Susan Cain Quotes

Even when the attention focused on me is positive, I am uncomfortable being looked at by a lot of people - it's just not my natural state of being.

One genuine new relationship is worth a fistful of business cards.

If you enjoy depth, don't force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns.

One honest relationship can be more productive than fistfuls of business cards.

Though shyness per se was unacceptable, reserve was a mark of good breeding.

I'm insatiably curious about human nature.

Women were also urged to work on a mysterious quality called 'fascination.' Coming of age in the 1920's was a competitive business.

College students who tend to study alone learn more over time than those who work in groups.

In most job interviews, people say they are looking for people skills and emotional intelligence. That's reasonable, but the question is, how do you define what that looks like?

I'm insatiably curious about human nature. I feel very lucky that as a writer I get to learn so much about it just to do my job right.

I get a lot of letters from introverts asking how they can meet people. The key is to make sure that you are doing things you enjoy.

I've wanted to be a writer since I was four years old!

As a parent, if give yourself what you need, your children will watch you doing that and will give themselves what they need.

I use a lot of old-fashioned expressions.

Every American was to become a performing self.

Some introverts are perfectly comfortable with public speaking; I'm not one of them.

I actually find extroversion to be a really appealing personality style.

Should we become so proficient at self-presentation that we can dissemble without anyone suspecting?

I've never given a speech without being terrified first.

...if you can think of meetings you've attended, you can probably recall a time - plenty of times - when the opinion of the most dynamic or talkative person prevailed to the detriment of all.

Do you really believe in what you said or wrote – in the thing that’s bringing criticism? And if I do believe it, I can withstand anything.

We've known about the transcendent power of solitude for centuries; it's only recently that we've forgotten it.

There are only a few people out there who can completely overcome their fears, and they all live in Tibet.

...true self-esteem comes from competence, not the other way around.

Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it

When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion.

When you're more focused in getting your message across than you are worrying about how people are viewing you, that's huge.

Your tendency to be inward-directed or outward-directed is huge; it governs every part of the way you live and work and love.

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured...Spend your free the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to.

The key to flow is to pursue an activity for its own sake, not for the rewards it brings.

Use your natural powers - of persistence, concentration, and insight - to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems, make art, and think deeply

If personal space is vital to creativity, so is freedom from "peer pressure".

The longer you pause to process surprising or negative feedback, the more likely you are to learn from it.

The trick for introverts is to honor their styles instead of allowing themselves to be swept up by prevailing norms.

Soft power is quiet persistence.

He had a courtly way of exclaiming over whatever was exclaimable in people – especially kids.

What's so magical about solitude? In many fields, it's only when you're alone that you can engage in deliberate practice. This is the key to exceptional achievement.

There's nothing more exciting than ideas.

Introverts just just don't buzz as easily.

Yet today we make room for a remarkably narrow range of personality styles. We’re told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be sociable.

If you don't love Jesus out loud, then it must not be real love. It's not enough to forge your own spiritual connection to the Divine. It must be displayed publicly.

If genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, then as a culture we tend to lionize the one percent.

We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally.