trial for the crimes we have committed against ourselves, few would escape the gallows. ~ Paul Eldridge
Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves, so how can we know anyone else? ~ Sydney Harris
Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou wilt judge others with the judgment of charity. ~ John Mitchell Mason
The message I hope to have sent is just the example of being yourself. I tell this to my students: It’s not about copying me or my logic systems. It’s about allowing yourself to be yourself. ~ Frank Gehry
Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread. ~ Richard Wright
A human being’s first responsibility is to shake hands with himself. ~ Henry Winkler
A person’s worth is contingent upon who they are, not upon what they do, or how much they have. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having. ~ Alice Mary Hilton
Above all things, reverence yourself. ~ Pythagoras
You’ve got to love yourself enough, not only so that others will be able to love you, but that you’ll be able to love others. ~ Cornel West
You’ve got to be happy in your own skin. ~ Jada Pinkett Smith
You’re best when you’re not in charge. The ego locks the muse. ~ Robin Williams