15 Kanye West Quotes to Live By

Kanye West: a huge influencer of pop culture, and polarizer of families and friend groups. You either like him or hate him. I like him. I enjoy him visually (*wink, wink*), and I like some of his music. I find him to generally be wildly entertaining, if not fascinating and completely unpredictable. That said, I don’t agree with everything he says and does, but sometimes he does have his Kanye quotes worth remembering.

Despite all of this, Kanye may just be the most relatable person on the planet. I mean, other than the whole $53 million in debt thing, a clothing deal with Adidas, an illustrious rap career, being married to Kim Kardashian and his diamond teeth (look it up), he is still crazy relatable. I shall now try to prove this to you. Keep reading for Kanye quotes and life lessons from the man himself. The following is a mix of tweets, lyrics and quotes from interviews and possibly things he’s told the paparazzi.

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1. “All we have are our dreams, and you can step on our dreams and ideas all you want, but we won’t stop fighting…this country was built off of dreamers…never give up your dreams, bro…”

Bet you thought it was going to be something obnoxious huh? Don’t worry, I’m saving those for last. Anyway, this is pretty good advice. Kanye himself doesn’t give up on his dreams. His dream was to be with Kim Kardashian and it took 10 years for it to happen, but he didn’t give up and it came true. He wanted to get into fashion, and whether or not you like his clothing, it sells and he’s doing what he wanted to do. At one point, it was probably his dream to be a great rapper…I think you see where I’m going with this. People give up on their dreams all the time because it’s sometimes easier to never try, than it is to try and possibly fail. Chase your dream, whether it’s a person you want to be with, a career you want to have, a project you want to start, whatever it is. Just do it. You’ll regret not doing it much more than doing it.

2. “For me, giving up is way harder than trying.”

This relates to the first one. Don’t give up on something before you try it, just because there’s a possibility you’ll fail. You won’t know what you could’ve had if you don’t at least try, and if you fail you just try something else. Life is all about trying. Trying out that new sushi place, trying out that ridiculous new exercise trend, me trying to convince you all that Kanye is really a deeply inspirational individual.

3. “Fur pillows are hard to actually sleep on.”

Mostly because being serious for too long makes me anxious, but also because now you know that any fur pillows you buy shall only be for decorative purposes. He took one for the team here.

4. “People always tell you, be humble. Be humble. When was the last time someone told you to be amazing? Be great! Be awesome!”

Possibly my all-time favorite Kanye West quote, which is a really hard choice to make just so you know. Kanye is undoubtedly the lead contender in the competition for the most confident man in the world and while many people find his confidence overbearing and just plain annoying, there’s nothing wrong with being confident. And there’s especially, nothing wrong with acknowledging that you’re good at something and having confidence in your ability. I think telling people and yourself to be great is something we should all try every now and then.

5. “I know I confuse you guys sometimes but please bear with me.”

I relate to this on such a spiritual level. This is something directed at my friends (real and imaginary), my parents and the voices in my head. I am well aware that I am a confusing, awkward and just all around strange being but PLEASE bear with me.

6. Anything Kanye has ever said about Kim…

There are so many things to choose from, but the main themes that run through them are that he loves her, he’s always loved her, he cannot believe how lucky he is to love her and he will continue to love her. While it’s all incredibly sweet and romantic, the lesson here is to let the person you love know that you love them. Life’s just way too short. Kanye waited 10 years for Kim; you don’t have to wait 10 years. Take your shot and if it doesn’t work out you know they’re not for you, and you won’t waste time wining and waiting. If you have someone, let them know every day that you love them.

7. “Her power is in her body, is in her nudity — her power’s in her mind, her power is in her family, but body is one of the powers…She could get naked if she wants to. It’s not illegal.” (On Kim’s Paper Spread)

I know that this is technically a thing Kanye has said about Kim, but I had a different point to make with this one. *inserts an insane amount of clapping emojis* Yaaasss Kanye! Kim, and any other woman, can do whatever she wants with her body because it’s her body. People need to STOP policing what women do with their bodies and then judging them for it. Everyone needs to hop on board this train like, last month. He also is aware that just because she got naked it doesn’t mean there isn’t anything more to her.

8. “If you learn from your mistakes, then I’m a f*cking genius.”

This is funny but also a great attitude to have. Learn from your mistakes. A mistake isn’t a failure, it’s a lesson and a sign of growth. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying new things and you aren’t growing. Growth is good, or so I’ve heard… (I’m 5″1).

9. “One of my biggest Achilles heels has been my ego. And if I, Kanye West, can remove my ego, I think there’s hope for everyone.”

This is funny and brutally honest. If Kanye can put his ego aside, then so can you. Don’t let your ego, or your pride, stop you from doing something, or don’t let it ruin something for you. Whatever it may be.

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10. “Please: Do everything you possibly can in one lifetime.”

Make a bucket list, and do at least 60% of the things on it. Be spontaneous. Give to charity. Be open. Don’t be afraid to express your feelings. Eat that last fry. Don’t do anything too crazy. Life is for living, you won’t live forever so do as much living as you can, while you can. It doesn’t even have to be something wildly exciting or out there, it can be learning a skill you’ve always wanted to or experimenting in the kitchen (*whispers* or in the bedroom). Also, you’re never too old to do something, I will jump in bounce houses for as long as my hips allow. Be silly. Be stupid. P.S. Jumping in bounce houses after age 10 is neither silly nor stupid. It is awesome.

11. “Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed?”

Are your beliefs your own or someone else’s? If you’re not strong enough to believe in something when others don’t, do you really believe in it at all? It’s good to have your own beliefs even if they differ from the ones your friends and family have. Political, religious, moral…whatever it is, life’s more interesting when everyone has their own beliefs.

12. “All y’all so concerned about being likable but only a few are concerned about being great…I don’t have to be cool…”

Being liked and cool is great, or so I’ve heard, but it’s not going to make your kids proud of you 10 years from now, it’s not going to be an achievement a year from now, it’s not memorable at all and it’s sure as hell not something you want people to say at your funeral.

“It’s so sad that Jim’s gone.”

“Yeah, he had nothing really going for him but at least he was likeable.”

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Ummm…no. Aim for greatness in whatever you do. If you want to be an engineer, be the greatest engineer. If you want to be a competitive eater, eat competitively. If you want to be one of those people who sneaks the link to their mixtape everywhere, then be great at it! Don’t ever tone yourself down to make yourself likeable. The right people will like you for you, and the ones who don’t are irrelevant.

13. “When you’re the absolute best, you get hated on the most.”

I don’t think this one really needs explanation.

14. “Be real…”

Again, I find this pretty self-explanatory but just in case you’re a little confused: Don’t like things because other people do. Don’t call someone your friend and talk about them behind their back. Don’t lie to make yourself more likeable. I, personally, would much rather be real than liked. Being fake looks like it takes a lot of energy.

15. “Respect the struggle…respect the hustle…respect the dreams…respect the movement…”

I guess that this can be open to interpretation but to me, it’s about not looking down on people because of what they do for a living or where they’re from. We’re all just trying to make a living. Don’t make fun of other people’s dreams, even if you think they’re ridiculous. Stop judging people, everyone has their own struggle. Be kind. Let’s just all respect each other.

BONUS KANYE QUOTES

16. “I have this table in my new house. It was some weird nouveau-riche marble table, and I hated it. We would try to set up different things around it, but it never really worked. I realized that table was my ego. No matter what you put around it, under it, no matter who photographed it, the douchebaggery would always come through.”

I really think this just speaks for itself. No real life lesson here, I just thought we should all be aware that he said this.

17. “Not smiling makes me smile.”

No list of things Kanye has said would be complete without this gem right here.

18. “If you don’t like 10-minute profanity-ridden speeches that end with a presidential bid, you can go to the bathroom.”

19. “You have to know who you are before you can become it.”

Get to know yourself.

20. “I just want to bring as much beauty to the world as possible.”

There’s so much hate and negativity in the world, let’s stop spreading it and try to make the world a more beautiful place.