Richard Bach Quotes

I never know what South Carolina thinks. I never consult her. I act to the best of my judgment, and according to my conscience. If she approves, well and good. If she does not, or wishes any one to take my place, I am ready to vacate.

The fighter (like the writer) must stand alone. If he loses he cannot call an executive conference and throw off on a vice president or the assistant sales manager. He is consequently resented by fractional characters who cannot live outside an organization.

We can't live other people's lives for them. Even if we love them.

Being your own man does not mean taking advantage of anyone else.

The anarch wages his own wars, even when marching in rank and file

... no man or woman should depend upon another for maintenance and necessaries. Family discord and social degradation will never end till each depends upon herself.

The flip side of freedom is this: When you're completely free, you're also completely on your own.

Every honest man lives for himself. Every man worth calling a man lives for himself. The one who doesn't - doesn't live at all.

What a friend we have in a tree, the tree is the symbol of hope, self improvement and what people can do for themselves.

When [Ralph Waldo] Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, 'What are you doing in there?' it was reported that Thoreau replied, 'What are you doing out there?'

I want to live life on my own terms. But I'm Mexican, so mi familia is always there to guide me in everything I do, whether I want them to or not. Well, "guide" is too weak a word. "Dictate" is more like it.

It's better to live as your own man, than as a fool in someone else's dream.

People really don't want handouts, that they want to make their own decisions.

Ladies, first and foremost: you're on your own. No more rules neatly laid out for you to follow. You have to make up YOUR OWN rules.

Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world.

The truly free man is he who can decline a dinner invitation without giving an excuse.

I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.

I do things my way and I pay a high price.

There is a great deal of self-will in the world, but very little genuine independence of character.

I grew up recognizing that there was nobody to give me any advice and that you do your best and if it's not good enough, someday you will come to terms with that.

I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.

Advice? I don't offer advice. Not my business. Your life is what you make it.

No society can ever be so large as one man.

Children are taught to fear and obey; the avarice, pride, or timidity of parents teaches children economy, arrogance, or submission. They are also encouraged to be imitators, a course to which they are already only too much inclined. No one thinks of making them original, courageous, independent.

Individualism is going around these days in uniform, handing out the party line on individualism.