---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perfection is only achieved when there is…"
description: "\"“Perfection is only achieved when there is nothing more that can be taken away rather then when there are things that can be added”\" — Antoine De Saint..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2-431_achieved_perfection-is-only-achieved-when-there-i_2907272.jpg"
---

#  Perfection is only achieved when there is nothing more…

![“Perfection is only achieved when there is nothing more that can be taken away rather then when there are things that can be added” quote by Antoine De Saint Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2-431_achieved_perfection-is-only-achieved-when-there-i_2907272.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2-431_achieved_perfection-is-only-achieved-when-there-i_2907272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2-431_achieved_perfection-is-only-achieved-when-there-i_2907272.jpg)

> ““Perfection is only achieved when there is nothing more that can be taken away rather then when there are things that can be added””

[Antoine De Saint Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Perfection is achieved by removing excess, not by adding more.

**In simple terms:** Less is more for true perfection.

Key Takeaway

Strip away the unnecessary.

Themes

simplicity perfection minimalism

Mood

reflective calm

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- product design
- writing
- lifestyle decluttering

Key Concepts

design philosophy

Practical Applications

- when minimalism feels restrictive
- when essential elements are removed

Questions to Reflect On

- What can you eliminate to improve?
- When does addition enhance rather than detract?

A Different Perspective

Too much removal can diminish value.

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[Achieved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieved/) [Achieved Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieved-taken-4167131/) [Away Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-things-914509/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Perfection Achieved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection-achieved-2673519/) [Perfectionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfectionism/) [Taken Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-away/)

## Related quotes

> [“Perfection is achieved, not when there's nothing much more to add, but when there's nothing left to remove." -    Antoine de Saint-Exupe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-fringe/perfection-is-achieved-not-when-there-s-nothing-much-more-to-add-but/)

[Nicholas Fringe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-fringe/)

> [“Absolute perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing to add, but nothing to take away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/absolute-perfection-is-achieved-not-when-there-is-nothing-to-add-but/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfection-is-achieved-not-when-there-is-nothing-left-to-add-but-when/)

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> [It's not that perfection cannot be achieved. It's that it's so hard to stop there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-not-that-perfection-cannot-be-achieved-it-s-that-it-s-so-hard-to/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [Perfection is never achieved, so you need to go on working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azzedine-alaia/perfection-is-never-achieved-so-you-need-to-go-on-working/)

[Azzedine Alaia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azzedine-alaia/)

> [“Even if you have achieved everything, there is Perfection, still left to be achieved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/even-if-you-have-achieved-everything-there-is-perfection-still-left/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [“Turn away from the things you don't love and don't give them any feeling, because they are fine as they are but they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/turn-away-from-the-things-you-don-t-love-and-don-t-give-them-any/)

[Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/)

> [Some people run away from things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-holliday/some-people-run-away-from-things/)

[Jennifer Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-holliday/)

> [We don't have a clue what's really going down, we just kid ourselves that we're in control of our lives while a paper's thickness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-don-t-have-a-clue-what-s-really-going-down-we-just-kid-ourselves/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [I'm sick of running away from things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-kills/i-m-sick-of-running-away-from-things/)

[Natalia Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-kills/)

> [With my own music, I try to get away from things that are familiar and things that would be easy for me to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/with-my-own-music-i-try-to-get-away-from-things-that-are-familiar-and/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [“To see things thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to, to draw closer, to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/to-see-things-thousands-of-miles-away-things-hidden-behind-walls-and/)

[James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/)

> [You can run away from all the things that are behind you , but what's inside of you, picks you up again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rike-matt/you-can-run-away-from-all-the-things-that-are-behind-you-but-what-s/)

[Rike Matt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rike-matt/)

> [Take away our things, and something in us dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/take-away-our-things-and-something-in-us-dies/)

[Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/i-wanted-to-pull-away-from-the-things-that-marked-my-parents-as-being/)

[Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/)

## More by Antoine De Saint Exupery

> [“Grown ups never understood anything by themselves. And it is rather tedious to have to explain things to them time and again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/grown-ups-never-understood-anything-by-themselves-and-it-is-rather/)

[Antoine de Saint Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [“Quote #2 I had let my tools drop from my hands. Of what moment now was my hammer, my bolt, or thirst, or death?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/quote-2-i-had-let-my-tools-drop-from-my-hands-of-what-moment-now-was/)

[Antoine de Saint Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/straight-ahead-of-him-nobody-can-go-very-far/)

[Antoine De Saint Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [“Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essentail matters. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/grown-ups-love-figures-when-you-tell-them-that-you-have-made-a-new/)

[Antoine de Saint Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [“Love is not about staring at each other, but staring off in the same direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/love-is-not-about-staring-at-each-other-but-staring-off-in-the-same/)

[Antoine de Saint Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [Then you shall judge yourself. That is the most difficult thing of all…If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/then-you-shall-judge-yourself-that-is-the-most-difficult-thing-of-all/)

[Antoine De Saint Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

> [“The truth for a man, it's what makes him a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/the-truth-for-a-man-it-s-what-makes-him-a-man/)

[Antoine de Saint Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

[Explore all 8 Antoine De Saint Exupery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-2/)

## More Achieved quotes

> [By the time you have no difficulties in your life, you have achieved Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brown/by-the-time-you-have-no-difficulties-in-your-life-you-have-achieved/)

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> [Justice is not cheap. Justice is not quick. It is not ever finally achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/justice-is-not-cheap-justice-is-not-quick-it-is-not-ever-finally/)

[Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/)

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[Jock Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jock-stein/)

> [I can only thank Manchester City for everything they have done for me. What we have achieved in such a short space of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-duggan/i-can-only-thank-manchester-city-for-everything-they-have-done-for-me/)

[Toni Duggan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-duggan/)

> [The victory will be only entirely and finally achieved when the whole world is free of Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-streicher/the-victory-will-be-only-entirely-and-finally-achieved-when-the-whole/)

[Julius Streicher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-streicher/)

> [Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/nothing-great-is-ever-achieved-without-much-enduring/)

[St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/)

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> [In the end, individual titles are achieved with the help of all your team-mates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-ramos/in-the-end-individual-titles-are-achieved-with-the-help-of-all-your/)

[Sergio Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-ramos/)

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