QuoteProject
They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones.
Francois De La Rochefoucauld
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Focusing on unimportant details can prevent you from achieving significant accomplishments.

This quote suggests that when individuals concentrate on trivial or minor issues, they risk losing the ability to handle more substantial tasks and responsibilities. It serves as a reminder to prioritize what truly matters in order to achieve greatness.

Themes

TrivialFocusGreatnessAchievementPriorities

In practice

Example use cases

During a team meeting, this quote can emphasize the importance of focusing on major goals rather than getting bogged down by minor issues.

More from Francois De La Rochefoucauld

The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead

Similar quotes

Nothing is more disgraceful than that an old man should have nothing to show to prove that he has lived long, except his years.
Seneca The YoungerRead
If you count the sunny and the cloudy days of the whole year, you will find that the sunshine predominates.
OvidRead
You can judge the quality of their faith from the way they behave. Discipline is an index to doctrine.
TertullianRead
Our best evidence of what people truly feel and believe comes less from their words than from their deeds.
Robert CialdiniRead
For all things difficult to acquire, the intelligent man works with perseverance.
LaoziRead
At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different," Sazed said. "Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.
Brandon SandersonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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