I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters.
James A. MichenerRead
For this is the journey that men and women make, to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn't matter much else what they find.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The pursuit of self-discovery is essential, and all other achievements are insignificant without it.
In this quote, James A. Michener emphasizes the importance of the journey of self-discovery for both men and women. He suggests that if individuals do not find themselves during their life journey, the discoveries and successes they might achieve become trivial in comparison to the absence of true self-awareness and understanding.
Themes
Self-DiscoveryJourneyIdentityWisdomPurpose
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech on self-awareness, you could mention this quote to highlight the importance of understanding oneself.
More from James A. Michener
All quotes βWhenever I start a book, I swear it's going to be a short one. But then it's, 'Who was his grandfather? And how did he get there in the first place? And what kind of animals is he chasing?'
James A. MichenerRead
Rampaging horsemen can conquer; only the city can civilize.
James A. MichenerRead
I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation.
James A. MichenerRead
If a man happens to find himself, he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.
James A. MichenerRead
I was brought up in the great tradition of the late nineteenth century: that a writer never complains, never explains and never disdains.
James A. MichenerRead
Similar quotes
History is a pact between the dead, the living, and the yet unborn.
Edmund BurkeRead
Prayer sweeps the battlefield, slays the enemy, and buries the bones.
Charles SpurgeonRead
To put it another way, pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Why must it be pain? Why can't he rouse us more gently, with violins or laughter? Because the dream from which we must be wakened, is the dream that all is well.
William NicholsonRead
We've taken on health care in a big way in our office, ever since nine years ago when I was paralyzed. I was in eight different hospitals, three different rehab centers, and all the rooms were dreadful. As an architect, designer, and patient, I can do something to help.
Michael GravesRead
If this really is true, then greed really isn't good, after all. It really isn't the way to maximize the best possible outcome. We really do need to come together and act collectively. Government isn't always the problem. It's sometimes the solution. And, so their whole intellectual scaffolding collapses. So, they'd rather deny the science.
Naomi KleinRead
Live or die but don't poison everything.
Saul BellowRead