Quotes About Authenticity

Whatever you believe to be true and false, that proclaim to be true and false; whatever you think admirable and beautiful, that should be your model, even if all your friends and all the critics storm at you as a crotchet-monger and an eccentric.

There are many justifications of silence; there can be none of insincerity.

Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity, not antagonism.

This book also contains what some people call 'profanity'. I think they're full of shit.

I need Christ, not something that resembles Him.

Speak in French when you can't think of the English for a thing—turn out your toes when you walk—and remember who you are!

'Be what you would seem to be'—or, if you'd like it put more simply—'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'

While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph.

To be famous these days with no grounding and no substance is not especially difficult. I urge you instead to seek to be relevant, to be agile and educated.

I could write songs as bad as Wham's if I really felt the urge to, but what's the point?

I don't believe that anything's totally invented... If you're completely inventing a story, there wouldn't be an urge to tell it.

I urge younger artists to know that you don't have to be anything you don't want. You can do whatever's comfortable for you. From the music I make, to the things I do in my life, I'm true to my R&B core. I have the capability to make pop records and crossover, but that's not my aim.

I don't have any sense or urgency about any of my writing, actually. I don't think mankind will be damaged if I don't put out a new album or a new book.

There's a certain urgency that comes from the records of the early 60s before overdubbing and multitracking came into play.

My music isn't anything but me. It has jazz in it, and rock'n'roll, and it has an urgency to it.

I post all the time anyway. It's part of who I am. There's me IRL. There's me URL. That's just my life. Plus, I love it. It's amazing to connect with so many people.

Social media has given us this idea that we should all have a posse of friends when in reality, if we have one or two really good friends, we are lucky.

We are second-hand people. We have lived on what we have been told, either guided by our inclinations, our tendencies, or compelled to accept by circumstances and environment. We are the result of all kinds of influences, and there is nothing new in us, nothing that we have discovered for ourselves: nothing original, pristine, clear.

It's very easy to think about rhymes and just usage of words that sound good but don't mean anything. Basically, I try to put into song the way people actually talk.

I think my biggest appeal for fans is probably the fact that I'm honest. I'm up front about who I am. I'm a little naughty. I have a naughty side and everybody knows that. But I know when to use that and when not to.

I don't use a hat as a prop. I use it as a part of me.

Personally, I would never use sexuality or looks as a selling point.

Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of.

My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. I don't use special creams or treatments - I'll use a little bit of everything. It's a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I believe that a lot of how you look is to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret.