Deciding what you're not before you decide what you are let's you stand strong in your own category

First, decide who you want to be. This holds at any level — as an individual, as a team, as a community, as a nation. What do you want to stand for? What are your principles and values? Who do you wish to become?

You need to know who you want to be.

Always take a stand for yourself, your values. You're defined by what you stand for

It’s about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and then having the courage to be yourself — in every situation rather than only when it’s convenient. It’s about being real, consistent, and congruent so who you are on the inside is reflected by the way you perform on the outside.

Before we can stand out, we must first get clear on what we stand for.

As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.

you have to decide your own self-worth versus letting others determine it.

often the first thing we know about ourselves is not what we are — it’s what we aren’t. We mark ourselves as not-this or not-that, the way Ian was quick to say he didn’t want to sit at the same desk all day. But self-definition cannot end there. An identity or a career cannot be built around what you don’t want. We have to shift from a negative identity, or a sense of what I’m not, to a positive one, or a sense of what I am. This takes courage.

Decide who you want to be, and then do that work.

[F]irst of all, be what you are.

Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are.

Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.