Pride

I am looking for a colorful proverb, saying, or idiom that reflects the same meaning as "to thine own self be true." I was using "a leopard can't change it's spots" but was told the origin of that phrase had a negative connotation, like someone who does evil can't necessarly change. I want a phrase that shows you can be proud of who you are and NOT HAVE TO change.

I'm OK, you're OK. March to your own drummer. Don't judge me until you've walked a mile in my moccasins. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You can't please all the people all the time. Everybody's a critic. Don't let the bastards grind you down. Have the courage of your convictions. Don't hide your light under a bushel.

A few sayings from This Dog'll Really Hunt: An Entertaining Texas Dictionary by Wallace O. Chariton (Wordware Publishing, Piano, Texas, 1989, 1990):
NONCONFORMIST - He throws a different loop; he two-steps to his own beat.
INDEPENDENT - Independent as a hog on ice. Saddles his own horse. Rides his own trail. Totes her own skillet. Paddles his own canoe.