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You say you are a nameless man. You are not to your wife and to your child. You will not long remain so to your immediate colleagues if you can answer their simple questions when they come into your office. You are not nameless to me. Do not remain nameless to yourself - it is too sad a way to be. Know your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of the naive ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher's ideals are.

Richard Feynman#10

LifeIdentityRelationshipsSelf worthValue

About this quote

What does it mean?
You have value and identity through your relationships and contributions, not just by external titles or internal doubts.
In plain terms
You matter to others and to yourself if you know your worth.
What can you take from it?
Recognize your value in the world.

Where it applies

  • workplace
  • family
  • personal growth

Putting it to work

  • contribute value
  • know yourself
  • connect with others

Questions to consider

  • Who do you matter to?
  • How do you see yourself?

Another view

Self-worth can still fluctuate despite knowing your place.

More from Richard Feynman

  1. The worthwhile problems are the ones you can really solve or help solve, the ones you can really contribute something to. ... No problem is too small or too tr…

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  2. You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's…

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  3. The chance is high that the truth lies in the fashionable direction. But, on the off chance that it is in another direction - a direction obvious from an unfas…

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