Logo - Feel The Words

Being Quotes

On identity, openness and staying true to yourself.

This set of quotes explores what it means to simply be: holding onto a child's spontaneity, embracing honesty that feels inappropriate in creative work, or aging with flexibility instead of resistance. For more on self-belief, see our Able quotes.

That's been hard being away from the family, because Washington can be lonely. When you tune out of all the activity, that's like, you're alone.

Quotes by Erik Paulsen

For people to mischaracterize my time or ownership of Blackwater as being some great financial bonanza, it was not. It was most definitely not.

Quotes by Erik Prince

I loved being a SEAL. I loved working with those kind of guys and a sense of mission, and Blackwater was started to continue that sense of mission.

Quotes by Erik Prince

No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.

Quotes by Erica Jong

We all parent the best we can. Being human, we're ambivalent. We want perfection for our babies, but we also need sleep.

Quotes by Erica Jong

Anybody who instantly goes from being a poet and a graduate student to being a public figure has to be in a state of shock. First people want to praise you, and then they want to attack you. No one...

Quotes by Erica Jong

When I'm sitting at the desk not being able to write line one, it's silence and despair! It's not so easy to put the pen to the legal pad or type the first sentence on the computer screen.

Quotes by Erica Jong

One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very often.

Quotes by Erich Fromm

What most people in our culture mean by being lovable is essentially a mixture between being popular and having sex appeal.

Quotes by Erich Fromm

The crowd, still shouting, gives way before us. We plough our way through. Women hold their aprons over their faces and go stumbling away. A roar of fury goes up. A wounded man is being carried off.

Quotes by Erich Maria Remarque

Professors of classics - not even a professor of English - professors of classics, they're something sacred; it's almost like being a priest.

Quotes by Erich Segal

Babies control and bring up their families as much as they are controlled by them; in fact the family brings up baby by being brought up by him.

Quotes by Erik Erikson

In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.

Quotes by Erik Erikson

One of my goals here in Congress, being the youngest member of the California delegation, is to really try and get the institution to upgrade the way it communicates with its constituents.

Quotes by Eric Swalwell

Being the first in my family to go to college, I believe, is my greatest accomplishment. It's not my accomplishment; it's my family's accomplishment.

Quotes by Eric Swalwell

The first half of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, even in redacted form, leaves no room for debate: This president and his campaign eagerly exploited help from Russian agents, despite being aware that Russia was sabotaging our election.

Quotes by Eric Swalwell

You have to understand that the I.D.W. emerged as a response to a world where perfectly reasonable intellectuals were being regularly mislabeled by activists, institutions, and mainstream journalists with every career-ending epithet from 'Islamophobe' to 'Nazi.'

Quotes by Eric Weinstein

Entrepreneurship is not really building a product, it's not having an idea, it's not being in the right place at the right time. It's fundamentally company building.

Quotes by Eric Ries

Start-up success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Success can be engineered by following the right process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught.

Quotes by Eric Ries

We loved being in Russia and would love to go back again, especially to visit my namesake.

Quotes by Eric Roberts

Frequently Asked Questions

What perspectives on "being" show up in these quotes?
The quotes touch on being from a particular place ("Being from Louisiana and a big outdoorsman"), being childlike as a performer, being inappropriate as part of the craft of acting, and being flexible and open as part of aging well.
Is there a quote here about acting and creativity?
Yes, two: "As an actor, you always want to reach back to being a child and having the spontaneity and the imagination of a child," and "There's so much we can't express in our day-to-day interaction with people because it's considered inappropriate. And acting is all about being inappropriate." For more on consistent character traits, see Always.
What does this page say about aging?
"Aging gracefully means being flexible, being open, allowing change, enjoying change and loving yourself" offers a positive take on getting older, tied closely to the idea of "being" open to change.
Is there anything here about personal identity or background?
Yes: "Love the show 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.' Being from Louisiana and a big outdoorsman, I'm a big fan of 'Duck Dynasty' as well" ties personal identity to place and interests. For more quotes centered on personal likes, browse Like.
How does this page relate to the Able quotes page?
"Being" here is about states and qualities of a person - childlike, open, flexible - while Able focuses more on capability and what someone can do. Also check Good for more positive, character-focused quotes.

You may also like our Good quotes on positive character traits and Always quotes on consistency and steadfastness.