“A genius is the one most like himself.”
– Thelonius Monk, quoted in Monk’s Notes by Steven Lacy
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“Georges built the foundation of his brand all by himself. Before anyone started working on his marketing channels, Georges’s brand was good and well because he doesn’t know any other way to act than to be genuine. Not once has he veered from his own legitimacy, from his own truth, from the best way to tell his story. All the marketing angles are based on it, inspired by it, and limited to it. I remember the instructions he gave us when the sponsorships started growing: “Just make sure everything stays 100-percent authentic—it’s the only thing I insist on,” he said. “No bullshit.””
– Rodolphe Beaulieu, quoted in The Way of the Fight by Georges St Pierre
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I envy people who are completely themselves.
Some people seem to be comfortably and assuredly one person. Able to make decisions and stay with them.
They have confidence plus integrity.
The rest of us have to figure out who we are.
I’d love to have more integrity. I struggle to be the same person with everyone, consistent in my actions and confidently present my true self.
What can I build all by myself? Certainly nothing on the level of genius. Perhaps a trickle of thoughts and a grab bag of quotes is as good as it gets for me.
But these quotes and musings are doing something: writing is building my confidence. I’m getting to know myself a little each day.
I’m still searching for the genuine. Perhaps the search is the point.
Can I be a searcher? I certainly feel like I’m on a quest. Will I find the holy grail?
Too late to turn back now…
Conversations With Quotations 