
Jackson, Jim, Walking Together Forever: The Broad Street Bullies, Then and Now
Quoted by Owen Myers in The subversive genius of RuPaul http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/24914/1/the-subversive-genius-of-rupaul (2015)
Jackson, Jim, Walking Together Forever: The Broad Street Bullies, Then and Now
“I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me”
Nahj al-Balagha
Context: A man sarcastically started praising Imam Ali, though he had no faith in him and Imam Ali hearing these praises from him said "I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me."
Variant: Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Source: "Not So Bored in the House" https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/07/not-so-bored-in-the-house-with-tiktok, Vanity Fair (20 July 2020).
“When you write easily, you always think you have more talent than you really do.”
“Worry less about what other people think about you, and more about what you think about them.”