53 Inspirational Susan Cain Quotes (INTROVERT)

Top 11 Most Famous Susan Cain Quotes (BEST)

“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
Susan Cain

Our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are responsible for some of humanity’s greatest achievements. — Our culture is biased against quiet and reserved people, but introverts are **responsible** for some of humanity’s greatest achievements.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. — Spend your free **time** the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.

There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.

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

Shyness is the fear of social disapproval or humiliation, while introversion is a preference for environments that are not overstimulating. Shyness is inherently painful; introversion is not.

“Persistence isn’t very glamorous. If genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, then as a culture we tend to lionize the 1%. We love its flash and dazzle. But great power lies in the other 99%.”
Susan Cain

Whoever you are, bear in mind that appearance is not reality. Some people act like extroverts, but the effort costs them energy, authenticity, and even physical health. — Whoever you are, bear in mind that appearance is not reality. Some people act like extroverts, but the **effort** costs them energy, authenticity, and even physical **health**.

We don’t need giant personalities to transform companies. We need leaders who build not their own egos but the institutions they run. — We don’t need giant personalities to transform companies. We need **leaders** who build not their own egos but the institutions they run.

Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe. — **Solitude** matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe.

I prefer listening to talking, reading to socializing, and cozy chats to group settings.

14 Inspirational Susan Cain Quotes About Life

“The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers — of persistence, concentration, and insight — to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems. Make art, think deeply.”
Susan Cain

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

Everyone shines, given the right lighting.

“Indeed, your biggest challenge may be to fully harness your strengths. You may be so busy trying to appear like a zestful, reward-sensitive extrovert that you undervalue your own talents, or feel underestimated by those around you. But when you’re focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.”
Susan Cain

In the long run, staying true to your temperament is key to finding work you love and work that matters.

“Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. If this requires public speaking or networking or other activities that make you uncomfortable, do them anyway. But accept that they’re difficult, get the training you need to make them easier, and reward yourself when you’re done.”
Susan Cain

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

Love is essential, gregariousness is optional. — **Love** is essential, gregariousness is optional.

“Introverts need to trust their gut and share their ideas as powerfully as they can. This does not mean aping extroverts; ideas can be shared quietly, they can be communicated in writing, they can be packaged into highly produced lectures, they can be advanced by allies. The trick for introverts is to honor their own styles instead of allowing themselves to be swept up by prevailing norms.”
Susan Cain

There is no one more courageous than the person who speaks with the courage of his convictions.

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’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 had always imagined Rosa Parks as a stately woman with a bold temperament, someone who could easily stand up to a busload of glowering passengers. But when she died in 2005 at the age of ninety-two, the flood of obituaries recalled her as soft-spoken, sweet, and small in stature. They said she was ‘timid and shy’ but had ‘the courage of a lion.’ They were full of phrases like ‘radical humility‘ and ‘quiet fortitude.’
Susan Cain

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

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

16 Susan Cain Quotes on Introversion (EMBRACE)

“So stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don’t let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don’t force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Being relatively unmoved by rewards gives you the incalculable power to go your own way.”
Susan Cain

Men are more likely to be introverted than women are, but it's really very slight. But the real difference I think is in how it plays out, how it relates to cultural stereotypes. — Men are more likely to be introverted than women are, but it’s really very slight. But the real difference I think is in how it plays out, how it relates to cultural stereotypes.

“Introverts often work more slowly and deliberately. They like to focus on one task at a time and can have mighty powers of concentration. They’re relatively immune to the lures of wealth and fame.”
Susan Cain

Introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly.

“I also believe that introversion is my greatest strength. I have such a strong inner life that I’m never bored and only occasionally lonely. No matter what mayhem is happening around me, I know I can always turn inward.”
Susan Cain

The next generation of quiet kids can and must be raised to know their own strengths.

“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas. It’s so easy to confuse schmoozing ability with talent. Someone seems like a good presenter, easy to get along with, and those traits are rewarded. Well, why is that? They’re valuable traits, but we put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking.”
Susan Cain

Introverts prefer to work independently, and solitude can be a catalyst to innovation. — Introverts prefer to work independently, and solitude can be a catalyst to **innovation**.

“The highly sensitive [introverted] tend to be philosophical or spiritual in their orientation, rather than materialistic or hedonistic. They dislike small talk. They often describe themselves as creative or intuitive. They dream vividly, and can often recall their dreams the next day. They love music, nature, art, physical beauty. They feel exceptionally strong emotions–sometimes acute bouts of joy, but also sorrow, melancholy, and fear. Highly sensitive people also process information about their environments–both physical and emotional–unusually deeply. They tend to notice subtleties that others miss–another person’s shift in mood, say, or a lightbulb burning a touch too brightly.”
Susan Cain

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured. — Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured.

“If you’re an introvert, you also know that the bias against quiet can cause deep psychic pain. As a child you might have overheard your parents apologize for your shyness. Or at school you might have been prodded to come ‘out of your shell’ – that noxious expression which fails to appreciate that some animals naturally carry shelter everywhere they go, and some humans are just the same.”
Susan Cain

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

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.

“The next time you see a person with a composed face and a soft voice, remember that inside her mind she might be solving an equation, composing a sonnet, designing a hat. She might, that is, be deploying the power of quiet.”
Susan Cain

The bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness. — The bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of **talent**, energy, and **happiness**.

I'm continually amazed by how many people who appear to be extroverts are actually introverts. — I’m continually amazed by how many people who appear to be extroverts are actually introverts.

12 Wise Susan Cain Quotes that Will Make You Think (WISDOM)

“Studies have shown that performance gets worse as group size increases… If you have talented and motivated people, they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity or efficiency is the highest priority.”
Susan Cain

Opposites attract, and I think temperament is so fundamental that you end up craving someone of the opposite temperament to complete you.

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

We put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking.

“We know from myths and fairy tales that there are many different kinds of powers in this world. One child is given a light saber, another a wizard’s education. The trick is not to amass all the different kinds of power, but to use well the kind you’ve been granted.”
Susan Cain

The purpose of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself. — The **purpose** of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself.

Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair memory. They’re associated with high staff turnover. They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated, and insecure. — Open-plan offices have been found to reduce productivity and impair **memory**. They’re associated with high staff turnover. They make people sick, hostile, unmotivated, and insecure.

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

“Flow is an optimal state in which you feel totally engaged in an activity… In a state of flow, you’re neither bored nor anxious, and you don’t question your own adequacy. Hours pass without your noticing.”
Susan Cain