The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
Lily TomlinRead
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the concept of integrity and how it's perceived in relation to market demand and authenticity.
Lily Tomlin's quote explores the idea of selling out, suggesting that true integrity is often a matter of perception rather than a fixed state. In this reflection, she implies that without buyers or demand, it may appear that one is maintaining integrity, but the reality of human motivation and compromise exists regardless of external validation.
Themes
IntegritySelling OutPerceptionAuthenticityIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the challenges artists face between commercial success and personal authenticity.
More from Lily Tomlin
All quotes βSometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
Lily TomlinRead
The road to success is always under construction.
Lily TomlinRead
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.
Lily TomlinRead
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
Lily TomlinRead
Sometimes I feel like a figment of my own imagination.
Lily TomlinRead
Similar quotes
It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true.
Alfred North WhiteheadRead
All sins are attempts to fill voids.
Simone WeilRead
The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.
Charles SpurgeonRead
America is an unsolvable problem: a nation divided and deeply in hate with itself. If it was a startup, we'd understand how unfixable the situation is; most of us would leave for a fresh start, and the company would fall apart. America is MySpace.
Michael ArringtonRead
If God is supposed to be merciful,' [Arthur] retorted, 'I don't see why He shouldn't allow people to stumble into heaven, just as well as climb there
T. H. WhiteRead
Let the moment go. . . . Don't forget it for a moment, though. Just remembering you've had an "and" when you're back to "or" makes the "or" mean more than it did before. . . . Now I understand! And it's time to leave the woods.
Stephen SondheimRead