I played the lead in Gigi in a summer stock production at the Laguna Playhouse south of Los Angeles. The excitement of finally being a real actress was painfully short-lived. All the interviews and all the reviews focused on my father. Would I be as good as my father? Was I as gifted, as funny? Would I be as popular? I was devastated.I loved my father; my problem was Danny Thomas.

“Daddy,” I began, “please don’t be hurt when I tell you this. I want to change my name. I love you but I don’t want to be a Thomas anymore.”

I tried not to cry during the long silence. And then he said, “I raised you to be a thoroughbred. When thoroughbreds run they wear blinders to keep their eyes focused straight ahead with no distractions, no other horses. They hear the crowd but they don’t listen. They just run their own race. That’s what you have to do. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you to me or to anyone else. You just run your own race.”

— Marlo Thomas, The Right Words at the Right Time (Atria Books)

Run your own race. Don’t listen to anyone comparing you with someone else–especially your ‘inner critic’. Is that not sage advice?

I picked up this book in Barnes and Noble the other day. She asked a number of people if there were any phrase or saying that impacted their lives in the way that her father had with her. Some of the answers she received are insightful and thoughtful; some are eye-rollers. All in all, though, it’s a good read.

How about you? Are there any words of wisdom or inspiration that you can say have had a profound impact on your life?