--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I have learned anything in long years…" description: "\"If I have learned anything in long years of introspection, it is that life requires a price if you want to be as fully alive as you can be. You need co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/eda-leshan-18997_alive_if-i-have-learned-anything-in-long-years_1405973.png" --- # If I have learned anything in long years of introspection… ![“If I have learned anything in long years of introspection, it is that life requires a price if you want to be as fully alive as you can be. You need courage to pursue the truth of your life and yourself.” quote by Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/eda-leshan-18997_alive_if-i-have-learned-anything-in-long-years_1405973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/eda-leshan-18997_alive_if-i-have-learned-anything-in-long-years_1405973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/eda-leshan-18997_alive_if-i-have-learned-anything-in-long-years_1405973.png) > “If I have learned anything in long years of introspection, it is that life requires a price if you want to be as fully alive as you can be. You need courage to pursue the truth of your life and yourself.” [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True aliveness demands paying a price—courage to confront personal truth and live authentically. **In simple terms:** Courage costs, but yields fullness. Key Takeaway Choose authenticity. Themes courage self‑discovery authenticity Mood introspective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career change - personal therapy - creative projects - spiritual practice Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you avoiding? - How might courage reshape your daily choices? A Different Perspective The price of authenticity can include loss of comfort or security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Be you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-you/) [Chiropractic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiropractic/) [Fully Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fully-alive/) [I have learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-have-learned/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Introspection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introspection/) [Introspection Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introspection-life-3388352/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Requires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-requires/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Need Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-courage/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Pursue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Introspection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-introspection-4941716/) ## Related quotes > [The game of life requires the edge that chiropractic care provides,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/the-game-of-life-requires-the-edge-that-chiropractic-care-provides/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [I don't think anyone flies into space without some form of fundamental introspection about what life is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-chiao/i-don-t-think-anyone-flies-into-space-without-some-form-of/) [Leroy Chiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-chiao/) > [“There is no room for morbid introspection in the life of a follower of Jesus. Why? Because when we search our own hearts we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-rohrmayer/there-is-no-room-for-morbid-introspection-in-the-life-of-a-follower/) [Gary Rohrmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-rohrmayer/) > [Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/football-is-like-life-it-requires-perseverance-self-denial-hard-work/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) > [Life requires things from you - if you're really living it and are really alive - that are really difficult and painful, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-griffin/life-requires-things-from-you-if-you-re-really-living-it-and-are/) [Patty Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-griffin/) > [“Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/living-a-satisfying-life-requires-more-than-simply-meeting-the/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [“The art of life requires pigments from distant lands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-widmaier/the-art-of-life-requires-pigments-from-distant-lands/) [William Widmaier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-widmaier/) > [Sometimes life requires us to do nothing more than to just hang in there after we face the severest of storms and difficulties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/sometimes-life-requires-us-to-do-nothing-more-than-to-just-hang-in/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Life requires more than a whisper of wisdom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-pencilliah/life-requires-more-than-a-whisper-of-wisdom/) [Julian Pencilliah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-pencilliah/) > [There is no short cut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation - veneer isn't worth anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/there-is-no-short-cut-to-achievement-life-requires-thorough/) [George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/) > [My grandfather was a small-town doctor and he used to say that I was missing a gene that told me that some giant risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-budnitz/my-grandfather-was-a-small-town-doctor-and-he-used-to-say-that-i-was/) [Paul Budnitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-budnitz/) > [Intellectual life requires for its expansion and manifestation the influences and assimilation of the interests and affections of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/intellectual-life-requires-for-its-expansion-and-manifestation-the/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [Life requires us to stand often, to take a breath, and to reorder our steps when we have gotten lost along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-requires-us-to-stand-often-to-take-a-breath-and-to-reorder-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-ve-learned-that-no-matter-how-serious-your-life-requires-you-to-be/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [“The writer’s life requires courage, patience, empathy, openness. It requires the ability to be alone with oneself. Gentle with oneself. To be disciplined, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shapiro/the-writer-s-life-requires-courage-patience-empathy-openness-it/) [Dani Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shapiro/) ## More by Eda LeShan > [When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death-ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/when-we-cannot-bear-to-be-alone-it-means-we-do-not-properly-value-the/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [We have kept our children so busy with "useful" and "improving" activities that we are in danger of raising a generation of young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/we-have-kept-our-children-so-busy-with-useful-and-improving/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [It is strange but true that although we may have learned all sorts of important facts while raising our own children, when we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/it-is-strange-but-true-that-although-we-may-have-learned-all-sorts-of/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [All important progress made by the human race has its roots in daydreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/all-important-progress-made-by-the-human-race-has-its-roots-in/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Our attitudes toward retirement, marriage, recreation, even our feelings about death and dying may make much more of an impression than we realize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/our-attitudes-toward-retirement-marriage-recreation-even-our-feelings/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Until every individual feels personally responsible for the careful planning and the preservation of natural resources, the inexorable destruction will go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/until-every-individual-feels-personally-responsible-for-the-careful/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Anxiety checks learning. A feeling of well being and respect stimulates an alert mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/anxiety-checks-learning-a-feeling-of-well-being-and-respect/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [If grandparents want to have a meaningful and constructive role, the first lesson they must learn is that becoming a grandparent is not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/if-grandparents-want-to-have-a-meaningful-and-constructive-role-the/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Every time a child is born, we have another chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/every-time-a-child-is-born-we-have-another-chance/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Visiting someone in a hospital recently, I watched an elderly couple. The man was in a wheelchair, the wife sitting next to him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/visiting-someone-in-a-hospital-recently-i-watched-an-elderly-couple/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [In all our efforts to provide advantages we have actually produced the busiest, most competitive, highly pressured and over-organized generation of youngsters in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/in-all-our-efforts-to-provide-advantages-we-have-actually-produced/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Sex is something we are, not something we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/sex-is-something-we-are-not-something-we-do/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Becoming more flexible, open-minded, having a capacity to deal with change is a good thing. But it is far from the whole story. Grandparents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/becoming-more-flexible-open-minded-having-a-capacity-to-deal-with/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Depression occurs when you are not being yourself. You're probably doing things you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/depression-occurs-when-you-are-not-being-yourself-you-re-probably/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) > [Excellence in life seems to me to be the way in which each human being makes the most of the adventure of living and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eda-leshan/excellence-in-life-seems-to-me-to-be-the-way-in-which-each-human/) [Eda LeShan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) [Explore all 33 Eda LeShan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eda-leshan/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I have learned anything in long years of introspection, it is that life requires a price if you want to be as fully alive as you can be. 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