--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Successful people pay more attention to…" description: "\"Successful people pay more attention to their visions and goals than to history and the opinions of others.\" — Alan Cohen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png" --- # Successful people pay more attention to their visions and… ![“Successful people pay more attention to their visions and goals than to history and the opinions of others.” quote by Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png) > “Successful people pay more attention to their visions and goals than to history and the opinions of others.” [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on personal vision and goals yields success more than dwelling on past events or others' judgments. **In simple terms:** Prioritize your own goals over history and others' opinions. Key Takeaway Focus on your vision, not on history or critics. Themes goal setting focus self‑direction Mood determined confident Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - entrepreneurship - personal development - creative projects Key Concepts personal vision goal orientation self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance learning from the past with pursuing future goals? - What opinions do you hold that might limit your vision? A Different Perspective Neglecting lessons from history can lead to repeated mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Visions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-visions-3398172/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-opinions-2848105/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinions Of Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-of-others/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Pay attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-attention/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-people/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Visions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visions/) ## Related quotes > [“Facta! Yes, Facta ficta! - A historian has to do, not with what actually happened, but only with events supposed to have happened: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/facta-yes-facta-ficta-a-historian-has-to-do-not-with-what-actually/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“There is the history of opinions which is hardly anything but a collection of human errors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/there-is-the-history-of-opinions-which-is-hardly-anything-but-a/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Always history is being made; opinions attitudes and institutions change, and there is evolution in the nature of capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/always-history-is-being-made-opinions-attitudes-and-institutions/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [“God does not seek the opinions of others about your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/god-does-not-seek-the-opinions-of-others-about-your-life/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Before you can live a part of you has to die. You have to let go of what could have been, how you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/before-you-can-live-a-part-of-you-has-to-die-you-have-to-let-go-of/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [Conscience is, in most men, an anticipation of the opinions of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-taylor/conscience-is-in-most-men-an-anticipation-of-the-opinions-of-others/) [Henry Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-taylor/) > [“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trista-hendren/risk-risk-anything-care-no-more-for-the-opinions-of-others-for-those/) [Trista Hendren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trista-hendren/) > [Believe in yourself, and trust your own wisdom rather than being swayed bythe opinions of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-baloria/believe-in-yourself-and-trust-your-own-wisdom-rather-than-being/) [Rohit Baloria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-baloria/) > [“Heroism is found in the person willing to do what is right, who lets go of the opinions of others and trusts in God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-moorehead/heroism-is-found-in-the-person-willing-to-do-what-is-right-who-lets/) [Kate Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-moorehead/) > [“The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-object-of-this-essay-is-to-assert-one-very-simple-principle-as/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Whenever convictions are not arrived at by direct contact with the world and the objects themselves, but indirectly through a critique of the opinions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/whenever-convictions-are-not-arrived-at-by-direct-contact-with-the/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [If you are influenced by the opinions of others, you will have no DESIRE of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-you-are-influenced-by-the-opinions-of-others-you-will-have-no/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [When we are truly confident and secure, the opinions of others cannot control us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/when-we-are-truly-confident-and-secure-the-opinions-of-others-cannot/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [People can have their opinions about everything in the world, but people's opinions end where the tip of my nose begins. Your opinions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-can-have-their-opinions-about-everything-in-the-world-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is Too Short to be Distracted by the Opinions of Others.. Live it the way you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/life-is-too-short-to-be-distracted-by-the-opinions-of-others-live-it/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) ## More by Alan Cohen > [When you protect yourself from pain, be sure you do not protect yourself from love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-protect-yourself-from-pain-be-sure-you-do-not-protect/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Anyone in a state of seeking can never be happy. Only those who are constantly finding are fulfilled. And finding is not something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/anyone-in-a-state-of-seeking-can-never-be-happy-only-those-who-are/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“You cannot be other than you are. Thank God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/you-cannot-be-other-than-you-are-thank-god/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Evaluate every act by whether it brings you greater life, or deadens you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/evaluate-every-act-by-whether-it-brings-you-greater-life-or-deadens/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Put aside ambition for public recognition, and simply do what you do because it feels good inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/put-aside-ambition-for-public-recognition-and-simply-do-what-you-do/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“When you finally give up striving, you will be left with what you have been striving for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-finally-give-up-striving-you-will-be-left-with-what-you-have/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“newspaper ads for lost pets and earthquakes that soon follow. 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Every challenge, great or small, is moving you to look deeper and draw forth the highest in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/turmoil-is-a-call-for-awakening-every-challenge-great-or-small-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The difficulties of life do not keep you from greatness. They show you to its door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-difficulties-of-life-do-not-keep-you-from-greatness-they-show-you/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [What a doctor or healer tells you is a reflection of the beliefs and expectations you hold. Change your beliefs and you change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/what-a-doctor-or-healer-tells-you-is-a-reflection-of-the-beliefs-and/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Quit planning your dream and start living it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-planning-your-dream-and-start-living-it/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The more you invest in your happiness, the more happiness will invest in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-more-you-invest-in-your-happiness-the-more-happiness-will-invest/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Joy is the wild card of life; it supersedes every other formula for success. 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The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Successful people pay more attention to their visions and goals than to history and the opinions of others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/successful-people-pay-more-attention-to-their-visions-and-goals-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/successful-people-pay-more-attention-to-their-visions-and-goals-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df1/alan-cohen-1112_attention_successful-people-pay-more-attention-to_373011.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Successful people pay more attention to their visions and goals than to history and the opinions of others.” — Alan Cohen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Successful people pay more attention to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/successful-people-pay-more-attention-to-their-visions-and-goals-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/successful-people-pay-more-attention-to-their-visions-and-goals-than/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```