Elif Safak Quotes

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind - even if your voice shakes.

We must say something, even when we know nothing.

Your silence will not protect you.

When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.

I speak up when it's needed.

We've all been in that metaphoric place, having to scream out what you want in the face of your fears.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

Better be killed than frightened to death.

It would have been more comfortable to remain silent.

To be called a coward, I don't think that's fair.

To sin by silence, when we should protest, Makes cowards out of men.

Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did.

We must know what we think and speak out, even at the risk of unpopularity.

People will tell you for years whatever you have to say isn't important at all. So when you have someone who breaks the mold and speaks up - and you see and identify with that - they become your hero.

Yeah, I kind of looked around and I can't understand why nobody else is speaking up. Later when I faced the backlash of speaking up, I realized why nobody did.

To sit in my concert and be uncomfortable is brave. Because you could always leave, you know?

Tell it fast before you get scared and silence yourself. You'll never wish you'd held back a little more.

Dare to risk public criticism.

It is always brave to say what everyone thinks.

Leadership is about doing the right thing, even if it going against a vast number of naysayers and mediocre people.

I stand up to people.

Silences have a climax, when you have got to speak.

Anytime you're the first to speak out against something, there's going to be a backlash.

Never let anyone silence your voice.

It's easier to aim to please and say what others want to hear than to form an opinion and fight for it, even if it means taking a risk or losing your job.