Quotes About Self-direction

It's not about usefulness, it's about autonomy.

I've finally reached a stage in my career where I can do what I want.

You stand above the rat race and the pecking order, not outside of it, if you do so by choice.

You have far more control over your life if you decide on your criterion by yourself.

Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling the time by the sun, variety, change, self-direction; all this was replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today.

To be responsibly self-directing means that one chooses—and then learns from the consequences. So clients find this a sobering but exciting kind of experience.

Every man paddles his own canoe.

You are the handicap you must face. You are the one who must choose your place.

It was always better to follow a bumpy course of one's own than a smooth but intractable trail set by another.

You spend a whole life of non-interference with the wishes of others, including politicians and the rich, and nobody bothers you and you cut along and make it your own way.

You must become the producer, director and actor in the unfolding story of your life.

I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men

Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams.

Take control of whom you report to, what you do, and what you create. Don't just do what's listed in your job description.

If you really have your own identity you'll keep on doing what you think is really right for you, and you'll also understand the next step you want to take.

Let no man, in whatever rank or superiority, control your mind and tell you what to do

The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.

I don't consult anyone - not my mother, not my father, anyone - about my work. And I must add that neither Dad nor Mom interfere in my work.

Everyone is a puppet, but there are no puppet-masters.

Instead of preparing men for life French schools solely prepare them to occupy public functions, in which success can be attained without any necessity for self-direction or the exhibition of the least glimmer of personal initiative.

After 3, a body has a mind of its own.

And what's more I've got no need for anyone to tell me how to do it. I am not interested. You act how you want to and leave me alone to do my own thing.

From this hour, freedom! Going where I like, my own master...

It's up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years.