--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 've always defined a truly alluring story…" description: "\"'ve always defined a truly alluring story as a journey we're not equipped to take ourselves with a person we're tempted but afraid to emulate. Impostor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/walter-kirn-2189_alluring_ve-always-defined-a-truly-alluring-story_2030132.png" --- # 've always defined a truly alluring story as a journey… ![“'ve always defined a truly alluring story as a journey we're not equipped to take ourselves with a person we're tempted but afraid to emulate. Impostor narratives are exactly that. When they end in disaster, as Clark's did, or as Gatsby's did, we can congratulate ourselves for our own wisdom. We…” quote by Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/walter-kirn-2189_alluring_ve-always-defined-a-truly-alluring-story_2030132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/walter-kirn-2189_alluring_ve-always-defined-a-truly-alluring-story_2030132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/walter-kirn-2189_alluring_ve-always-defined-a-truly-alluring-story_2030132.png) > “'ve always defined a truly alluring story as a journey we're not equipped to take ourselves with a person we're tempted but afraid to emulate. Impostor narratives are exactly that. When they end in disaster, as Clark's did, or as Gatsby's did, we can congratulate ourselves for our own wisdom. We can also experience, safely, at no cost, the terrible thrill of radical self-invention, of trading who we are for who we might be.” [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that emulating charismatic figures can be alluring but risky, leading to self‑deception and costly mistakes. **In simple terms:** Imitating others can feel exciting but may end badly. Key Takeaway Beware of copying others; find your own path. Themes identity risk imitation self‑discovery Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - career moves - relationships - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts narrative self‑invention psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drives your desire to emulate? - How can you channel inspiration without losing self? A Different Perspective Imitation may ignore personal limits and context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alluring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alluring/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narratives/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Thrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrill/) [Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading/) ## Related quotes > [“The situation suddenly felt absurd, and he had to control the urge to laugh out loud, the sheer folly of the midnight escapade catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fraser-collard/the-situation-suddenly-felt-absurd-and-he-had-to-control-the-urge-to/) [Paul Fraser Collard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fraser-collard/) > [Before we can realize who we really are, we must become conscious of the fact that the person we think we are, here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/before-we-can-realize-who-we-really-are-we-must-become-conscious-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/beware-of-listening-to-this-impostor-you-are-undone-if-you-once/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I am a big self-doubter. I suffer from Impostor Syndrome. Whenever I start a new job, I think: 'I'm going to be found out.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-dennis/i-am-a-big-self-doubter-i-suffer-from-impostor-syndrome-whenever-i/) [Les Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-dennis/) > [Those who are seeking the true religion will never find it outside the Catholic Church alone, because, in every other religion, if they trace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/those-who-are-seeking-the-true-religion-will-never-find-it-outside/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [I was an impostor, the worthy associate of a brigand, &c., &c., and all this for an atom of chlorine put in the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-laurent/i-was-an-impostor-the-worthy-associate-of-a-brigand-c-c-and-all-this/) Auguste Laurent > [“An impostor would not have the same value as the original person in society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/an-impostor-would-not-have-the-same-value-as-the-original-person-in/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [“He who thinks of himself as a wise man is an impostor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-bueno/he-who-thinks-of-himself-as-a-wise-man-is-an-impostor/) Gustavo Bueno > [“The Man of Truth has learned that Illusion is the One Reality, and that Substance is the Great Impostor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-man-of-truth-has-learned-that-illusion-is-the-one-reality-and/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“it is shame to be an impostor…it only means u gave up!…it is impossible to be perfect…but it is possible to believe in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody/it-is-shame-to-be-an-impostor-it-only-means-u-gave-up-it-is/) woody > [“Its funny when people recently change their attitude to gain entrance into your heart, which may only ignite your passion to close the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/its-funny-when-people-recently-change-their-attitude-to-gain-entrance/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [ If we believe that he \[Jesus Christ\]really countenanced the follies, the falsehoods, and the charlatanisms, which his biographers \[writers of the New Testament\]father upon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-believe-that-he-jesus-christ-really-countenanced-the-follies/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I felt like an impostor, taking all that money for reciting ten or twelve lines of nonsense a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-felt-like-an-impostor-taking-all-that-money-for-reciting-ten-or/) [Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/) > [I'm someone who's experienced impostor syndrome - as I think a lot of people have with their careers, especially when they pursue what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-porowski/i-m-someone-who-s-experienced-impostor-syndrome-as-i-think-a-lot-of/) [Antoni Porowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-porowski/) > [I no longer get into stupid thought wormholes about identity and stuff. At one time, I did have some impostor syndrome about acting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-no-longer-get-into-stupid-thought-wormholes-about-identity-and/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) ## More by Walter Kirn > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“I just wasn't ready for his stories. They'd breed with the others I'd heard and hatch new monsters, because there was no such thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-just-wasn-t-ready-for-his-stories-they-d-breed-with-the-others-i-d/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“For time to pass it would have to go somewhere, and where would that be? Time sits. We move, it sits. 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That's a savage person who looks at everything as a story and, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/there-are-two-sides-to-me-one-is-the-writer-that-s-a-savage-person/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Quiet cunning bested boastful brawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/quiet-cunning-bested-boastful-brawn/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The idea that Americans favor politicians who either remind them of themselves or can imagine what their selves are like because they too have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/the-idea-that-americans-favor-politicians-who-either-remind-them-of/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Memo to extreme partisans: If you can't bring yourselves to love your enemies, can you at least learn to hate your friends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/memo-to-extreme-partisans-if-you-can-t-bring-yourselves-to-love-your/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [People can be so neglectful of each other and of their own heritage - then death intrudes. Conversations we wish that we'd had earlier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/people-can-be-so-neglectful-of-each-other-and-of-their-own-heritage/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I'd assumed that a deal was a deal when Princeton admitted me, but I was wrong. The price of getting in - to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-d-assumed-that-a-deal-was-a-deal-when-princeton-admitted-me-but-i/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The reason that last-ditch political maneuvering has become business as usual in Washington is that the actors involved are drunk on blame and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/the-reason-that-last-ditch-political-maneuvering-has-become-business/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Meanness on request isn't meanness at all, but kindness carried too far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/meanness-on-request-isn-t-meanness-at-all-but-kindness-carried-too-far/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) [Explore all 177 Walter Kirn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## More Alluring quotes > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet. With a force mightier than gravity, it attracts the eye to its shimmering red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble-wilford/mars-tugs-at-the-human-imagination-like-no-other-planet-with-a-force/) John Noble Wilford > [“Nothing overdone, nothing racy, which made her all the more alluring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ablow/nothing-overdone-nothing-racy-which-made-her-all-the-more-alluring/) [Keith Ablow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ablow/) > [Soft addictions are an alluring, seductive aspect of our culture - they are easy to attain and socially acceptable, they are even encouraged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-wright/soft-addictions-are-an-alluring-seductive-aspect-of-our-culture-they/) [Judith Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-wright/) > [“Modesty has, and will remain, an alluring trait because where egoism falters, humility conquers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-paula/modesty-has-and-will-remain-an-alluring-trait-because-where-egoism/) [Andy Paula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-paula/) > [When I was a kid, I always had a big thing for Dannii Minogue. Initially I liked Kylie, but I quickly moved on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-buchan/when-i-was-a-kid-i-always-had-a-big-thing-for-dannii-minogue/) [Andrew Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-buchan/) > [“I didn't want to be someone pretending to be a woman; I wanted to know what it was like to be a sexual woman...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-angelina-birch/i-didn-t-want-to-be-someone-pretending-to-be-a-woman-i-wanted-to-know/) Jessica Angelina Birch > [Depression is so treacherous - it can be so alluring as well as punishing. After all, it's yours and yours alone - no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-jefferson/depression-is-so-treacherous-it-can-be-so-alluring-as-well-as/) [Margo Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-jefferson/) > [“The grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence. Many politicians promise green, green grass by blending niceties with delusion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/the-grass-always-seems-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence-many/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Just as meekness is in all our virtues, so is pride in all our sins. Whatever its momentary and alluring guise, pride is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/just-as-meekness-is-in-all-our-virtues-so-is-pride-in-all-our-sins/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [I am like a mariner born and bred on board a buccaneer brig whose soul has become so inured to storm and strife that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-am-like-a-mariner-born-and-bred-on-board-a-buccaneer-brig-whose/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [Procrastination is something you do yourself. You know: "I gotta sharpen these pencils before I start. I got 20 pencils, they're looking kinda dull."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/procrastination-is-something-you-do-yourself-you-know-i-gotta-sharpen/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There is no more alluring airspace in the world than the slit up a China girl's dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/there-is-no-more-alluring-airspace-in-the-world-than-the-slit-up-a/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [And I particularly like the whole thing of being boss. Boss and employee... It's the slave quality that I find very alluring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-grant/and-i-particularly-like-the-whole-thing-of-being-boss-boss-and/) [Hugh Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-grant/) [Browse all 105 Alluring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alluring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'ve always defined a truly alluring story as a journey we're not equipped to take ourselves with a person we're tempted but afraid to emulate. Impostor narratives are exactly that. When they end in disaster, as Clark's did, or as Gatsby's did, we can congratulate ourselves for our own wisdom. 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