--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Go for the gold: better one great column…" description: "\"Go for the gold: better one great column and some undistinguished ones than constant mediocrity.\" — Allan Sloan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png" --- # Go for the gold: better one great column and some… ![“Go for the gold: better one great column and some undistinguished ones than constant mediocrity.” quote by Allan Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png) > “Go for the gold: better one great column and some undistinguished ones than constant mediocrity.” [Allan Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sloan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It’s better to have one outstanding achievement than many mediocre ones, emphasizing quality over quantity. **In simple terms:** One great column beats many weak ones. Key Takeaway Focus on excellence, not volume. Themes excellence quality focus achievement Mood determined pragmatic Type inspirational professional When to use this quote - writing - project management - career planning Key Concepts mastery prioritization impact Questions to Reflect On - What single achievement defines you? - How to balance depth and breadth? A Different Perspective Risk of neglecting breadth of experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) ## Related quotes > [“At last I have drawn a firm line under the truly astounding great column of figures and am done with pursuing that for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/at-last-i-have-drawn-a-firm-line-under-the-truly-astounding-great/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“If you want a customer who will pay in gold, could there be a better customer than God, O my heart? He buys our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalaluddin-rumi/if-you-want-a-customer-who-will-pay-in-gold-could-there-be-a-better/) [Jalaluddin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalaluddin-rumi/) > [“To be oneself on a basis of gold is no better than founding one’s house on the sand. For your watch, and your ring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/to-be-oneself-on-a-basis-of-gold-is-no-better-than-founding-one-s/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [I'm pretty adept with computers and Photoshop for my blog, and I found my style with a conversational voice and an image-ready column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/i-m-pretty-adept-with-computers-and-photoshop-for-my-blog-and-i-found/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [What a fantastic honour to be given the opportunity to write a column in the first ever 'Sunday Sun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sentamu/what-a-fantastic-honour-to-be-given-the-opportunity-to-write-a-column/) [John Sentamu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sentamu/) > [See yonder thin column of smoke curling up through the woods from some invisible farmhouse, the standard raised over some rural homestead… It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/see-yonder-thin-column-of-smoke-curling-up-through-the-woods-from/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A column about errors will contain errors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gold/a-column-about-errors-will-contain-errors/) Bill Gold > [I would encourage people to go to NYTIMES.com and read this column and you can see for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/i-would-encourage-people-to-go-to-nytimes-com-and-read-this-column/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [Colm Feore. Newspaper column, Norwegian water. Column of steel, column of virtue, just for God's sake, Colm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-feore/colm-feore-newspaper-column-norwegian-water-column-of-steel-column-of/) [Colm Feore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-feore/) > [The most successful column is one that causes the reader to throw down the paper in a peak of fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-most-successful-column-is-one-that-causes-the-reader-to-throw/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [When Time got rid of my column, I thought it was all over. It was really sad. 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It's a little like staying at a hotel; you get used to the shape of the room,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-can-get-rid-of-the-column-it-s-a-little-like-staying-at-a-hotel/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Those inevitable dreams where you can't get your column in, you know, and at first they were the Xerox telecopy, and then they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/those-inevitable-dreams-where-you-can-t-get-your-column-in-you-know/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I really like the Observer. I think I'd love to have a column with a broad reach that would enable me to do some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-really-like-the-observer-i-think-i-d-love-to-have-a-column-with-a/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [A century ago, scientists believed there was only one obvious stomping ground for alien biology in our solar system: Mars. Because it was reminiscent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/a-century-ago-scientists-believed-there-was-only-one-obvious-stomping/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I wrote the music column in my high school newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-trunk/i-wrote-the-music-column-in-my-high-school-newspaper/) [Eddie Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-trunk/) > [I measure myself by the win column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameis-winston/i-measure-myself-by-the-win-column/) [Jameis Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameis-winston/) > [He did a very good impression of a stone column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/he-did-a-very-good-impression-of-a-stone-column/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [It's easy to write a good column if you've got good information. It's hard if you have to depend on style alone. I suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/it-s-easy-to-write-a-good-column-if-you-ve-got-good-information-it-s/) [Allan Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sloan/) > [“Although the TV and radio work were nice supplements, the newspaper had been my lifeline, my oxygen; when I saw my stories in print…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/although-the-tv-and-radio-work-were-nice-supplements-the-newspaper/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) Browse all 76 Column quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Go for the gold: better one great column and some undistinguished ones than constant mediocrity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allan Sloan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column-and-some-undistinguished-ones/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Column" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column-and-some-undistinguished-ones/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/allan-sloan-34713_column_go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column_1148774.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Go for the gold: better one great column and some undistinguished ones than constant mediocrity.” — Allan Sloan", "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": "Allan Sloan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sloan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Go for the gold: better one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column-and-some-undistinguished-ones/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sloan/go-for-the-gold-better-one-great-column-and-some-undistinguished-ones/#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 } } ] } ```