This page is a little wild on purpose. Self-esteem is not only gentleness — it is also refusal. Isadora Duncan’s line is a bright boundary: don’t let anyone train the soul out of you. Let these words remind you: your inner life is yours to protect, and yours to live. 💛

Don’t let them tame you! ~ Isadora Duncan

I was the goldfish that leapt out of the bowl. ~ Paula Fox

It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself. ~ Ralph Ellison

Where talent is a dwarf, self esteem is a giant. ~ J. Petit Senn

Although I distrust stories with lessons, here is one: No one will care more about your life than you do, and no one is better qualified to chart its course than you are. You are the expert. ~ Brian Fies

One cannot pay the price of self-respect. ~ Woodrow Wilson

Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me. ~ Quincy Jones

A high quality life starts with a high quality you! ~ Cheryl Richardson

All my life I've wanted to be somebody. But I see now I should have been more specific. ~ Jane Wagner

Always know in your heart that you are far bigger than anything that can happen to you. ~ Dan Zadra

An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves. ~ Lydia M. Child

An individual's self-concept is the core of personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life. ~ Dr. Joyce Brothers

As long as you believe in yourself and your own vision, you have something. When you give up that, you are personally bankrupt. ~ Olivia Goldsmith

You're as good as anyone else is, if you're good. You're no less important than anyone else is in the grand scope of things. ~ Donny Osmond

Your success depends mainly upon what you think of yourself and whether you believe in yourself. ~ William J. H. Boetcker