Quotes about Independence

The world bestows its big prizes, both in money and in honors, for but one thing. And that is initiative. What is initiative? I'll tell you: it is doing the right thing without being told.

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry is own weight, this is a frightening prospect.

Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual you have an obligation to be one.

I could not at any age be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don't be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren't paying any attention to you. It's your attention to yourself that is so stultifying.

If there is one thing I fear less than everything else, it is, I believe, persecution for my opinions. There are a good many points about which I may be diffident, but when it comes to questions of Truth and intellectual independence, there is no holding me - I can envisage no finer end than to sacrifice oneself for a conviction.

My mother didn't want me to be a feminist, a radical, political person, because she was scared. She wanted me to be protected and safe, but my life never was.

I was lucky enough to have it all. To be successful in business, to have children, to raise them on my own, and to travel and live my life. It was a lot of work, but it's a privilege to have been able to do it.

For me, being raised in a free America made all the difference.

You can survive on your own; you can grow strong on your own; you can prevail on your own; but you cannot become human on your own.