--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I often think that he's the only one of…" description: "\"“I often think that he's the only one of us who's achieved immortality. I don't mean in the sense of fame and I don't mean he won't die someday. But he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ayn-rand-59_death_i-often-think-that-he-s-the-only-one-of_2930552.jpg" --- # I often think that he's the only one of us who's achieved… ![“I often think that he's the only one of us who's achieved immortality. I don't mean in the sense of fame and I don't mean he won't die someday. But he's living it. I think he is what the conception really means. You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with everyday that passes…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ayn-rand-59_death_i-often-think-that-he-s-the-only-one-of_2930552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ayn-rand-59_death_i-often-think-that-he-s-the-only-one-of_2930552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ayn-rand-59_death_i-often-think-that-he-s-the-only-one-of_2930552.jpg) > ““I often think that he's the only one of us who's achieved immortality. I don't mean in the sense of fame and I don't mean he won't die someday. But he's living it. I think he is what the conception really means. You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with everyday that passes. . . They change, they deny, they contradict- and they call it growth. At the end there is nothing left, nothing unreveresed or unbetrayed; as if there had never been an entity, only a succession of adjectives fading in and out of an unformed mass. How do they expect a permanence which they never held for a single moment? But Howard- one can imagine him living forever.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires Howard’s embodiment of true immortality, beyond fame, seeing it as living fully in the present despite inevitable change. **In simple terms:** Howard lives fully now, not through fame. Key Takeaway Embrace present authenticity. Themes authenticity mortality existence identity impermanence Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - daily decisions - legacy building Key Concepts existentialism philosophy individualism Questions to Reflect On - How can one find lasting meaning without fame? - What does “living forever” truly mean? A Different Perspective Immortality is fleeting; true permanence is an illusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Romance-novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance-novels/) [Single moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-moment/) ## Related quotes > [“I have simply given up a longevity which I never possessed anyhow. 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The moment you stop giving credence to gain is when you become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/the-only-true-immortality-is-when-you-don-t-care-if-you-die-the/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Someone has somewhere commented on the fact that millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/someone-has-somewhere-commented-on-the-fact-that-millions-long-for/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [“Had David Hawthorne, by another name, achieved the immortality he’d paid for? Or had he died somewhere along the way? There was no answer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/had-david-hawthorne-by-another-name-achieved-the-immortality-he-d/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [Only one who has achieved immortality of awareness can laugh with life and laugh with death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-one-who-has-achieved-immortality-of-awareness-can-laugh-with/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/some-pirates-achieved-immortality-by-great-deeds-of-cruelty-or/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“if people lived forever - if they never got any older - if they could just go on living in this world, never dying,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-people-lived-forever-if-they-never-got-any-older-if-they-could/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [It's Not about living Forever,It's about creating something that Lasts Forever<3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uknown/it-s-not-about-living-forever-it-s-about-creating-something-that/) Uknown > [The trick is living with yourself forever. -Captain Teague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirates-of-the-caribbean/the-trick-is-living-with-yourself-forever-captain-teague/) Pirates Of The Caribbean > [“I won’t live forever,” sniffed her mother, in a way that implied that she had every intention of living forever, getting harder and thinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-won-t-live-forever-sniffed-her-mother-in-a-way-that-implied-that/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I have no interest in living forever. It sounds like a nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-have-no-interest-in-living-forever-it-sounds-like-a-nightmare/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [“Even if that were so, how could I be happy as a vampire? There is no chance of me actually liking the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-gibbs/even-if-that-were-so-how-could-i-be-happy-as-a-vampire-there-is-no/) [Abigail Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-gibbs/) > [“if you were planning on living forever by tying up the god of death and stuffing him under your bed, you’re out of luck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/if-you-were-planning-on-living-forever-by-tying-up-the-god-of-death/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. 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She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I often think that he's the only one of us who's achieved immortality. I don't mean in the sense of fame and I don't mean he won't die someday. But he's living it. I think he is what the conception really means. You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with everyday that passes. . . They change, they deny, they contradict- and they call it growth. At the end there is nothing left, nothing unreveresed or unbetrayed; as if there had never been an entity, only a succession of adjectives fading in and out of an unformed mass. How do they expect a permanence which they never held for a single moment? 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