--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: WHEN WE SEEK TO RULE ONLY OURSELVES, WE…" description: "\"“WHEN WE SEEK TO RULE ONLY OURSELVES, WE ARE EACH OF US KINGS.”\" — Nicholas Eames" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/nicholas-eames-20270_quote_when-we-seek-to-rule-only-ourselves-we-a_1259594.jpg" --- # WHEN WE SEEK TO RULE ONLY OURSELVES, WE ARE EACH OF US… ![“WHEN WE SEEK TO RULE ONLY OURSELVES, WE ARE EACH OF US KINGS.” quote by Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/nicholas-eames-20270_quote_when-we-seek-to-rule-only-ourselves-we-a_1259594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/nicholas-eames-20270_quote_when-we-seek-to-rule-only-ourselves-we-a_1259594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/nicholas-eames-20270_quote_when-we-seek-to-rule-only-ourselves-we-a_1259594.jpg) > ““WHEN WE SEEK TO RULE ONLY OURSELVES, WE ARE EACH OF US KINGS.”” [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑governance leads to personal sovereignty; ruling only oneself makes each individual a king. **In simple terms:** Self‑rule makes you a king. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑discipline and autonomy. Themes self‑governance sovereignty empowerment Mood motivational reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career planning - financial independence - health habits Key Concepts political philosophy personal development Questions to Reflect On - What does personal sovereignty mean to you? - How balance self‑rule with community? A Different Perspective Self‑rule alone may ignore interdependence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) ## Related quotes > [“Do not seek to rule any man other than yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-not-seek-to-rule-any-man-other-than-yourself/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We may taste of every turn of chance - now rule as Kings, now serve as Slaves; now love, now hate; now prosper, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/we-may-taste-of-every-turn-of-chance-now-rule-as-kings-now-serve-as/) [H. 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I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [The King is a fighting piece. Use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-steinitz/the-king-is-a-fighting-piece-use-it/) [Wilhelm Steinitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-steinitz/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) ## More by Nicholas Eames > [“As individuals they were each of them fallible, discordant as notes without harmony. But as a band they were something more, something perfect in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/as-individuals-they-were-each-of-them-fallible-discordant-as-notes/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Sounds better than being a king," said Matrick. Kit nodded. "It was - until a plague tore through the village and killed every man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/sounds-better-than-being-a-king-said-matrick-kit-nodded-it-was-until/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“And so it goes, thought Clay. Life was funny, and fickle, and often cruel. Sometimes the unworthy went on living, while those who deserved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/and-so-it-goes-thought-clay-life-was-funny-and-fickle-and-often-cruel/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Clay smiled like a man who’d won first place in a “Whose Life Sucks the Most”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/clay-smiled-like-a-man-who-d-won-first-place-in-a-whose-life-sucks/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“But life, Clay knew, didn’t work that way. It wasn’t a circle; you didn’t go round and round again. It was an arc, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/but-life-clay-knew-didn-t-work-that-way-it-wasn-t-a-circle-you-didn-t/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“This day,” said Gabriel, “this moment, is when you step out from the shadow of the past. Today you make your name. 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"Fuck you guys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/how-do-i-look-he-asked-barret-grinned-old-moog-glanced-over/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“He had heard it said by an exceptionally clever bard that if you tried to number the ways you could die in the Heartwyld…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/he-had-heard-it-said-by-an-exceptionally-clever-bard-that-if-you/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Look here at a warrior born, a scion of power and poverty whose purpose is manifold: to shatter shackles, to murder monarchs, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/look-here-at-a-warrior-born-a-scion-of-power-and-poverty-whose/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Judge them for what they wished to be,” he begged the Father of Gods, “not what the world made of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/judge-them-for-what-they-wished-to-be-he-begged-the-father-of-gods/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“And so it goes, thought Clay. Life was funny, and fickle, and often cruel. Sometimes the unworthy went on living, while those who deserved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/and-so-it-goes-thought-clay-life-was-funny-and-fickle-and-often-cruel-2/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“You should write a book," Matrick suggested. Kit snorted. "Who wants to read the self-pitying lamentations of an old revenant?" "There's your title right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/you-should-write-a-book-matrick-suggested-kit-snorted-who-wants-to/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Clay pushed his body off him and mumbled another apology - because, enemy or not, when you hit a man in the nuts with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/clay-pushed-his-body-off-him-and-mumbled-another-apology-because/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“Watch this!” he said, and what happened next might have been extraordinarily funny were their lives not at stake. But they were, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/watch-this-he-said-and-what-happened-next-might-have-been/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) > [“And then came the cyclops.” “Cyclops?” Gabriel looked at him askance. “Big bastards, one huge eye right here on their head?” Clay leveled a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-eames/and-then-came-the-cyclops-cyclops-gabriel-looked-at-him-askance-big/) [Nicholas Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) [Explore all 31 Nicholas Eames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-eames/) ## More King quotes > [“Wasn’t it Machiavelli who said ‘Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-brasher/wasn-t-it-machiavelli-who-said-any-man-who-tries-to-be-good-all-the/) Darius Brasher > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [People from all walks of life that you might find as a King Diamond fan - you don't look a certain way; you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-diamond/people-from-all-walks-of-life-that-you-might-find-as-a-king-diamond/) [King Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-diamond/) > ['Melanin Man' was inspired by the words of an Uber driver in L.A. Before I got out of the car he said, 'They're scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/melanin-man-was-inspired-by-the-words-of-an-uber-driver-in-l-a-before/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [Kenny King, his character on TV is him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/kenny-king-his-character-on-tv-is-him/) [Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/) > [They say that the commons of England would first destroy the king's friends and afterward himself, and then bring the Duke of York to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-cade/they-say-that-the-commons-of-england-would-first-destroy-the-king-s/) [Jack Cade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-cade/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I never knew about racial segregation until Martin Luther King.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradley/i-never-knew-about-racial-segregation-until-martin-luther-king/) [Charles Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradley/) > [President Obama's achievements and failures must be evaluated by comparison to those chief executives who have come before him and not be measured against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/president-obama-s-achievements-and-failures-must-be-evaluated-by/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Had Elijah Muhammad tried to introduce an orthodox form of Arab-oriented Islam, I doubt if he would have attracted 500 people, but he introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/had-elijah-muhammad-tried-to-introduce-an-orthodox-form-of-arab/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [Rest in peace, King Kong Bundy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-waltman/rest-in-peace-king-kong-bundy/) [Sean Waltman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-waltman/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Be a Kingmaker, Not Just a King.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-seow-how/be-a-kingmaker-not-just-a-king/) [Tan Seow How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-seow-how/) > [Being happy is better than being a King...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-sibiya/being-happy-is-better-than-being-a-king/) [Elton Sibiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-sibiya/) > [I'm like a big kid. 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