Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
Intentions, good or bad, are not enough. There's luck or fate or something else that takes over.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good intentions alone do not guarantee outcomes; external factors also play a significant role.
This quote by John Steinbeck emphasizes that human intentions, whether positive or negative, are often insufficient on their own to determine the results of our actions. It suggests that factors beyond our control, such as luck or fate, significantly influence the direction of our lives and the success of our endeavors, highlighting the complexity of existence and decision-making.
Themes
IntentionsLuckFateOutcomesControl
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational seminar to illustrate the importance of both effort and external circumstances.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes βAt one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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