To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are false, but only three are holy: "I will it!
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the power of intention and the significance of making a conscious decision to act.
Ayn Rand highlights the profound impact that our words and intentions can have on our actions and lives. She suggests that while many things can be said, the most powerful declaration is the affirmation of one's will, underscoring the importance of personal agency and determination in achieving one's goals.
In practice
In a motivational speech about the importance of taking charge of one's life.
To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.
There are books which we read early in life, which sink into our consciousness and seem to disappear without leaving a trace. And then one day we find, in some summing-up of our life and put attitudes towards experience, that their influence has been enormous.
It was my delusion and naivety that brought me here.
Light troubles speak; the weighty are struck dumb.
There was once a fiddler who played so beauitully that everybody danced. A deaf man who could not hear the music considered them all insane. Those who are with Jesus in suffering hear this music to which other men are deaf. They dance and do not care if they are considered insane.
We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?
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