--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s not what you are that counts, it’s…" description: "\"It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.\" — Andy Warhol" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg" --- # It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think… ![“It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.” quote by Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg) > “It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.” [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity is shaped more by others’ perceptions than by self‑definition, influencing how we are judged. **In simple terms:** What others think defines you. Key Takeaway Be aware of external labels. Themes identity perception social image authenticity Mood critical contemplative analytical Type sociological motivational When to use this quote - career branding - social media presence - first impressions Key Concepts social psychology self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - Do you let others’ opinions dictate your actions? - How can you assert your true self? A Different Perspective External views can be misleading and limit self‑growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Money counts more than you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-maier/money-counts-more-than-you-think/) [Corinne Maier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-maier/) > [“It isn't what you know that counts,it's what you think of in time”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-isn-t-what-you-know-that-counts-it-s-what-you-think-of-in-time/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [It is not how much you make that counts, but how much money you keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/it-is-not-how-much-you-make-that-counts-but-how-much-money-you-keep/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Germany is not like Ireland or Denmark. It is a country where the domestic market counts much more than the external market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bofinger/germany-is-not-like-ireland-or-denmark-it-is-a-country-where-the/) [Peter Bofinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bofinger/) > [In a painting, what counts is the unexpected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/in-a-painting-what-counts-is-the-unexpected/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Ultimately, it's your talent that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armaan-malik/ultimately-it-s-your-talent-that-counts/) [Armaan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armaan-malik/) > [Looks, health and elegance are what counts. Someone can look wonderful in a sweatsuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/looks-health-and-elegance-are-what-counts-someone-can-look-wonderful/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Right now counts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/right-now-counts-forever/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [The Term Paper Artist' represents two models of writing, one of the little boy bouncing his ball, generating stories for the sheer pleasure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/the-term-paper-artist-represents-two-models-of-writing-one-of-the/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [Oh, Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson. 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But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-pitch-counts-but-not-when-it-s-spit-out-by/) [Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/) > [I like to think that my works flow like music. 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No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [“I think everybody should be nice to everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-think-everybody-should-be-nice-to-everybody/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I don't believe people die. They just go uptown. To Bloomingdales. They just take longer to get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-don-t-believe-people-die-they-just-go-uptown-to-bloomingdales-they/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [So today if you see a person who looks like your teenage fantasy walking down the street, it's probably not your fantasy, but someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/so-today-if-you-see-a-person-who-looks-like-your-teenage-fantasy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I can't give parties. It's so hard. When I want to call somebody up for dinner they think I'm using them or something. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-can-t-give-parties-it-s-so-hard-when-i-want-to-call-somebody-up-for/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Sometimes the little times you don't think are anything while they're happening turn out to be what marks a whole period of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/sometimes-the-little-times-you-don-t-think-are-anything-while-they-re/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I never fall apart, because I never fall together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-never-fall-apart-because-i-never-fall-together/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I believe in low lights and trick mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-believe-in-low-lights-and-trick-mirrors/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Human beings are born solitary, but everywhere they are in chains - daisy chains - of interactivity. 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That may be one reason I work in large groups versus one picture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/i-like-to-think-that-my-works-flow-like-music-that-may-be-one-reason/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [There's nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-pitch-counts-but-not-when-it-s-spit-out-by/) [Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/) > [If you start out trying to achieve a specific thing - like doing stadium shows or going into the studio and doing an album…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-strait/if-you-start-out-trying-to-achieve-a-specific-thing-like-doing/) [George Strait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-strait/) > [I like to smile a lot before going in the car. I make jokes, even on the grid, and then I can still manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/i-like-to-smile-a-lot-before-going-in-the-car-i-make-jokes-even-on/) [Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/) > [Oh, Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson. And no matter if he sold 40 million records off of one record and sold 15 off his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-jackson/oh-michael-jackson-is-michael-jackson-and-no-matter-if-he-sold-40/) [Tito Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-jackson/) > [The Term Paper Artist' represents two models of writing, one of the little boy bouncing his ball, generating stories for the sheer pleasure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/the-term-paper-artist-represents-two-models-of-writing-one-of-the/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [Right now counts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/right-now-counts-forever/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Looks, health and elegance are what counts. Someone can look wonderful in a sweatsuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/looks-health-and-elegance-are-what-counts-someone-can-look-wonderful/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Ultimately, it's your talent that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armaan-malik/ultimately-it-s-your-talent-that-counts/) [Armaan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armaan-malik/) > [In a painting, what counts is the unexpected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/in-a-painting-what-counts-is-the-unexpected/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Germany is not like Ireland or Denmark. It is a country where the domestic market counts much more than the external market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bofinger/germany-is-not-like-ireland-or-denmark-it-is-a-country-where-the/) [Peter Bofinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bofinger/) > [It is not how much you make that counts, but how much money you keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/it-is-not-how-much-you-make-that-counts-but-how-much-money-you-keep/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [James Salter has been a fighter pilot, a rogue, and a climber. He counts Robert Redford as a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rodrick/james-salter-has-been-a-fighter-pilot-a-rogue-and-a-climber-he-counts/) [Stephen Rodrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rodrick/) > [Every writing teacher gives the subliminal message, every time they teach: 'Your life counts for something.' In no other subject that I know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rosenblatt/every-writing-teacher-gives-the-subliminal-message-every-time-they/) [Roger Rosenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rosenblatt/) Browse all 274 Counts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Warhol" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-what-they-think-you-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Counts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-what-they-think-you-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/andy-warhol-746_thinking_it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-w_2019784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.” — Andy Warhol", "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": "Andy Warhol", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It’s not what you are that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-what-they-think-you-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/it-s-not-what-you-are-that-counts-it-s-what-they-think-you-are/#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 } } ] } ```