--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never wanted to be run of the mill." description: "\"I never wanted to be run of the mill.\" — Barbara Jordan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg" --- # I never wanted to be run of the mill. ![“I never wanted to be run of the mill.” quote by Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg) > “I never wanted to be run of the mill.” [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She rejects mediocrity, striving for uniqueness and impact. **In simple terms:** Reject being ordinary. Key Takeaway Pursue distinctiveness. Themes individuality excellence ambition Mood determined confident Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - leadership - personal development Key Concepts self‑actualization personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance uniqueness with collaboration? - What risks do you face by standing out? A Different Perspective Being different can isolate you socially. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mills/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-run-550571/) ## Related quotes > [I never intended to be a run-of-the-mill person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-never-intended-to-be-a-run-of-the-mill-person/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [When I was a little boy, I always wanted to run. I loved competing with my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rudisha/when-i-was-a-little-boy-i-always-wanted-to-run-i-loved-competing-with/) [David Rudisha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rudisha/) > [I've always wanted to run my horse farm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickie-james/i-ve-always-wanted-to-run-my-horse-farm/) [Mickie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickie-james/) > [Ever since I was a young man, I wanted to run for the presidency in the worst possible way - and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/ever-since-i-was-a-young-man-i-wanted-to-run-for-the-presidency-in/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I've always wanted to run for 1,000 ever since I got into the league, and it took six years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/i-ve-always-wanted-to-run-for-1-000-ever-since-i-got-into-the-league/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [I wanted to run my race. I didn't want to sit there and play games and see who could kick the hardest. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marla-runyan/i-wanted-to-run-my-race-i-didn-t-want-to-sit-there-and-play-games-and/) [Marla Runyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marla-runyan/) > [“Her heart was wild, but I didn’t want to catch it, I wanted to run with it, to set me free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/her-heart-was-wild-but-i-didn-t-want-to-catch-it-i-wanted-to-run-with/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [I think I just wanted to run after my dad died, so I ran to Australia. It's only looking back that I think that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vogue-williams/i-think-i-just-wanted-to-run-after-my-dad-died-so-i-ran-to-australia/) [Vogue Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vogue-williams/) > [I had a very easy time loving an audience. But when it's one-on-one with somebody, all I wanted to do was run away, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-allen/i-had-a-very-easy-time-loving-an-audience-but-when-it-s-one-on-one/) [Tim Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-allen/) > [“I wanted to run away from everything but I wanted to run towards something too. Don't you see, dear, how it was?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/i-wanted-to-run-away-from-everything-but-i-wanted-to-run-towards/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [I used to be more of a bruiser. I wanted to run through people. Now I try to run around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-veon-bell/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-bruiser-i-wanted-to-run-through-people-now-i/) [Le'Veon Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-veon-bell/) > [“I knew what I wanted to run to. But it didn’t exist, so I didn’t leave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-knew-what-i-wanted-to-run-to-but-it-didn-t-exist-so-i-didn-t-leave/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“I wanted to run back to him so he could make me worthy of his love, make me feel whole again. But I'm not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dosher/i-wanted-to-run-back-to-him-so-he-could-make-me-worthy-of-his-love/) [Sarah Dosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dosher/) > [I have always wanted to run for Attorney General, and I always wanted to have a baby, but I did not think I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-have-always-wanted-to-run-for-attorney-general-and-i-always-wanted/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [He wanted to run to her, wrap her in his arms. Protect her. But it was Jem’s place to do those things, not his.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-wanted-to-run-to-her-wrap-her-in-his-arms-protect-her-but-it-was/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Barbara Jordan > [We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-are-a-party-of-innovation-we-do-not-reject-our-traditions-but-we/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [We believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-believe-that-the-people-are-the-source-of-all-governmental-power/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [If you had to work in the environment of Washington, D.C., as I do, and watch those men who are so imprisoned and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/if-you-had-to-work-in-the-environment-of-washington-d-c-as-i-do-and/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [If youre going to play the game properly, youd better know every rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/if-youre-going-to-play-the-game-properly-youd-better-know-every-rule/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [All my growth and development led me to believe that if you really do the right thing, and if you play by the rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/all-my-growth-and-development-led-me-to-believe-that-if-you-really-do/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/for-all-of-its-uncertainty-we-cannot-flee-the-future/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present: unemployment, inflation... but we are attempting on a larger scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-are-a-people-trying-not-only-to-solve-the-problems-of-the-present/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/my-faith-in-the-constitution-is-whole-it-is-complete-it-is-total-and/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [...for the system to be credible, people actually have to be deported at the end of the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/for-the-system-to-be-credible-people-actually-have-to-be-deported-at/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [I have faith in young people because I know the strongest emotions which prevail are those of love and caring and belief and tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-have-faith-in-young-people-because-i-know-the-strongest-emotions/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [One thing is very clear: Illegal immigrants are not entitled to benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/one-thing-is-very-clear-illegal-immigrants-are-not-entitled-to/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If we as public officials propose, we must produce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/if-we-promise-as-public-officials-we-must-deliver-if-we-as-public/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [I get from the soil and spirit of Texas the feeling that I, as an individual, can accomplish whatever I want to, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-get-from-the-soil-and-spirit-of-texas-the-feeling-that-i-as-an/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-are-a-people-in-a-quandary-about-the-present-we-are-a-people-in/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of America can one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/we-have-a-positive-vision-of-the-future-founded-on-the-belief-that/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) [Explore all 89 Barbara Jordan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) ## More Mills quotes > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Mentors don't have to be the Daymond Johns or the Mark Cubans. A person running a successful bodega or a tax firm in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/mentors-don-t-have-to-be-the-daymond-johns-or-the-mark-cubans-a/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It doesn't make any difference what religion you are, or how young you are or how old you are-if they go to these abortion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-mccorvey/it-doesn-t-make-any-difference-what-religion-you-are-or-how-young-you/) [Norma McCorvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-mccorvey/) > [One has so much time for thought in the country! However occupied one may be, 'tis with nothing that engrosses the mind, which works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-de-guerin/one-has-so-much-time-for-thought-in-the-country-however-occupied-one/) [Eugenie de Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-de-guerin/) > [The biggest journalistic game-changer of our time has been the rise of social media and the overgrowth of faux news sources - league- and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lipsyte/the-biggest-journalistic-game-changer-of-our-time-has-been-the-rise/) [Robert Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lipsyte/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [All you have done is to be different from other women and you have made a little success of it. This is unforgivable sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/all-you-have-done-is-to-be-different-from-other-women-and-you-have/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [I worked in a steel mill, I worked in a foundry, I worked in a paper mill, I worked in a chemical refinery, construction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/i-worked-in-a-steel-mill-i-worked-in-a-foundry-i-worked-in-a-paper/) [Luis J. Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [The mere lapse of years is not life. To eat, to drink, and sleep; to be exposed to darkness and the light; to pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/the-mere-lapse-of-years-is-not-life-to-eat-to-drink-and-sleep-to-be/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [Private ownership of land is the nether mill-stone. Material progress is the upper mill-stone. Between them, with an increasing pressure, the working classes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-george/private-ownership-of-land-is-the-nether-mill-stone-material-progress/) [Henry George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-george/) > [Mothers, unless they were very poor, didn't work. Both of my parents had to leave education. My mother had to work in a cotton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/mothers-unless-they-were-very-poor-didn-t-work-both-of-my-parents-had/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Our large trading cities bear to me very nearly the aspect of monastic establishments in which the roar of the mill-wheel and the crane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-large-trading-cities-bear-to-me-very-nearly-the-aspect-of/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [And a revolution of automation finds machines replacing men in the mines and mills of America, without replacing their incomes or their training or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/and-a-revolution-of-automation-finds-machines-replacing-men-in-the/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) [Browse all 289 Mills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mills/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never wanted to be run of the mill.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Jordan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mills" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/barbara-jordan-7656_mills_i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill-768_768396.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never wanted to be run of the mill.” — Barbara Jordan", "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": "Barbara Jordan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never wanted to be run...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/i-never-wanted-to-be-run-of-the-mill/#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 } } ] } ```