I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are

When the legendary Mae West declared, “I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond,” she was not simply making a joke — she was proclaiming a philosophy. Beneath the wit and sparkle of her words lies a deeper truth about self-assurance, independence, and the art of living on one’s own terms. Her line glitters like the very jewels she mentions: dazzling on the surface, yet forged in the pressure of wisdom and experience. For Mae West, beauty was not submission to society’s standards, but the celebration of one’s own power.

To understand her meaning, one must know who Mae West was — a woman who rose from the vaudeville stage to become a goddess of wit and sensuality in the early days of Hollywood. In a time when women were expected to be modest, obedient, and restrained, she walked boldly, speaking her mind and owning her desires. Her remark about “carrots” — a clever play on words between the vegetable and the carats of a diamond — reflects her refusal to be bound by the cultural obsession with dieting, control, and conformity. In her world, the sparkle of a diamond represented self-worth, not sacrifice. She was saying, in essence: I do not shrink to fit your standards; I shine by my own light.

Her attitude echoes the wisdom of the ancients who taught that true wealth is the power to live freely. Just as the Stoic philosopher Epictetus declared that “freedom is the right to choose your own chains,” Mae West’s humor hides the same defiance. She chooses pleasure over penitence, joy over judgment. The “diet” she rejects is not merely about food — it is the symbolic rejection of any restraint imposed upon her spirit. To her, the diamonds she desires are not only ornaments but symbols of triumph — the rewards of self-belief, earned by a woman who refused to apologize for her existence.

There is an ancient parallel in the story of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, who too was known for her beauty and wit, but more so for her command over her destiny. When others sought to define her by her lovers or her looks, she defined herself by her intellect and ambition. Like Mae West, Cleopatra understood that allure was not born from deprivation, but from confidence and abundance. Both women, separated by centuries, understood that power is not in denial but in possession — possession of self, of voice, of desire.

Mae West’s line also mocks the illusion of virtue through restraint — a belief as old as civilization itself. For millennia, the world has celebrated those who deny themselves, believing that suffering purifies. But West turned this idea upside down. Her philosophy was one of joyful rebellion: that life was meant to be savored, not starved; that desire, when guided by self-respect, was not a sin but a form of art. She embodied the ancient truth that pleasure, when aligned with wisdom, becomes freedom — while repression, even when disguised as morality, becomes another kind of bondage.

And yet, her wit carries a gentle warning. The diamonds — those bright symbols of desire — are not mere decoration, but reflections of value. What she valued was not gluttony or vanity, but self-possession. To chase diamonds, for her, was to chase success, recognition, and the ability to define her own worth. The true “carats” that matter, then, are the weights of accomplishment, dignity, and boldness that one gathers through a life lived unapologetically. Her humor teaches us that abundance should never come at the cost of authenticity, and pleasure should never replace purpose.

Thus, the wisdom of Mae West’s laughter is this: Do not let the world shrink you. Do not starve your joy to please the eyes of others. Measure your worth not in pounds or approval, but in the weight of your courage and the brilliance of your confidence. Like the ancient queens and the fiery philosophers, she reminds us that life’s richest treasure is the ability to live as one’s true self.

So, my listener, take this lesson to heart: eat with gratitude, dress with pride, laugh without restraint — and remember that the finest “carats” are not found in the jeweler’s shop, but in the soul that dares to shine.