'Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be … when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am.'

'And I knew that it was better to live out one's absurdity than to die for that of others.'

-Ralph Ellison, from "Invisible Man" (1913-1994)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.'

- Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

'It's those who lie outside ordinary experience who have the most to teach us.'

- Author Malcolm Gladwell (1963 - present)

'I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.'

-Comedian George Burns (1896-1996)

'Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.'

- Pablo Picasso

'Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.'

- Author Philip Roth (1933-2018)

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'

- Playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

- Inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

'Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.'

- Author James Baldwin (1924–1987)

A quote by Alex Haley

"Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you."

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.'

- Judy Garland

'If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.'

- Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

'You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.'

- Hollywood legend Bette Davis (1908 - 1989)

'I am a writer who came from a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.'

- American novelist Eudora Welty (1909-2001)

'Because of phones, we always have the ability to jump out of ourselves. But unless you learn how to be in your head, you’ll never learn how to create.'

- Songwriter and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (1980-present)

Albert Camus' 'The Fall' encourages readers to live without illusions

The writer's final complete novel is a series of dramatic monologues from Jean-Baptiste Clamence, who tries to explain to a stranger the sound of laughter that began following him. As the "Philosophize This!" podcast argues, the book is Camus' attempt at wrestling with some of the thornier aspects of existentialism in a form that's more digestible than a dense philosophical tome.

A quote from Robin Williams

"There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."

The Faustian Bargain is a classic trope about cutting a deal with the devil

Goethe's "Faust," Broadway's "Damn Yankees," and the American folktale about Robert Johnson all embrace the familiar details of the Faustian Bargain, in which a young, eager striver is offered their wildest dreams in exchange for the rights to their soul.

'Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.'

- Bobby Kennedy

'I can’t go back to yesterday–because I was a different person then.'

- "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" author Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)

'Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.'

- Harper Lee from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

'Life's short. Anything could happen, and it usually does, so there is no point in sitting around thinking about all the ifs, ands, and buts.'

'Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.'

- Cherilyn "Cher" Sarkisian (1946-present)

'Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.'

- Actress Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)

A quote by Howard Hughes

"Do the impossible, because almost everyone has told me my ideas are merely fantasies."

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

Friedrich Nietzsche theorized that we will live our lives over and over again: the myth of eternal recurrence

Rather than a theory of physics, the idea is designed as a moral argument. While Nietzsche famously eschewed the Christian afterlife, he wanted to avoid the nihilism that results from no longer having such an ultimate horizon. In a mystical moment, the philosopher came to believe that the fleeting moments of our lives would be repeated, presenting a test: would you want to relive this moment? If not, he would argue, you're not living well.

'The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.'

- Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote that 'Hell is—other people'

The line appears toward the end of the play "No Exit." One character, realizing that he's confined to live out the rest of his days with the play's other two characters, exclaims, "There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is—other people!"

'Your failures are your accomplishments because it makes you prepared for whatever it is that you are going to do next.'

- Director Lee Daniels (1959-present)

Jean-Paul Sartre believed 'existence precedes essence'

The existentialist figurehead argued that humans are not born with an identity or purpose; instead, they develop them throughout their lives. For Sartre, this meant making meaning for oneself rather than relying on authorities (like religion or government) to provide it.

Read Albert Camus' 'Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays'

Camus' most famous work of nonfiction is this collection of philosophical essays. Perhaps the most resonant entry is the title essay, which reimagines the Greek myth of a man condemned to roll a boulder for all eternity. Rather than presenting the story as a cautionary tale about defying the gods, as the original myth intended, Camus considered Sisyphus an "absurd hero" for his actions and imagined him smiling as he endlessly toiled at his repetitive punishment.

A quote by Lucille Ball

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."

'You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.'

- Actress and comedian Tina Fey (1970-present)

'The consumer isn't a moron, she's your wife' is among David Ogilvy's most memorable pieces of advertising advice.

Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' dramatizes existential absurdity

The play, originally staged in 1953, is notorious for its lack of action. For the most part, its two principal characters, Vladimir and Estragon, spend the majority of the play wondering whether a mysterious Godot will ever appear. By the end, Godot has still not arrived, yet Vladimir and Estragon do not move, a choice that reflects the existential notion that humans often hope in vain for meaning that does not exist.

Read George Orwell's essay 'Why I Write,' the writer's memoir on how he came to literature.

Poet Robert Lowell encouraged O'Connor to turn away from commercial appeal

When O'Connor secured a publisher for "Wise Blood," her publisher envisioned it as a broad, commercial comedy, something Lowell—the accomplished poet whom she met after graduate school at Yaddo, an artist colony in upstate New York—suggested she avoid, encouraging her to lean into her more esoteric and darker interests. This interview with O'Connor biographer Brad Gooch elaborates on that advice.

'The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.'

-Writer J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

Sartre believed those who deny their own freedom are operating in 'bad faith'

In "Existentialism is a Humanism," Sartre argues that humans are "condemned to be free"—they are not confined to a divine fate, which means they must take the responsibility of creating their own destinies. Those who reject this freedom, by his estimation, are living in "bad faith."

A quote by Herman Melville

"Whoever is not in the possession of leisure can hardly be said to possess independence."

'We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.'

- Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury

Albert Camus believed existence was 'absurd'

He didn't use "absurd" as we often do—meaning something silly—but instead to describe humans' desire to ascribe meaning and transcendence in a world that provided neither. Camus believed we needed to acknowledge and accept this absurdity rather than hopelessly believing we'd one day overcome it.

'The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.'

- Poet Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

'You don't get to choose how you're going to die or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.'

- Musician and activist Joan Baez (1941-present)

Dylan was called 'the voice of his generation,' but rejected the title

By the mid-60s, Dylan made it clear he had no desire to be a spokesman for anyone but himself. He found the title stifling and believed it would prevent him from creating authentic art.

Disillusioned mid-century playwrights, such as Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco, brought existentialist ideas to the stage through the Theater of the Absurd.