QuoteProject
Don't be obsessed with tactics but with purpose. Tactics have a half life.
Noam Chomsky
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Focus on your goals rather than just the methods to achieve them, as tactics can become outdated.

This quote emphasizes the importance of having a clear and lasting purpose in life over merely honing specific tactics or methods. Noam Chomsky suggests that tactics are temporary and can lose their effectiveness over time, whereas a strong purpose or goal provides direction and meaning, helping individuals navigate through challenges and changes in their approaches.

Themes

PurposeTacticsStrategyGoalsWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about personal development.

More from Noam Chomsky

There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
Noam ChomskyRead
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Noam ChomskyRead
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
Noam ChomskyRead
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
Noam ChomskyRead
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Noam ChomskyRead

Similar quotes

Only after we can learn to forgive ourselves can we accept others as they are because we don't feel threatened by anything about them which is better than us.
Stephen CoveyRead
Sir Isaac Newton was asked how he discovered the law of gravity. He replied, "By thinking about it all the time.
Isaac NewtonRead
I have long since decided if you wait for the perfect time to write, you'll never write. There is no time that isn't flawed somehow.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.
Phillips BrooksRead
But when I look back I can't call myself unlucky. My 23rd birthday was December 14. In these years I have had more than most people get in a lifetime.
Ernie DavisRead
"Why is everyone here so happy except me?" "Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere," said the Master. "Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?" "Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside."
Anthony De MelloRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Noam Chomsky | QuoteProject