You don't have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, isโsay it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Ayn RandManโevery manโis an end in himself, not a means to the ends of others; he must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself; he must work for his rational self-interest, with the achievement of his own happiness as the highest moral purpose of his life.
Ayn RandWhy have you been staring at me ever since we met? Because Iโm not the Gail Wynand youโd heard about. You see, I love you. And love is exception-making. If you were in love youโd want to be broken, trampled, ordered, dominated, because thatโs the impossible, in the inconceivable for you in your relations with people. That would be the one gift, the great exception youโd want to offer the man you loved. But it wouldnโt be easy for you.
Ayn RandThe man at the top of the intellectual pyramid contributes the most to all those below him, but gets nothing except his material payment, receiving no intellectual bonus from others to add to the value of his time. The man at the bottom who, left to himself, would starve in his hopeless ineptitude, contributes nothing to those above him, but receives the bonus of all of their brains. Such is the nature of the 'competition' between the strong and the weak of the intellect. Such is the pattern of 'exploitation' for which you have damned the strong.
Ayn Rand