--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The grandiose person is never really…" description: "\"The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from others, and second, because his self-respect is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png" --- # The grandiose person is never really free; first because… ![“The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from others, and second, because his self-respect is dependent on qualities, functions, and achievements that can suddenly fail.” quote by Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png) > “The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from others, and second, because his self-respect is dependent on qualities, functions, and achievements that can suddenly fail.” [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A grandiose individual appears free but is actually bound by others’ admiration and fragile self‑esteem tied to achievements that can collapse. **In simple terms:** Grandiosity hides dependence on approval and fragile self‑worth. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and internal validation. Themes ego dependence self‑esteem achievement Mood self‑reflective cautionary insightful Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - social media presence - leadership roles - personal development Key Concepts psychology self‑concept dependency theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure your self‑worth? - What happens when achievements fail? A Different Perspective Reliance on external validation can cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Admiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admiration/) [Dependent Admiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependent-admiration-1904299/) [Dependent Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependent-qualities-1904301/) [Excessively Dependent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessively-dependent-1904300/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Grandiose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandiose/) [Grandiose Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandiose-person-1904298/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Respect Dependent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-dependent-1904302/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) ## Related quotes > [Where there had been only fearful emptiness or equally frightening grandiose fantasies, an unexpected wealth of vitality is now discovered. This is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/where-there-had-been-only-fearful-emptiness-or-equally-frightening/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Lyndon Johnson is not a comfortable model for President Obama to imitate. He is an all-but-forgotten president - pilloried for the failed war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/lyndon-johnson-is-not-a-comfortable-model-for-president-obama-to/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [There's something so showy about desperation, it takes hard wits to see it's a grandiose form of funk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-s-something-so-showy-about-desperation-it-takes-hard-wits-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Darkness always had its part to play. Without it, how would we know when we walked in the light? It’s only when its ambitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/darkness-always-had-its-part-to-play-without-it-how-would-we-know/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Songs are like a form of chaos that you can control. It's a form of intelligence that maybe you only understand and you hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/songs-are-like-a-form-of-chaos-that-you-can-control-it-s-a-form-of/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [“I grow grandiose, which is a good sign I should become prosaic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-grow-grandiose-which-is-a-good-sign-i-should-become-prosaic/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [In the nineteenth century the more grandiose word inspiration began to replace the word idea in the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/in-the-nineteenth-century-the-more-grandiose-word-inspiration-began/) [Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/) > [The grandiose plans of what Macintosh was gonna be was just so far out of whack with the truth of what the product was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-espinosa/the-grandiose-plans-of-what-macintosh-was-gonna-be-was-just-so-far/) [Chris Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-espinosa/) > [Working with Martin Scorsese was an absolute minute-by-minute education without him ever being grandiose about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/working-with-martin-scorsese-was-an-absolute-minute-by-minute/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [The only criticism heard with any frequency of Elton John's first American album, 'Elton John,' was that the production was too grandiose. The melodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/the-only-criticism-heard-with-any-frequency-of-elton-john-s-first/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) > [I think that doing comedy and playing Dwight is a service. Not to get grandiose about it, but I have a talent for playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/i-think-that-doing-comedy-and-playing-dwight-is-a-service-not-to-get/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [Utopians...consider individual freedom as the stumbling block on which the grandiose idea of mankind's totalization may flounder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-steven-molnar/utopians-consider-individual-freedom-as-the-stumbling-block-on-which/) [Thomas Steven Molnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-steven-molnar/) > [I love jazz. I still do. Dave Brubeck and Stan Getz are so good. I took a notification course in Jazz Orchestration. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/i-love-jazz-i-still-do-dave-brubeck-and-stan-getz-are-so-good-i-took/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [Do we pour $40 billion into grandiose Louisiana engineering projects or do we instead put up no trespassing- signs in the areas below sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brinkley/do-we-pour-40-billion-into-grandiose-louisiana-engineering-projects/) [Douglas Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brinkley/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) ## More by Alice Miller > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Wherever I look, I see signs of the commandment to honor one's parents and nowhere of a commandment that calls for the respect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/wherever-i-look-i-see-signs-of-the-commandment-to-honor-one-s-parents/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [The art of not experiencing feelings. A child can experience her feelings only when there is somebody there who accepts her fully, understands her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-art-of-not-experiencing-feelings-a-child-can-experience-her/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Disrespect is the weapon of the weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/disrespect-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Even if one ultimately risks losing all contact with oneself and merely functioning as a mask, an "as if" personality, there are always drugs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/even-if-one-ultimately-risks-losing-all-contact-with-oneself-and/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Thus he spent his whole life searching for his own truth, but it remained hidden to him because he had learned at a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/thus-he-spent-his-whole-life-searching-for-his-own-truth-but-it/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Most people do exactly the opposite. Without realizing that the past is constantly determining their present actions, they avoid learning anything about their history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/most-people-do-exactly-the-opposite-without-realizing-that-the-past/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [People who, as children, were intellectually far beyond their parents and therefore admired by them, but who also therefore had to solve their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/people-who-as-children-were-intellectually-far-beyond-their-parents/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Parents are indeed capable of routinely torturing their children without anyone interceding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/parents-are-indeed-capable-of-routinely-torturing-their-children/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Ultimately the body will rebel. Even if it can be temporarily pacified with the help of drugs, cigarettes or medicine, it usually has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/ultimately-the-body-will-rebel-even-if-it-can-be-temporarily-pacified/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [The child has a primary need to be regarded and respected as the person he really is at any given time, and as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-child-has-a-primary-need-to-be-regarded-and-respected-as-the/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [For some years now, there has been proof that the devastating effects of the traumatization of children take their inevitable tollon society--a fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/for-some-years-now-there-has-been-proof-that-the-devastating-effects/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“The older we get, the more difficult it is to find other people who can give us the love our parents denied us. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-older-we-get-the-more-difficult-it-is-to-find-other-people-who/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [It is very difficult for people to believe the simple fact that every persecutor was once a victim. Yet it should be very obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/it-is-very-difficult-for-people-to-believe-the-simple-fact-that-every/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/we-don-t-yet-know-above-all-what-the-world-might-be-like-if-children/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) [Explore all 120 Alice Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) [Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from others, and second, because his self-respect is dependent on qualities, functions, and achievements that can suddenly fail.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-free-first-because-he-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-free-first-because-he-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/alice-miller-3713_achievement_the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-fre_975786.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The grandiose person is never really free; first because he is excessively dependent on admiration from…” — Alice Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The grandiose person is never really...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-free-first-because-he-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-grandiose-person-is-never-really-free-first-because-he-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```