Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Our own private opinion shapes our fate more power than public opinion.
- In plain terms
- Self‑belief determines destiny more than what others think.
- What can you take from it?
- Cultivate a strong, positive self‑view.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does your inner voice tell you?
- How do you balance self‑opinion with feedback?
Another view
External pressures can still heavily influence outcomes.
More from Henry David Thoreau
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
Permalink to quote #174 Thoreau believed that one of the arts of life was to make the most of it. He loved the multum in parvo, or pot-luck; to boil up the little into the big. Thus, …
Permalink to quote #176 Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.
Permalink to quote #173
Related quotes
I couldn't regard myself as personally repulsive. No man can, or, if he ever comes to do so, that is the end of him.
Ford Madox FordFord Madox Ford quote #10 She was beautiful, with a beauty so severe and so solitary that at first it was startling. 'Ah! If only there were two of me,' she thought, 'one doing the talk…
Simone De BeauvoirSimone De Beauvoir quote #13 Tell me how bad I am... it makes me feel so good. [Last line]
Anne RiceAnne Rice quote #15