Validation is approval from others. Self-esteem is approval from yourself. Never sacrifice your self-esteem to gain validation. Validation is easily regained once lost. Self-esteem is not.

Approval comes in two kinds, and they are not equally precious. Validation is the nod, the like, the "well done" that comes from other people. Self-esteem is the quieter sense that you have acted in line with your own values. The quote's warning is about trade-offs: if you give up the second to get the first, you've made a bad bargain. Other people's praise is plentiful and renewable, since a new crowd or a new opportunity will always come along. Respect for yourself, once you've broken it by betraying your principles, is much harder to rebuild.

This fits the view Manson is known for, that a good life depends on choosing your values carefully and on not letting others' opinions steer you. It also echoes the old Stoic habit of separating what is up to us from what is not. I can't point to the exact original source of the line, so treat the attribution as the commonly cited one.

Imagine a colleague who laughs along when the group mocks a quiet teammate, just to stay in the group's good graces. Applying the quote might mean staying silent instead of joining in, or gently changing the subject. It may cost a little popularity that day, but you'd leave the room still liking yourself.