Quote Of The Day By Johnny Cash: 'You Have To Be What You Are. Whatever You Are, You Gotta Be It.'

Born in 1932 during the Great Depression, Johnny Cash would eventually rise from his rural Arkansas beginnings to become a towering legend in country music. Despite his success, Cash managed to remain honest and true to himself, both in his life and through his music. Cash's life was no simple rags-to-riches story, though, and certainly not without its blemishes. 

After growing up in a farming family and a stint in the military, Cash got his break in 1955 with a Sun Records contract and released his debut LP, "Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!," in 1957. With songs such as "Folsom Prison Blues" and "I Walk the Line," Cash shot to stardom, but he hit a bump in the mid-'60s when personal issues dominated his life, culminating in an arrest for drug smuggling in 1965.

After a live prison performance in 1968 led to the iconic album "At Folsom Prison," which won Cash a Grammy award, he saw renewed success — albeit with recurring relapses — until another slump in the 1980s, as younger listeners turned away from his music. Laid low but undeterred, one of Cash's best collaborations took place in 1993, with a performance alongside U2 leading to him signing with the legendary producer Rick Rubin; that partnership drew out some of Cash's most celebrated work, including the Grammy-winning "American III: Solitary Man" and "American IV — The Man Comes Around." After a life of extraordinary highs and rock bottoms, Cash continued performing until the last year of his life in 2003, which makes today's quote of the day from him all the more impactful.

"You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it."

Johnny Cash uttered those words to journalist and fan Louisa Young in the middle of an early '90s interview, later remembered by her in a 2003 article for The Guardian. In a sit-down with Cash at his Tennessee home, the discussion began as a rote Q&A. But when Young probed deeper into Cash's motivations, the conversation unfolded into something more personal, more reflective.

Cash's advice resonated with Young enough to convince her to quit journalism and become a novelist, and for those of us laboring down a life path that doesn't feel right, that call for integrity may be just the jolt we need.

Renowned for being sincere and forthright about just about anything, including his own flaws, Johnny Cash's exhortation, "You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it," could be taken at face value to just be yourself. But before jumping into the deep end of self-reflection, it's worth considering that Cash said "what," not "who." 

Many of us identify with a particular life pursuit when we're younger — artist, scientist, athlete, and so on — but life often gets in the way. This can extend to our own identity, when it can be tempting to mask the sum of ourselves when all our parts are considered, warts and all. As Young noted in her article for The Guardian, Cash spent much of his interview singing, interspersed with recollections of his childhood and literary influences. And so, it seems, Cash was very self-aware of his calling to be a musician, and his determination to answer it lasted until his final weeks, some 50 years after his career began, despite his rollercoaster life of fame and near-ruin. Indeed, Cash often used his music to openly express his darker thoughts and personal experiences while championing those whose own self-worth was downtrodden by society.

To stay true to ourselves and our dreams can be tough. Yet Cash was saying to keep at it, if deep down that's what you are. It may not bring you riches and fame, but if Cash's example is anything to go by, you'll thank yourself for it in time.

• "All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate ... I choose love."
• "Call me the way you see me. I don't put the label on myself — the people who do the publicity do that."
• "I don't give up. I don't give up. I don't give — and it's not out of frustration and desperation that I say I don't give up. I don't give up because I don't give up. I don't believe in it."
• "It's like my father said, when you go to the cotton fields, if you're supposed to give the men 10 hours for $5 a day, give him 10 hours and a half. I still try to do that ..."
• "No, I'm not bitter. Why should I be bitter? I'm thrilled to death with life."