J.K. Rowling. Most people have at least heard the name, but a greater portion of us have come to know and love her stories. Most known for her creation of the "Harry Potter" series, J.K. Rowling invented a magical world that people of all ages have enjoyed for the past 15 years. While we have been moved and touched by her imagination, even more so, we have been inspired by her own story and the wisdom she has shared with us through her interviews, speeches, and writing.
Here are 10 things she said that have inspired us:
1. “Finding out what you’re good at, and doing it to the best of your ability, is the route to self-respect.” J.K. Rowling teaches us here, that self-respect comes from knowing that you have applied yourself to something worthy of your attention. She shows us how respecting our talents leads to learning how to value ourselves. This quote inspires us to discover what we enjoy doing and then encourages us to do it well
2. “Is fat really the worst thing a human being can be? Is fat worse than vindictive, jealous, shallow, vain, boring, evil, or cruel? Not to me.” She points out that society’s perception of flaws is wrong. This quote emphasizes how we overvalue beauty and undervalue character. It would be easy for someone in her position to promote a healthy lifestyle and diet, but she instead promotes healthy people. She inspires us to be beautiful by who we are, not by how we look
3. “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” If anyone has proved this to be true, it is her. J.K. Rowling has put herself is positions to fail, to feel uncomfortable, and to challenge herself, but she shows us how doing so has helped her pursue what she loves. She had the nerve to follow her passion and defend it, which led to her creating one of the most beloved stories of our time and to her succeeding in living out her passion of writing. She inspires us with this quote to simply set our minds to what we want and then, to go and get it
4. “How do you want to be remembered?” “As someone who did the best she could with the talent she had.” Our best is enough and our talents are worth pursuing. J.K. Rowling teaches us here to be proud of what we love and to be humble. She more than likely will be remembered not only as someone who used her exceptional talent, but as someone who used her wealth and fame to support organizations, someone who earned a wealthy living by writing, and someone who created an entire new world through literature. But instead, she replies humbly and only wants to be remembered as someone who tried her best to use her skills to benefit this world and to bring joy to both herself and those around her. She inspires us here to live humbly and to always try our best
5. “So much is expected of you as you become a woman, and often you are asked to sacrifice parts of you in becoming a girl, I would say. Hermione doesn’t.” She acknowledges the struggles that young women face as they grow into adulthood. She encourages women to not settle or change who they are to gain approval. This inspires women to never pretend to be less than they are, just to fit society’s expectations
6. “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.” A good life is one filled with love. Love for others and love for yourself. J.K. Rowling draws our attention to the idea that the length of one’s life does not determine its quality. Rather, living generously and with adventure is what makes a life successful
7. “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” She encourages equality and kindness. Even though she has risen in fame and fortune, she still emphasizes treating everyone with respect. In a world that encourages power and dominance, she instead emphasizes how important it is to be kind to everyone. She inspires us to show love and respect to those around us
8. “We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” Our society always seems to focus on the negative and on what isn’t being done or what could be done better. Instead of focusing on what ifs, J.K. Rowling encourages us to take the initiative and make a difference. She points out that we as human beings already possess the kindness and love inside that needs to be expressed in this hurting world. She challenges us and inspires us to make an impact
9. “I believe in hard work and luck, and that the first often leads to the second.” She acknowledged that sometimes, we will just get lucky. Sometimes we will happen upon an idea, a friend, a relationship, a job, or another opportunity by chance. But she inspires us to make our own opportunities by working hard. She emphasizes how important it is to work hard and that we can create our own luck on our own. She shows us how hard work will bring its own deserved luck eventually.
10. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.” Although her own story of success has been made into something of a fairytale, J.K. Rowling has said in countless interviews and speeches that her rise from poverty to fame was never easy and never ideal. She struggled as much as a person can, but she emphasizes now how important that failure was in her life. She encourages us to pursue our passions and to attempt our goals without the fear of failure because we will inevitably fail either way. She has shown us the benefit of failure and how to embrace setbacks.
“Words have power.” Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for using your words to inspire and encourage us. Thank you for giving us a story to get lost in when this world seems too challenging. Thank you for using your talents to benefit those around you. Thank you for showing us the value of character and morals. Thank you for being someone who has done the best she can with a talent that she has.
