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Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it. The great general is only terrible to the enemy; the great poet is frequently scolded by his wife; the children of the great statesman clamber about his knees with perfect trust and impunity; the great actor who is called before the curtain by admiring audiences is often waylaid at the stage door by his creditors.

L. Frank Baum#37

FameFamiliarityGreatnessHumanityPerception

About this quote

What does it mean?
Familiarity diminishes awe; even great people have mundane personal struggles.
In plain terms
Knowing great people well makes them seem normal and flawed.
What can you take from it?
Greatness looks different up close.

Where it applies

  • meeting a celebrity
  • knowing a leader
  • dealing with fame

Putting it to work

  • look beyond status
  • seek real connections
  • understand leaders

Questions to consider

  • Who do you admire and why?
  • Does knowing someone change how you see them?

Another view

It might reduce motivation to admire role models.

More from L. Frank Baum

  1. If you will take the trouble to consult your dictionary, you will find that demons may be either good or bad, like any other class of beings. Originally all de…

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  2. And, afterward, when a child was naughty or disobedient, its mother would say: 'You must pray to the good Santa Claus for forgiveness. He does not like naughty…

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  3. 'The Silver Shoes,' said the Good Witch, 'have wonderful powers. And one of the most curious things about them is that they can carry you to any place in the w…

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