Oscar Wilde - Be yourself; everyone else is already taken

Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for October 30th.Today is National Candy Corn Day, a celebration of one of America's most divisive Halloween treats. Observed annually on October 30th, just one day before Halloween, this holiday honors the tri-colored candy that people either love or love to hate.Candy corn was invented in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia. The Goelitz Confectionery Company, now known as Jelly Belly, began mass-producing it in 1898 and continues to make it today. Originally called "Chicken Feed" and marketed to rural America, candy corn was revolutionary for its time – a candy designed to look like something from nature. The labor-intensive process originally required workers to fill molds by hand, adding each color layer separately.What makes National Candy Corn Day fascinating is that candy corn has remained essentially unchanged for over 140 years. In a world of constantly evolving candy innovations, candy corn is defiantly old-fashioned. Despite – or perhaps because of – its polarizing nature, approximately 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced annually, making it one of America's top-selling Halloween candies.Today's quote comes from writer Oscar Wilde, who said:"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."Wilde's famous advice about authenticity captures something essential about candy corn. In a candy aisle filled with chocolate bars trying to be the next big thing and new flavor innovations appearing constantly, candy corn remains unapologetically itself. It hasn't rebranded, hasn't modernized its recipe, hasn't tried to appeal to everyone. It's just candy corn – take it or leave it.Think about what this means. Candy corn knows exactly what it is. It's not trying to be chocolate, it's not pretending to be sophisticated, it's not chasing trends. Some people think it tastes like sugary wax. Others can't get enough of it. Candy corn doesn't care either way. It's been the same for 140 years and will likely remain the same for 140 more.This is what Wilde understood and what candy corn demonstrates: authenticity is powerful. When you're genuinely yourself – not trying to please everyone, not changing based on criticism, not chasing what's popular – you find your people. The ones who love you, love you for exactly what you are. The ones who don't? Well, everyone else is already taken anyway.National Candy Corn Day celebrates this kind of confident authenticity.As you head into your Thursday, the day before Halloween, embrace the spirit of National Candy Corn Day and Wilde's wisdom about being yourself. Grab some candy corn if you enjoy it – and don't apologize for it. If you hate candy corn, that's fine too. Be authentic about your preferences.But more importantly, think about where in your life you're trying too hard to be something you're not. Where are you chasing trends instead of being confidently yourself? What would change if you embraced your authentic preferences, quirks, and personality the way candy corn embraces its tri-colored sweetness?Remember Wilde's wisdom – everyone else is already taken. The world needs you to be yourself, even if that means some people won't like it.That's it for today. I'm Andrew McGivern signing off for now but I'll be back tomorrow. Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.