--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: always be a first-rate version of your…" description: "\"“always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”\" — Judy Garland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg" --- # always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a… ![“always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a second-rate version of someone else.” quote by Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg) > ““always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”” [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages authenticity, urging people to be their best selves rather than imitate others. **In simple terms:** Be your best self, not a copy of someone else. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal authenticity and excellence. Themes authenticity self‑improvement individuality excellence self‑esteem Mood motivational inspirational empowering Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - leadership Key Concepts psychology philosophy self‑help Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify your unique strengths? - What habits support becoming a first‑rate version of yourself? A Different Perspective Imitation may hinder true potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Second rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-rate/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-a-second-rate-4/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of being a second-rate version of someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-being-a-second/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-a-second-rate-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. —Judy Garland”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-a-second-rate/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [“Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else. —JUDY GARLAND”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-a-second-rate-3/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Religion is only another word for the right use of a man's whole self, instead of a wrong use of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/religion-is-only-another-word-for-the-right-use-of-a-man-s-whole-self/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [We waste time comparing our self with others, instead we should know we have a competition with self and strive to be better today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-waste-time-comparing-our-self-with-others-instead-we-should-know/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“It's why she's always switching coaches, and it's why she'd rather get third instead of second. When she gets third, at least she's happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/it-s-why-she-s-always-switching-coaches-and-it-s-why-she-d-rather-get/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. - shy boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shy-boy/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-instead-of-a-second-rate-5/) SHY BOY > [“never be a second-rate version of someone else, be a first-rate version of yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/never-be-a-second-rate-version-of-someone-else-be-a-first-rate/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself-not-a-second-rate-version-of/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate Freudian evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/why-in-the-hell-do-journalists-insist-on-coming-up-with-a-second-rate/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [You can compromise on anything else in your life but love. It's the one time where under no circumstances should you let yourself have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sykes/you-can-compromise-on-anything-else-in-your-life-but-love-it-s-the/) [Oliver Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sykes/) ## More by Judy Garland > [I've seen the ticket, and I still can't believe it. When I see the money, I hope I don't hit the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/i-ve-seen-the-ticket-and-i-still-can-t-believe-it-when-i-see-the/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [Behind every cloud is another cloud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/behind-every-cloud-is-another-cloud/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [I've never looked through a keyhole without finding someone was looking back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/i-ve-never-looked-through-a-keyhole-without-finding-someone-was/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [If I'm such a legend, then why am I so lonely? Let me tell you, legends are all very well if you've got somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/if-i-m-such-a-legend-then-why-am-i-so-lonely-let-me-tell-you-legends/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [A really great reception makes me feel like I have a great big warm heating pad all over me. People en masse have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/a-really-great-reception-makes-me-feel-like-i-have-a-great-big-warm/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/for-it-was-not-into-my-ear-you-whispered-but-into-my-heart-it-was-not/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [I was born in a lovely white house with a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/i-was-born-in-a-lovely-white-house-with-a-garden/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [“For twas not into my ear you whispered, But into my heart. Twas not my lips you kissed, But my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/for-twas-not-into-my-ear-you-whispered-but-into-my-heart-twas-not-my/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > ['Twas not my lips you kissed but my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/twas-not-my-lips-you-kissed-but-my-soul/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [I was always lonesome. The only time I felt accepted or wanted was when I was on stage performing. I guess the stage was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/i-was-always-lonesome-the-only-time-i-felt-accepted-or-wanted-was/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [We cast away priceless time in dreams, born of imagination, fed upon illusion, and put to death by reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/we-cast-away-priceless-time-in-dreams-born-of-imagination-fed-upon/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh, why can't I?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/birds-fly-over-the-rainbow-why-then-oh-why-can-t-i/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [You shouldn't be told you're completely irresponsible and be left alone with too much medication. It's too easy to forget. You take a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/you-shouldn-t-be-told-you-re-completely-irresponsible-and-be-left/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [“Să fii intodeauna o versiune de primă mână a propriei persoane, nu una de mâna a doua a altcuiva.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/s-fii-intodeauna-o-versiune-de-prim-m-n-a-propriei-persoane-nu-una-de/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [He gave me a look at myself I've never had before. He saw something in me nobody else ever did. He made me see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/he-gave-me-a-look-at-myself-i-ve-never-had-before-he-saw-something-in/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) [Explore all 68 Judy Garland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/) [Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/) > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. 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Dalton [Browse all 11,949 Identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Judy Garland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-self-instead-of-a-second-rate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Identity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-self-instead-of-a-second-rate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/judy-garland-10020_identity_always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-s_1491306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“always be a first-rate version of your self instead of a second-rate version of someone else.” — Judy Garland", "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": "Judy Garland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“always be a first-rate version of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-self-instead-of-a-second-rate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-your-self-instead-of-a-second-rate/#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 } } ] } ```