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

Sweet Mercy! to the gates of heaven This minstrel lead, his sins forgiven; The rueful conflict, the heart riven With vain endeavour, And memory of Earth's bitter leaven Effaced forever.
William WordsworthRead
If you're the smartest person you know, it's time to know some new people.
Robin S. SharmaRead
All information is good, even when it is bad.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
What is worse than having no sight is being able to see but having no vision.
Helen KellerRead
You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place.
Dr. SeussRead
The people who say: 'You are what you eat' have always seemed addled to me. In my opinion, you are what you think, and if you don't think, you can eat all the meat in Kansas City and still be nothing but a vegetable.
Russell BakerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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

Quote by Francois De La Rochefoucauld | QuoteProject