50 Most Inspirational Russell Brand Quotes On Love, Recovery & Spirituality

You may remember Russell Brand from his roles in big films like "Get Him to The Greek" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," as the heartthrob who was married to Katy Perry (lucky girl!), from his stand-up comedy performances or now as the wildly popular and insightful thought leader and host of his "Under the Skin" podcast where he discusses "revolutionary politics and spiritual awakening."

He seemed like the typical “actor-type” at first glance; handsome, a little bit eccentric, maybe even cocky.

But over the past several years, Brand has gone quite a bit deeper, and many of Russell Brand's recent quotes are pretty darn inspiring!

Aside from his movie career, Brand has blossomed as a talented author and respected activist, living a life that is far beyond ordinary. He's also sparked his fair share of controversy surrounding his formerly promiscuous lifestyle, his transparency about drug use and recovery, and his lectures on politics, spirituality and a wide range of cultural topics.

Reading through this collection of witty, intelligent, and inspirational things Russell Brand has said or written, you'll see he certainly knows more than a thing or two about being your authentic self, going after your dreams, forging your own path and deciphering truths.

If following your heart in today’s world full of restrictions and societal norms seems scarier than taking out thousands of dollars in student loans, check out some of the things this quirky man has said.

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As these Russell Brand quotes about life, love, happiness, and finding meaning lift your spirits, he may even become your new guru.

50 Most Inspirational Russell Brand Quotes

1. "There's no rule that says I have to live life like everyone else." — Russell Brand

Photo: Joe Seer / Shutterstock

2. "If you don't choose heroes, heroes will be chosen for you, and they will not represent values that empower you, they will represent powers that will enslave you." — Russell Brand

3. "As long as we prioritize material truths over spiritual truths we will live in tyranny because we are living an illusion." — Russell Brand

4. "If you want to be happy, stop being so self-obsessed and consider other people." — Russell Brand

5. "Fear travels fast. Love travels a little more slowly. Rationale takes a little more consideration." — Russell Brand

6. "People who say the system works, work for the system." — Russell Brand

7. "How we treat the vulnerable is how we define ourselves as a species." — Russell Brand

8. "Sometimes when we're incensed by the rancid tide of injustice, the impulse is to attack. We must avoid this. We have learned that violence as a means is always unsuccessful." — Russell Brand

9. "Every moment is a fresh new beginning, a wonderful inauguration of the great cosmic journey through the universe. We can do whatever we want. We can change reality at any moment." — Russell Brand

10. "Strength does not have to be belligerent and loud." — Russell Brand

Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

11. "Some people say that you’ve crossed the line, but I don’t think that there is a line, I think people draw the line in just after you have traversed it." — Russell Brand

12. "I recognize that I have the ability to be selfish, but I also recognize that you can’t be happy if you only care about yourself at the expense of other people." — Russell Brand

13. "Liberate yourself from that idea that people are watching you." — Russell Brand

14. "For me happiness occurs arbitrarily: a moment of eye contact on a bus, where all at once you fall in love; or a frozen second in a park where it’s enough that there are trees in the world." — Russell Brand

15. "Sometimes close friendships have a tidal beat that pulls you towards different shores though the ocean that connects you remains." — Russell Brand

16. "Life’s never a postcard of life, is it? It never feels like how you’d want it to look." — Russell Brand

17. "We’re made from the same basic stuff: 30% of DNA the same as bananas, 60% the same as worms, and 98% the same as chimpanzees, so we can’t be that different from each other." — Russell Brand

18. "I don't have to be ashamed of what I am; I don't have to spend the rest of my life apologizing for being a bit unusual. I don't have to be afraid no more, I can just be me." — Russell Brand

19. “It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness of the universe. Everything beautiful in the world is within you." — Russell Brand

20. “Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory.” — Russell Brand

21. “For me happiness occurs arbitrarily: a moment of eye contact on a bus, where all at once you fall in love; or a frozen second in a park where it's enough that there are trees in the world.” — Russell Brand

22. “Be led by your talent, not by your self-loathing; those other things you just have to manage.” — Russell Brand

23. “I want to change the world, and do something valuable and beautiful. I want people to remember me before I'm dead, and then more afterwards.” — Russell Brand

24. “My life is just a series of embarrassing incidents strung together by telling people about those embarrassing incidents.” — Russell Brand

25. “When I was poor and complained about inequality they said I was bitter; now that I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm beginning to think they just don't want to talk about inequality.” — Russell Brand

26. “People don't realize that the future is just now, but later.” — Russell Brand

Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

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27. “All penguins are the same below the surface, which I think is as perfect an analogy as we're likely to get for the futility of racism.” — Russell Brand

28. “I think many of the boundaries that convention has placed upon us are arbitrary, so we can fiddle with them if we fancy. Gravity's hard to dispute, and breathing, but a lot of things we instinctively obey are a lot of old tosh.” — Russell Brand

29. "I believe in change. I don't mind getting my hands dirty because my hands are dirty already. I don't mind giving my life to this because I'm only alive because of the compassion and love of others.” — Russell Brand

30. “We have been told that freedom is the ability to pursue petty, trivial desires when true freedom is freedom from these petty, trivial desires.” — Russell Brand

31. “When you fall in love you recognise you're not the most important person in the world, and your focus becomes another person.” — Russell Brand

32. “Addiction is when natural biological imperatives, like the need for food, sex, relaxation or status, become prioritised to the point of destructiveness. It is exacerbated by a culture that understandably exploits this mechanic as it's a damn good way to sell Mars bars and Toyotas.” — Russell Brand

33. “A small minority cannot control an uncooperative majority, so they must be distracted, divided, tyrannized, or anesthetized into compliance.” — Russell Brand

34. "Don’t pick up a drink or drug, one day at a time. It sounds so simple; it actually is simple but it isn’t easy; it requires incredible support and fastidious structuring.” — Russell Brand

35. "You need only allow gentle hope to enter your heart. Exhale and allow hope, and give yourself some time. This is a process of change that requires a good deal of self-compassion, which is neither stagnant nor permissive." — Russell Brand

36. “You have to forgive everyone for everything. You can’t cling on to any blame that you may be using to make sense of the story of your life.” — Russell Brand

37. “The only Revolution that can really change the world is the one in your own consciousness." — Russell Brand

38. “If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one's enemies.” — Russell Brand

Photo: Everett Collection / Shutterstock

39. “You can never quench your spiritual craving through material means.” — Russell Brand

40. “Yes, people made mistakes but that’s what humans do and I am under no obligation to hoard these errors and allow them to clutter my perception of the present.” — Russell Brand

41. “The only meaningful interpretation of any religious teaching is to honor the divine within ourselves and love the divine in one another.” — Russell Brand

42. “Maybe a life of devotion doesn’t need to be robes and chanting; maybe it’s just going through life with open eyes and an open mind, looking out for chances to help people and buzz on the altruistic zip it gives, like coins in Mario Land.” — Russell Brand

43. “Greatness looks like madness until it finds its context.” — Russell Brand

44. "If the idea doesn't serve you, let it go. If it separates you from the moment, from others, from yourself, let it go.” — Russell Brand

45. “It is commonly understood that the opposite of addiction is connection. That in our addictive behaviours we are trying to achieve the connection. Think of it: the bliss of a hit or a drink or of sex or of gambling or eating, all legitimate drives gone awry, all a reach across the abyss, the separateness of ‘self’, all an attempt to redress this disconnect.” — Russell Brand

46. “Society is collapsing, and people are starting to recognize that the reason they feel like they’re mentally ill is that they’re living in a system that’s not designed to suit the human spirit.” — Russell Brand

47. “Generally educational bodies do not exist to bring out your innate brilliance but to monger your wayward nature into a unit of manageable energy that will not be too disruptive to the social systems that benefit the powerful.” — Russell Brand

48. “In spite of the anguish my addiction to drugs and alcohol has caused me, I wouldn’t relinquish its lessons.” — Russell Brand

Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

49. “Change is hard, that’s why we can’t do it alone and why it is vital that we have a foundation of hope.” — Russell Brand

50. “Whatever I endure in recovery, I need never again suffer the indignity of active addiction. The despair and hopelessness. The inexhaustible cycle of incremental self-immolation. I am reminded of how far I’ve come, of the miracle that, with help and humility, I can, one day at a time, live free from drugs and alcohol.” — Russell Brand

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Shannon Ullman is a writer who focuses on women’s health, pop culture, entertainment, and relationships. Kayla Cavanagh is the managing editor and intern recruiter at YourTango.