--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always felt like you had to be…" description: "\"I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies.\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg" --- # I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies. ![“I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg) > “I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Importance often attracts opposition, suggesting significance brings conflict **In simple terms:** Being important can create enemies Key Takeaway Recognize conflict as a sign of impact Themes conflict identity social dynamics Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public life - career advancement - activism Key Concepts Power dynamics social perception enemy formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle criticism? - When does conflict indicate success? A Different Perspective Opponents may undermine progress ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ## Related quotes > [And I don't really have anyone upon whom I want to rain down my wrath," I said, because in truth I didn't. I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-i-don-t-really-have-anyone-upon-whom-i-want-to-rain-down-my-wrath/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It was not important how many enemies there are, but where the enemy is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/it-was-not-important-how-many-enemies-there-are-but-where-the-enemy-is/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [I feel like u don't have time for me no more I feel like I'm not important no more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiajohnson123/i-feel-like-u-don-t-have-time-for-me-no-more-i-feel-like-i-m-not/) Shiajohnson123 > [“Making something out of nothing made me feel like I was important, like I had value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilsa-madden-mills/making-something-out-of-nothing-made-me-feel-like-i-was-important/) [Ilsa Madden-Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilsa-madden-mills/) > [Be yourself. People may or may not like you, but its important that you stay true to who you are..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-yourself-people-may-or-may-not-like-you-but-its-important-that-you/) Unknow > [If you accentuate yourself, thinking or acting like you are important, then you must want to look good to someone in this world. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-accentuate-yourself-thinking-or-acting-like-you-are-important/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm not popular, but I can make you feel like you are the most important person in the world every day, every minute, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-m-not-popular-but-i-can-make-you-feel-like-you-are-the-most/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [After September 11, I don't think people really believe things like this are all that important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/after-september-11-i-don-t-think-people-really-believe-things-like/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [I like to be important for the team. That's it: to try and help my team Southampton to give fans pleasure to enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusan-tadic/i-like-to-be-important-for-the-team-that-s-it-to-try-and-help-my-team/) [Dusan Tadic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusan-tadic/) > [I've never felt like I had anything important to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-ve-never-felt-like-i-had-anything-important-to-say/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [I am proud people still like me. That is what is most important in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-van-gaal/i-am-proud-people-still-like-me-that-is-what-is-most-important-in-life/) [Louis van Gaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-van-gaal/) > [“I do feel like I have important, beautiful things to say about the world, I just can't think of them at this particular instant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davis/i-do-feel-like-i-have-important-beautiful-things-to-say-about-the/) [Peter Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davis/) > [I feel like it's important to talk about my health, which is fine, and my size because there are young girls who see someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-holliday/i-feel-like-it-s-important-to-talk-about-my-health-which-is-fine-and/) [Tess Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-holliday/) > [It's not what you like but what you are like that's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-not-what-you-like-but-what-you-are-like-that-s-important/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I feel like it's important every once in a while to estrange ourselves from the familiar to remind ourselves of the potentialities of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-feel-like-it-s-important-every-once-in-a-while-to-estrange/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Enemies quotes > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“If it takes night to make day, pain to know pleasure, black to make white, then doesn't it stand to reason that the depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snyder/if-it-takes-night-to-make-day-pain-to-know-pleasure-black-to-make/) Michael Snyder > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [Your greatest weapon is your enemies mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/your-greatest-weapon-is-your-enemies-mind/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Sometimes even paranoids have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/sometimes-even-paranoids-have-enemies/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [When a husband brings his wife flowers for no reason, there's a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcgee/when-a-husband-brings-his-wife-flowers-for-no-reason-there-s-a-reason/) Molly McGee > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Anyone who is portraying Israel as a friend is a servant of Israel. I warn some sides against turning enemies into friends and friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/anyone-who-is-portraying-israel-as-a-friend-is-a-servant-of-israel-i/) [Sayed Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/) > [No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-accurate-thinker-will-judge-another-person-by-that-which-the-other/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/whoever-will-not-love-his-enemies-cannot-know-the-lord-and-the/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) > [I play basketball hard-nosed and if you're not on my team, during that 48 minutes we're enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-barnes/i-play-basketball-hard-nosed-and-if-you-re-not-on-my-team-during-that/) [Matt Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-barnes/) > [“Enemies are people who's story you haven't heard, or who's face you haven't seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-butter/enemies-are-people-who-s-story-you-haven-t-heard-or-who-s-face-you/) Irene Butter > [A sweet thing, perspective - a chance to see your enemies so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/a-sweet-thing-perspective-a-chance-to-see-your-enemies-so-small/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) [Browse all 1,888 Enemies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-important-to-have-enemies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-important-to-have-enemies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b33/john-green-12_enemies_i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-importa_459514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies.” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always felt like you had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-important-to-have-enemies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-always-felt-like-you-had-to-be-important-to-have-enemies/#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 } } ] } ```