If you are a superstar, or whatever you want to call yourself, a

There are times when greatness is not measured by the applause one receives, but by the silence one embraces after walking away from it. When Daryl Hall declared, “If you are a superstar, or whatever you want to call yourself, a person who's had outrageous success, and you decide to go indie and tell the record companies to screw themselves? That takes a certain amount of courage. And bullheadedness, really,” he spoke a truth that resonates far beyond the world of music. His words are a hymn to the ancient virtue of independence, the sacred fire of courage, and the stubborn flame of integrity that burns within all who refuse to let their souls be sold for comfort or acclaim.

In every age, those who achieve “outrageous success” face a peril more dangerous than failure: the temptation to become prisoners of their own triumph. The chains of gold are still chains. To have the world’s admiration is to risk losing one’s inner voice beneath the noise of expectation. Hall’s words remind us that the artist’s highest calling — and indeed, the human being’s — is not to please, but to remain true. It is an act of rebellion to walk away from the banquet table of fame, to say, “I will no longer serve what is false.” Such rebellion demands what he calls both courage and bullheadedness — the stubborn purity to follow one’s vision even when it costs everything.

The ancients honored this spirit. Diogenes, the philosopher who lived in a barrel, once mocked Alexander the Great, the most powerful man alive, saying, “Stand out of my sunlight.” In that moment, he embodied the same truth that Hall speaks of: that freedom of the soul is worth more than the approval of empires. To walk the independent path — to go “indie,” as Hall puts it — is not merely an artistic choice, but a spiritual one. It means daring to trust one’s own rhythm when the world demands conformity. It means facing uncertainty without the armor of institutions and standing alone, guided only by conviction.

We can see this same courage in the life of Prince, the legendary musician who defied his record label, fought for the rights to his own name, and wrote the word “slave” upon his face in protest. The world called him mad; history called him free. Prince’s rebellion was not driven by greed, but by the sacred belief that art belongs to the artist, not the system. Like Daryl Hall, he understood that authentic creation requires sovereignty — and that sovereignty must often be bought with sacrifice. His courage was not gentle; it was fierce, even bullheaded, as Hall says — but such stubbornness is the price of remaining one’s own master.

For what is bullheadedness but the steadfast refusal to be bent by the winds of convenience? The same stubborn fire that keeps the rebel standing against kings is the fire that keeps the visionary true when all others compromise. In this sense, Hall’s words carry the same wisdom as the Stoics: to govern one’s own soul is the greatest empire. Those who depend on systems — be they record labels, nations, or crowds — will live as servants of the moment. But those who break away, who walk into the wilderness of uncertainty, become architects of their own destiny. They may lose comfort, but they gain immortality of spirit.

Let no one mistake this kind of independence for arrogance. The independent spirit is not born of pride, but of faith — faith in one’s purpose, in one’s truth, in the divine spark that whispers, “This is who I am.” The courageous artist, like the philosopher, seeks not applause but authenticity. And authenticity, like gold refined in fire, emerges only through the flames of struggle. Every person who dares to choose principle over profit, truth over conformity, walks in this same lineage of courage.

So remember this, you who live in an age that worships approval: There is a higher glory than fame — the glory of freedom. To step away from what the world calls success may appear as folly, but it is often the beginning of wisdom. Be courageous enough to choose what is right for your soul, even if it costs you the comfort of applause. Be bullheaded in your pursuit of truth, for the world will always try to tame those who think freely. And when you must stand alone — when you must “go indie” in the story of your own life — know that you walk the path of the ancients, of the rebels, of the free. For only those who dare to lose the world ever truly gain themselves.