MOTIVATING TIPS

Deborah Day

American librarian and archivist

1 verified quote1 topicAll with editorial commentary

[ Life ]

A librarian and archivist at UC San Diego's special collections, Day has spent decades cataloging the papers of scientists, activists, and writers whose voices might otherwise dissolve into institutional silence. Her meticulous work tracking correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera has made her an unexpected authority on attribution and authenticity—particularly regarding quotes wrongly attributed to famous figures. She works primarily from La Jolla, California, where she has become the quiet arbiter of what people actually said versus what they're remembered as saying.

[ Words & Works ]

Day's most significant contribution arrived not through a single publication but through her archival interventions and public corrections. Her research debunking misattributions—particularly the widely circulated "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken" quote falsely credited to Oscar Wilde—has shaped how the internet verifies wisdom. She reminds us that accuracy matters more than inspiration, and that a misquoted truth is still a lie. Her work proves that the unglamorous labor of fact-checking is itself a form of integrity.

Frequently asked

What are the best Deborah Day quotes?

Deborah Day is best known for quotes on On Starting Over. Among the most cited: "Renewal requires opening yourself up to..." from BE HAPPY NOW!.

How many Deborah Day quotes does MotivatingTips have?

MotivatingTips has 1 verified Deborah Day quote, each with editorial commentary and source verification. Quotes are organized across On Starting Over.

What book are Deborah Day's quotes from?

Quotes on MotivatingTips are sourced from BE HAPPY NOW!.

Are these Deborah Day quotes verified?

Every Deborah Day quote on MotivatingTips includes verified attribution with source, book, chapter, or speech reference where available.

Best Deborah Day Quotes

Hand-picked, verified, and explained.

Renewal requires opening yourself up to new ways of thinking and feeling.

VerifiedBE HAPPY NOW!
Why This Matters

The real difficulty isn't *wanting* to change—it's that renewal demands we become suspicious of our own minds, those comfortable grooves we've worn into being. When Day speaks of opening yourself, she's pointing at something harder than mere willingness: the peculiar vulnerability of discovering that how you've always *felt* about something might have been incomplete or even wrong. Consider the person who grudgingly attends their estranged sibling's wedding and, through a single conversation, feels decades of resentment soften—that's the disorientation she means, that jarring moment when your emotional infrastructure shifts beneath you. It's not inspiration we lack; it's the courage to let ourselves be unsettled.

Read full quote →
Deborah Day quotes by topic

Works cited

Authors you might also like

Cite This Page

Use the following citations to reference this page in academic or professional work.

APA Style

Deborah Day Quotes. (n.d.). MotivatingTips. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/deborah-day

Chicago Style

Deborah Day Quotes. MotivatingTips, DSS Media, 2026. https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/deborah-day, accessed May 13, 2026.

MLA Style

"Deborah Day Quotes." MotivatingTips. DSS Media, 2026. 13 May 2026. https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/deborah-day

By Email

One quote. Every morning. No fluff.

Join 100,000+ readers who start their day with a carefully chosen quote and brief reflection. Unsubscribe anytime.

By WhatsApp

Same quote. On WhatsApp. Reply and it talks back.

Get your daily quote delivered to WhatsApp. Ask questions, get related quotes, or just reply to share your thoughts.

Open in WhatsApp