"One of the first things I think..." - Quote by Malcolm X
One of the first things I think young people, especially nowadays, should learn is how to see for yourself and listen for yourself and think for yourself. Then you can come to an intelligent decision for yourself. If you form the habit of going by what you hear others say about someone, or going by what others think about someone, instead of searching that thing out for yourself and seeing for yourself, you will be walking west when you think you're going east, and you will be walking east when you think you're going west.
More by Malcolm X
“We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.”
“Each of us should make the most of our lives. We should give life our best-let us use our lives more wisely to chase our dreams, find our true purpose, and be as happy and successful as possible.”
“History is a people's memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.”
More on Self Reliance
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.”
“I am from time to time congratulating myself on my general want of success as a lecturer; apparent want of success, but is it nota real triumph? I do my work clean as I go along, and they will not be likely to want me anywhere again. So there is no danger of my repeating myself, and getting to a barrel of sermons, which you must upset, and begin again with.”
“The man of genius knows what he is aiming at; nobody else knows. And he alone knows when something comes between him and his object. In the course of generations, however, men will excuse you for not doing as they do, if you will bring enough to pass in your own way.”
More on Critical Thinking
“When your opinions start to coincide with those of the majority, it is time to reconsider your opinions.”
“To the critical intelligence, nothing is left of absolute reality.”
“It is impossible to give a soldier a good education without making him a deserter. His natural foe is the government that drills him.”