100 Quotes by Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American philosopher, novelist, and screenwriter, known for her philosophy of Objectivism and her influential novels, such as "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead." Rand's ideas, which emphasize individualism, rational self-interest, and laissez-faire capitalism, have been both celebrated and criticized for their controversial nature. Despite her polarizing views, Rand's impact on modern philosophy and literature continues to be felt to this day. (Bio)
Ayn Rand Quotes
We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality (Quote Meaning)
The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it. (Meaning)
You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. (Quote Meaning)
If you don't know, the thing to do is not to get scared, but to learn. (Meaning)
It was the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust but to know. (Quote Meaning)
Do not let the hero in your soul perish. (Meaning)
The Argument from Intimidation is a confession of intellectual impotence. (Quote Meaning)
A man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress. (Meaning)
Evil requires the sanction of the victim. (Quote Meaning)
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. (Meaning)
Civilization is the process of setting man free from men. (Quote Meaning)
The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. (Meaning)
Words are a lens to focus one's mind. (Quote Meaning)
Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins. (Meaning)
Get the hell out of my way! (Quote Meaning)
Do not let your fire go out. (Meaning)
Love is our response to our highest values. (Quote Meaning)
You have been the one encounter in my life that can never be repeated (Meaning)
In the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. (Quote Meaning)
Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. (Meaning)
Anyone who fights for the future, lives in it today. (Quote Meaning)
Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea. (Meaning)
Every loneliness is a pinnacle (Quote Meaning)
Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law. (Meaning)
There is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. (Quote Meaning)
This god, this one word: I. (Meaning)
Guilt is a rope that wears thin. (Quote Meaning)
The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through. (Meaning)
And man will go on. Man, not men. (Quote Meaning)
To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I'. (Meaning)
You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. (Quote Meaning)
Man is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. (Meaning)
Joy is the goal of existence, and joy is not to be stumbled upon, but to be achieved, and the act of treason is to let its vision drown in the swamp of the moment's torture. (Quote Meaning)
Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. (Meaning)
Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values. (Quote Meaning)
The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. (Meaning)
Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. (Quote Meaning)
Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death. (Meaning)
The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live. (Quote Meaning)
Man’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself. (Meaning)
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man. (Quote Meaning)
Reason is not automatic. (Meaning)
To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. (Quote Meaning)
We are all brothers under the skin. (Meaning)
Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. (Quote Meaning)
If the truth shall kill them, let them die. (Meaning)
The smallest minority on earth is the individual. (Quote Meaning)
When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed
The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it.
We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.
You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. (Meaning)
A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. (Quote Meaning)
The government was set to protect man from criminals, and the Constitution was written to protect man from the government.
Learn to value yourself, which means: fight for your happiness. (Meaning)
The difference between a welfare state and a totalitarian state is a matter of time.
There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. (Quote Meaning)
Individual rights are not subject to a public vote. (Meaning)
An irresponsible person is a person who makes vague promises, then breaks his word, blames it on circumstances and expects other people to forgive it.
Whoever claims the right to redistribute the wealth produced by others is claiming the right to treat human beings as chattel.
Freedom: To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing. (Quote Meaning)
The government was set to protect man from criminals-and the constitution was written to protect man from the government. The Bill of Rights was not directed at private citizens, but against the government-as an explicit declaration that individual rights supersede any public or social power.
Do not keep silent when your own ideas and values are being attacked. If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the fault of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell.
If you don't know, the thing to do is not to get scared, but to learn.
The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other - until one day when they are suddenly declared to be the country's official ideology.
The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.
The end does not justify the means. No one's rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others.
A society that robs an individual of the product of his effort ... is not strictly speaking a society, but a mob held together by institutionalized gang violence.
Everyone has the right to make his own decisions, but none has the right to force his decision on others.
The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone. (Meaning)
Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others.
Identify the dominant philosophy of a society and you can predict its future.
If a society is to be free, its government has to be controlled.
We are born into this world unarmed - our mind is our only weapon.
The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see. (Quote Meaning)
I guard my treasures: my thoughts, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom.
The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow.
Don't ever give up what you want in life. The struggle is worth it.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
