Top 10 pop culture quotes on perspective in life and their inspiring explanations19 min read

Before you check out the top 10 pop culture quotes below, I just want to say that you might also want to check out the Self-help essentials on Soulo afterward. So give it a shot and drop your thoughts in the comments.

In this post, we will be covering 10 pop culture quotes that might not be as widely known.

However, they resonate with a lot of truth and give us direction for carrying ourselves better in our life.

In today’s world, our generation termed as the millennials, are majorly influenced by pop culture.

As a whole, a person is influenced by a lot of things in life, like the society we live in, our culture, and peer groups but because of the rise of social media and media in general the world is majorly moving towards globalization.

With equal benefits and vices of this process, pop culture has become a major attributor in the type of life a millennial leads.

May it be movies, music, books, TV shows, etc. There is a surge of popular philosophy that resonates more with the youth today, than the ancient teachings from the olden times.

The key influencers in today’s age are shaping how the youth interprets our world.

While the modern-day philosophy seems to be more suitable in today’s way of life, it isn’t so that they are far from the wisdom that the previous generations preached.

Truth is eternal, wisdom is eternal and its applications are timeless. However, we might be bored of reading or listening to the same type of advice repeated over and over again, in our age of limitless options.

In my opinion, it’s not good to feed that urge, the need for constant variety, as it’s a baseless pursuit and we will never feel satisfied with that kind of behavior.

But again knowledge is something boundless, each generation will get closer to knowing the truth better than the previous one because we are an ever developing species.

So variety in knowledge, wisdom, and philosophy is a great notion, the words might be different but the truth and idea remain the same. Because someone in sports will understand sports analogy better when trying to understand life, and the same goes with every other profession.

Therefore every individual on Earth gets the opportunity to understand the universe better. It’s a beautiful thing. Truth is for everyone.

Saying that let’s dive into the gems of pop culture philosophy and understand what some of the major influencers preached through their creations.

Apart from the quotes, I will also share my personal analogies and my interpretation of them.

When you are done reading through this post, let me know your personal interpretations as well in the comments.

1. “Life is a lesson, you learn it when you are through” – Limp bizkit

One of the really popular songs of the generation, especially because of the movie mission impossible 2.

Most of us are always scared of the wrong decisions we could make, we are always trying to figure out what is the perfect course of action to take in a particular situation, However give this quote a thought and understand this, how are you supposed to know the answers to a lesson you are busy learning.

Our duty is not to get the best scores like our education system has preached us to believe, our duty here on this planet in this life, is to fully embrace the possibilities of learning and growth.

Our major obligation is learn, understand, assimilate and propagate that which is learned. Allowing everyone to live and let live. Staying true to our purpose is the most important thing.

Even if we take care of that one thing, everything else will fall in place and there will be no such assumable wrong doing. So don’t think twice before facing the stage, give that speech or presentation you always wanted to give, dance if you want to, sing if you want, try to outgrow yourself and reach that bigger possibility you always wanted to entertain.

Don’t worry about where your life will lead you to, just trust the process and keep doing your thing, because life is a lesson, you will learn it when you are through and you will know what all this is about.

2. “My advisor is my gut please don’t ever interrupt” – Russ – Do it myself

Now you might not be very familiar with this particular hip hop, rap artist however from an indie artist, he has started to create some mainstream creations with major studios now, if not today, you should get to know about him soon, I mean, I see a chance, as his music is good, his lyrics are meaningful and they make sense. So let’s see what happens. Anyways here is what I have to say about this one.

Science agrees with it or not, that’s not the question, I just want to ask you, don’t you have that feeling in your gut sometimes, which tries to move you in a certain direction? alerts you about something? and sometimes that feeling is the reason you develop a measure confusion about something, cause that sometime your gut is guiding you towards a different direction and logic says otherwise.

Sometimes when the people around you are advising something else and your gut is nudging you from the inside towards a completely different path.

If you have experienced this, then there is no point in denying that a gut feeling does not exist.

This is a really complicated area you know? It’s because it’s really difficult to differentiate between your mind and your gut feeling, just a heads up, the gut is not in your stomach, it’s presence is beyond our understanding.

However just because we do not understand something, we cannot deny its existence, take a recent discovery of our modern science, the black holes!!

Now bear with me on this one, it’s really difficult to differentiate between our own desires and our gut feeling. We might interpret one over the other and go in a completely irrelevant direction.

However I firmly believe that there are no wrong decisions, like I said above, With such experiences you will better learn to communicate with your gut, differentiating will be easier and clearer.

Gut feeling is like a muscle the more you work it the better it will become. Now sure don’t abandon logic but start trusting your gut a little more, experiment with it a little every day, let it guide you in simple ways Initially, learn to listen more soundly, give your gut the invitation to communicate with you fully, it’s like a person, the more you listen the more they speak. Everyone enjoys a listening ear.

As of now I don’t have a life changing experience to share with you about it, but I assure you it’s a magical thing, it will guide you in ways that you never thought were possible. Just give it a shot.

3. “With Great power comes great responsibility” – Spider man

Our political leaders have a great responsibility to bear because they harbor a lot of power, we all know how irresponsible behavior is turning out for our world. Same goes with individuals at every level.

According to certain things I know, in my opinion it’s a vice versa thing. With power comes responsibility and by undertaking responsibility you get power.

The universe has a simple law, never give anyone something of which that person is not capable of handling. It will teach you, build you, it will motivate you to undertake more responsibility of yourself, in small doses all the time. As a car driver cannot fly a supersonic plane, the same way you won’t be bestowed with position or power that you cannot handle.

So if you desire to reach your goals, do great things, make an impact, do amazing things with your life. Start taking responsibility of your life, start taking responsibility of your decisions, start taking the responsibility of your goals and most importantly take responsibility of how your actions affect others.

At the end of the lesson will be a test and if you fail that test, you won’t be handed that which you desire. Great power follows responsibility.

Now you might question me about “then how come corrupt or irresponsible people are in power?” Isn’t the answer in the question itself? Because we abandoned the responsibility of making the world we live in better, it’s a self-propagating cycle. Complacency feeds complacency. If we wish to change the world, we must assume responsibility.

4. “It’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us.” – Batman dark knight trilogy

We might have really high ideals for ourselves. We take pride in having a high sense of character and we mostly believe that we are one of those few ideal people on earth. To a certain degree, we very well be what we think we are however there is a catch.

In this regard I highly encourage you to set up a system of even stricter scrutiny. I mean really at a sub-conscious level. There are recent experiences in
my life that have promoted this line of thought in my mind, I took pride in being humble, being kind, being welcoming, being an overall encouraging person to be around.

Then I came across people who are 10 steps ahead of me in that department that completely brought down my pride, it made me realize there are even more beautiful people in this world than I thought.

Talk about dedication, persistence, discipline, good conduct, work ethic, you name it and you will surely come across people who are better than us at that. Now I don’t mean to encourage a competitive spirit even in this regard, however the reason I am giving you such an example is because, If you think of yourself as a truthful person but you do recall certain instances where a little shadow of doubt occurs.

If you consider yourself a good listener, do you recall any instance when someone else gave you more attention and speaking time than you yourself usually give others?

So my point is, we might have great ideals, a good character but in action it might be applied to a certain extent like say 80% our job is to complete that remaining 20%.

Now that’s a task for a lifetime however it’s an ideal one to follow and our action will inspire positive action around us, like a chain reaction it will spread. Let our actions define us more than our words. Aspire to be great.

5. “it’s not a weapon, it’s a gift-their language” – Arrival – The movie

In the movie when the Aliens reveal their language to us, that language opens another dimension of understanding of the universe for mankind. So their language becomes their gift. They did not give us some technology or tool to prosper, they directly passed on the source of their wisdom to us.

That quote is really amazing, the reason I find it so impactful is because I can see the power that language can give us.

Take me for instance, I am not a native English speaker, however my education included English as the primary language and when I say this, I am not lying, I have even scored decent grades in math’s and Cleared my examination by just using the language.

English allows me to write this blog, connect with you guys and communicate with you guys and that really opens up the door to a whole new world.

Apart from the literature, culture and information of my country, I have access to a global resource of information that enriches my life. I intend to expand my vocabulary in future by learning other languages as well.

Next on my list are Spanish and Italian, reason being I find those cultures fascinating, plus the literature which is available in Rome and Florence is a great topic of research to further my art as a filmmaker.

There are certain words in my language that have a profound meaning about themselves and no matter how good the translation is, the actual feeling of it cannot be expressed in any other language. Same goes for my second language English, certain words which have a clear meaning in it, cannot me represented as simply in my language.

This allows me to interact with the world in a complete new form, combining the two worlds I know.

This is one way of looking at it, the other way of looking at it is, language is a really powerful tool, used correctly you can change the world by merely your words. All the great revolutions of history were inspired by words spoken by people who understood their significance.

By becoming a power user of language, you can crack that interview you want to, make better deals and communicate with your dear one’s in a more profound sense and express yourself fully. So this sums it up, language is truly a magnificent gift and I reap its rewards every day.

6. “Legalize the truth” – Green day – Revolution radio

I am really glad that Green day is still around, I really enjoy listening to this band, it’s one of my favorites, their lyrics are always amazing and they speak about the multitudes of issues that we deal with. Especially, the new album has some great tracks along with a very accurate picture painted of our time.

Some quotes are just a double edged sword. You know what Green day is asking to be legalized right? Also the line is placed so cleverly between the entire lyrics that it implies an another meaning as well, which is we really need to legalize truth.

People who speak the truth are being penalized, labeled outcasts, suppressed by people who are in the state of denial and are not willing to speak about certain issues in a civilized manner. People who are lying, attempting to distract, mislead and hide the truth are being rewarded and those standing firmly by truth are being punished.

It’s like truth has become illegal in our world. Now I am not speaking about the little harmless lies we all tell every day. I am speaking about the truth that needs to be spoken, which can bring about a change if accepted and if not then it will lead us to a stray future if suppressed.

Even on a personal level if you come out of the state of denial and accept that there are some problems in your life, disease detected is half cured. You can really speed up your growth process.

To start with start being truthful with yourself and your goals, don’t’ cheat that meal, don’t lie that you will start tomorrow and just start doing what you say. If you don’t follow up your words with action, you are lying. Charity begins at home and change starts with you.

7. You can beat the war you can talk to God, go banging on his door Dedicate yourself and you gon’ find yourself – The script – hall of fame feat. will.i.am

This is a pretty well-known song and I assume you must have heard it, if not then give it a try, I cannot assure you but I think you will like it.

This one has a pretty straightforward meaning, that if you decide to do something you can do it, the only thing that matters is dedication. Commit yourself and you can even find God, that’s the level of belief and commitment the song is asking you to embrace.

The other point being, have faith in yourself, believe in yourself, you can do whatever that you want to do in this life, don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible.

If something matters to you, never give up and keep working at it, do not feel discouraged, or loose belief in yourself, just because someone says it’s a false dream you are chasing. Anything is possible. Commit, believe, dedicate, achieve.

8. This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time – Fight club

The movie is a master piece, even though the movie was released in 1999, the movie voices all the aspects of modern day living, it’s a kick in the gut, with every scene of the movie profound dialogues unfolding a very raw and realistic perspective of life and this particular line is one of my favorites from the movie.

It’s a weird thing, until it hits you, you won’t realize that you have become old and any day might be your last. Our whole life passes by like a blur. Passes by in fear, in confusion, in despair, struggling with issues that don’t have any significance, fretting over issues that are minuscule.

All your dreams in life, aspirations washed away by the waves of tomorrow. You got so busy with things that don’t matter a bit during your life and now at the twilight of your life you realize you could have done so much more if you were aware of their insignificance, If only you committed your time and energy to things that mattered.

We need to have a perspective on this, that every day you wake you are one day closer to end, this is not some pessimistic talk, this is some realistic talk. You don’t have forever to live the life of your dreams, secondly no matter what your age is right now, you can always start today with the things that matter and which are true to your purpose, find meaning in life.

Work hard, play hard, enjoy the zeal of life and do not laze around. Look for your purpose in life, find it and dedicate to it, live your life every day to its fullest. Understand, this is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time. If not today then when will you start doing all that you want to do with your life?

9. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you. – Tyrion – Game of Thrones

One of the most popular pop culture quotes right now isn’t it?

Understanding what you are, what you like, what are your preferences, what is the kind of life that you want to lead are some great answers to know. Knowing those answers allows you to live your life with ease.

You don’t try to fit into places that you don’t want. You don’t try to become that which is cool, you are fine with the kind of life you lead. In reality all this labels are formed by the society and none of them hold any meaning in reality.

Consider this, in the world of Rugby tackling effectively is a skill, however in the world of soccer it’s a foul. One game rewards that behavior, one penalizes it and both of them are called Football commonly.

A rocket scientist considers knowing something amazing about the space a cool thing, similarly a dancer considers a particular routine to be impressive. It’s all a matter of perspective and things that matter to you are cool. So let people pass judgments if they want to, you have a choice to not to pay any attention. Understand yourself better, know what you like and what you don’t and stay true to it.

Everything else does not matter. Now I don’t want to offend anyone here, however I myself was an overweight kid, early in life I understood it’s unhealthy, limiting and does not allow me to experience life 100%. I am highly against accepting yourself in the name of complacency.

I believe in every human living life to his/her fullest potential. I believe in balance. If you are underweight gain weight, if you are overweight lose weight, a simple rule of thumb is weight with muscle is better than just weight gained in the form of fat and weight lost in the form of fat, you lose fat you build muscle, you gain weight you build muscle.

10. We survive by pulling together not apart. – Rick Grimes- The walking dead

The explanation to this one is kind of a universal one. Our time demands a collective consciousness right now. Our time demands humanity to come as one and save our planet. The most impending threat we face right now is climate change. We are ripping our home apart. I know this is not related to our topic of motivation, but it’s a good thought process to have, you being considerate of your surroundings.

You learn to live a more meaningful life. You understand the weight and importance of every action you make. You understand the importance of everyday thoughts and actions and their effects in your life and in the world. This allows you a higher purpose than yourself to become better in life.

A person can do more for others than he can for himself. So always having a higher purpose than yourself will keep you on the toes and motivated enough to tackle any situation that comes your way because you believe in the cause.

It’s time to think about the course of our lives, the direction we are heading in and what impact it will create. It’s time that we as humanity come together to do great things and make our planet a result of positive team work.

Conclusion

From the time when I was a kid I have always been inspired by various quotes. The brand which I used to use for my notebooks always had great hand picked quotes and stories featured on their last few extra pages. At the start of a year, the fresh smell of books and those beautiful quotes always delighted my heart and made feel inspired to make the most of that particular academic year.

I will be happy to know your opinions on this article, things you agree with and things you don’t agree with. What made sense to you and what did not. I shared a deeply embedded thought process of mine with you in a hope to make a connection and possibly motivate you to take better actions. We grow by communicating and we understand each other better by communication. Looking forward to read from you. Peace.