65 Misunderstood Quotes On Success In Life

These misunderstood quotes will inspire you. Misunderstood, wrongly or imperfectly understood, or incorrectly interpreted or understood.

A collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging misunderstood quotes, misunderstood sayings, and misunderstood proverbs.

Best Misunderstood Quotes

1. “I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” ~ Audre Lorde
2. “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. “Each work has to pass through these stages—ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.” ~ Swami Vivekananda

4. “It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood.” ~ Karl Popper

5. “I’m the most misunderstood, misquoted person I know, honestly.” ~ Dusty Springfield
6. “Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored — the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.” ~ Austin Kleon , Being misunderstood quotes
7. “In the glad old days, before the rise of modern morbidities…it used to be thought a disadvantage to be misunderstood.” ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

8. “To be great is to be misunderstood.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “I have been misunderstood perhaps more than anyone else ever, but it has not affected me, for the simple reason that there is no desire to be understood. It is their problem if they don’t understand, it is not my problem. If they misunderstand, it is their problem and their misery. I am not going to waste my sleep because millions of people are misunderstanding me.” ~ Rajneesh
10. “We always misunderstood ourselves, and rarely understood others” ~ Oscar Wilde , Always misunderstood quotes
11. “I have suffered from being misunderstood, but I would have suffered a hell of a lot more if I had been understood.” ~ Clarence Darrow

12. “Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

13. “Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
14. “We feel understood by people who like us; misunderstood by people who don’t — and those feelings are probably realistic.” ~ Hugh Prather
15. “I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I’ve said.” ~ Alan Greenspan

16. “Don’t write so that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood.” ~ William Howard Taft

17. “All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.” ~ W. H. Murray
18. “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred…unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
19. “With consistency, a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

20. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” ~ Henry Adams

21. “The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood.” ~ Jean Cocteau
22. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency, a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradicts everything you said today.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
23. “There is in every madman a misunderstood genius whose idea, shining in his head, frightened people, and for whom delirium was the only solution to the strangulation that life had prepared for him.” ~ Antonin Artaud

24. “I like being misunderstood.” ~ Lil Wayne

25. “The really good idea is always traceable back quite a long way, often to a not very good idea which sparked off another idea that was only slightly better, which somebody else misunderstood in such a way that they then said something which was really rather interesting.” ~ John Cleese
26. “Everyone at some point in their lives feels excluded and misunderstood.” ~ Hugh Bonneville
27. “No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Often misunderstood quotes

28. “Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

29. “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
    Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” ~ Unknown
30. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
31. “The man who is anybody and who does anything is surely going to be criticized, vilified, and misunderstood. This is a part of the penalty for greatness, and every great man understands it; and understands, too, that it is no proof of greatness. The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure contumely without resentment.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

32. “An order that can be misunderstood, will be misunderstood.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

33. “To be misunderstood can be the writer’s punishment for having disturbed the reader’s peace. The greater the disturbance, the greater the possibility of misunderstanding.” ~ Anatole Broyard
34. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” ~ W. H. Murray
35. “Most of the things I do are misunderstood. Hey, after all, being misunderstood is the fate of all true geniuses, is it not?” ~ Howard Stern

36. “A false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.” ~ James Thurber

37. “When a well-rounded character takes over, he doesn’t lecture you about his history and how he is misunderstood. He lives his life, does things that are unexpected, and makes you laugh and cry because of his human flaws and foibles.” ~ Andrew Lam
38. “Mankind are in the end always governed by superiority of intellectual faculties, and none are more sensible of this than the military profession. When, on my return from Italy, I assumed the dress of the Institute, and associated with men of science, I knew what I was doing: I was sure of not being misunderstood by the lowest drummer boy in the army.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
39. “If anywhere, brethren of a particular religious belief have been excluded from this Degree [18° Knight Rose Croix], it merely shows how gravely the purposes and plan of Masonry may be misunderstood. For whenever the door of any Degree is closed against him who believes in one God and the soul’s immortality, on account of the other tenets of his faith, that Degree is Masonry no longer.” ~ Albert Pike

40. “Miracle is a misunderstood reality.” ~ Akiane Kramarik

41. “I don’t remember you being this reasonable before, ” Lissa said. “It’s because everyone has different definitions of ‘reasonable. ‘ Mine’s just misunderstood, that’s all. ” Christian’s voice was lofty. “I think you must be misunderstood a lot, ” she laughed. His eyes held hers, and the smile on his face transformed into something warmer and softer. “Well, I hope this isn’t misunderstood. Otherwise, I might get punched. ” Leaning over, he brought his lips to hers. Lissa responded with no hesitation or thought whatsoever, losing herself in the sweetness of the kiss.” ~ Richelle Mead
42. “I’m a Christian. But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them.” ~ Bill Cosby
43. “You might be a redneck if you think the Mountain Men in Deliverance were just misunderstood.” ~ Jeff Foxworthy

44. “I am a bit evangelical, I know, but performance capture is still misunderstood.” ~ Andy Serkis

45. “Songs are my diaries; they always have been. You have to put your trust in everyone because putting down those real, personal details and thoughts that make a song authentic also opens you right up. I am constantly misunderstood; a lot of people just don’t get me.” ~ Taylor Swift
46. “I’m not conditioned to be an entertainer. An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself. The problem with that is artists are misunderstood by all. I’m not interested in the clarinet but in music. we speak our emotions into music. An artist should write for himself and not for an audience. If the audience likes it, great. If not, they can keep away. My situation is the same. Let them concentrate on my music and not on me. I like the music. I love it and live it, in fact. But for me, the business part of music just plain stinks.” ~ Artie Shaw
47. “It is also the fate of leadership to be misunderstood. For historians, academics, writers, and journalists to reflect great lives according to their own subjective canon.” ~ Nelson Mandela

48. “I can be vilified. I can be misunderstood. I didn’t come here to be liked. I came here to make a difference.” ~ Kanye West

49. “The reason business writing is horrible is that people are afraid. Afraid to say what they mean, because they might be criticized for it. Afraid to be misunderstood, to be accused of saying what they didn’t mean because they might be criticized for it.” ~ Seth Godin
50. “Now, Richard Pryor was unique. Many misunderstood his humor. He lit up the hallway, but they didn’t understand his use of profanity. He didn’t use it just to be using it; he used it in the context of his satire.” ~ Bill Cosby
51. “If one writing contributed more than any other to the framework in which this work Sowell’s Knowledge and Decisions developed, it would be an essay entitled ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society,’ published in the American Economic Review of September 1945, and written by F. A. Hayek . . In this plain and apparently simple essay was a deeply penetrating insight into the way societies function and malfunction, and clues as to why they are so often and so profoundly misunderstood.” ~ Thomas Sowell

52. “To be gret is to be misunderstood.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

53. “My beloved church misunderstood me. It preached the corruptibility of humanity when I came to demonstrate its potential for incorruptibility. It propounded the sinfulness of humanity when I suffered to reveal your godliness and to overcome your guilt by demonstrating that you can totally rise above the death of the body.” ~ Barbara Marx Hubbard
54. “I am under no illusions. My position, no matter how clearly stated, is likely to be misunderstood.” ~ David Benatar
55. “We have misunderstood our confusion when we think there is an answer to it. The confusion is not a result of questions that are too hard, but rather a questioner who is disintegrating. Confusion is the introduction to true intelligence.” ~ Steven Harrison

56. “I think I get misinterpreted and misunderstood a lot.” ~ Macy Gray

57. “Do not write merely to be understood. Write so you cannot possibly be misunderstood.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
58. “Why should we defend ourselves when we are misunderstood and misjudged? Let us leave that aside. Let us not say anything. It is so sweet to let others judge us in any way they like. O blessed silence, which gives so much peace to the soul!” ~ Therese of Lisieux
59. “I am conscious of the fact that the subject of hell is not a very pleasant one. It is very unpopular, controversial, and misunderstood…. As a minister, I must deal with it. I cannot ignore it.” ~ Billy Graham

60. “I have nothing to explain. As for being misunderstood, I have grown accustomed to that.” ~ Fan Bingbing

61. “Money is misunderstood. The fact is if you want to be successful – the money will follow you. If you are a doctor, something else will follow you. If you are successful there is an accompaniment. If your goal is just to make money you won’t succeed. Money is a commodity to use, not to be dictated by.” ~ Frank Lowy
62. “For a subject worked and reworked so often in novels, motion pictures, and television, American Indians remain probably the least understood and most misunderstood Americans of us all.” ~ John F. Kennedy

63. “Bobby is the most misunderstood, misquoted celebrity walking the face of this earth” ~ Yasser Seirawan

64. “No other great master has been so misunderstood by the vast majority of chess amateurs and even by many masters, as has Emanuel Lasker.” ~ Jose Raul Capablanca
65. “Too many poets write poems which are only difficult on the surface, difficult because the dramatic situation is easily misunderstood. It’s not difficult to write poems that are misunderstood. A drunk, a three-year-old-they are easily misunderstood. What is difficult is being clear and mysterious at the same time. The dramatic situation needs to be as clear in a poem as it is in a piece of good journalism. The why is part of the mystery, but the who, what, where, and when should all be understood.” ~ Miller Williams

Comment Your Favorite Misunderstood Quotes Below!