---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That, darling, is the only thing that…"
description: "\"“That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone to see more in you than you ever imagined was there.”\" — Arthur Japin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg"
---

#  That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone…

![“That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone to see more in you than you ever imagined was there.” quote by Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg)

> ““That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone to see more in you than you ever imagined was there.””

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

## About This Quote

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

The only thing that matters is being seen as capable beyond your own expectations.

**In simple terms:** Being recognized for hidden potential matters.

Key Takeaway

Seek to exceed self‑imposed limits.

Themes

self‑esteem perception potential

Mood

thoughtful inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- career advancement
- creative projects
- personal development
- leadership

Key Concepts

Existentialism self‑actualization

Questions to Reflect On

- What inner standards guide you?
- How do you measure true success?

A Different Perspective

External validation can be fleeting.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Counts Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counts-imagined-5718479/) [Darling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darling/) [Darling Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darling-thing-2383951/) [Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined/) [Thing Counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-counts-321214/)

## Related quotes

> [ “Ah, my darling. But there is no such thing \[as a nice safe history\].” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/ah-my-darling-but-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-nice-safe-history/)

[Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/)

> [Hope doesn't mean anything. ... Action's the only thing that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hope-doesn-t-mean-anything-action-s-the-only-thing-that-counts/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In the end... love is the only thing that counts. It's stronger than death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-end-love-is-the-only-thing-that-counts-it-s-stronger-than-death/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (v. 6).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/the-only-thing-that-counts-is-faith-expressing-itself-through-love-v-6/)

[Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/)

> [The only thing that counts is your dedication to the game. You run on your own fuel; it comes from within you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brown/the-only-thing-that-counts-is-your-dedication-to-the-game-you-run-on/)

[Paul Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brown/)

> [In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that cannot be explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/in-art-there-is-only-one-thing-that-counts-the-bit-that-cannot-be/)

[Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/)

> [You do your best, you do all this stuff, but the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-grant/you-do-your-best-you-do-all-this-stuff-but-the-only-thing-that-counts/)

[Amy Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-grant/)

> [Only one thing counts in this life - get them to sign on the line that is dotted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/only-one-thing-counts-in-this-life-get-them-to-sign-on-the-line-that/)

[Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/)

> [“That's the good thing about it. Nothing counts except what's goin' on around you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-davis/that-s-the-good-thing-about-it-nothing-counts-except-what-s-goin-on/)

[H.L. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-davis/)

> [The only thing that counts is hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcos-alonso/the-only-thing-that-counts-is-hard-work/)

[Marcos Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcos-alonso/)

> [Braque always said that the only thing that counts, in painting, is the intention, and it's true. What counts is what one wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/braque-always-said-that-the-only-thing-that-counts-in-painting-is-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [“Whenever you look back and say, "If," you know you're in trouble. There's no such thing as "if." The only thing that counts is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-machale/whenever-you-look-back-and-say-if-you-know-you-re-in-trouble-there-s/)

[D.J. MacHale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-machale/)

> [The only thing that counts is a satisfied customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-carlzon/the-only-thing-that-counts-is-a-satisfied-customer/)

[Jan Carlzon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-carlzon/)

> [The most important thing is who counts the votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/the-most-important-thing-is-who-counts-the-votes/)

[Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/)

> [Never make excuses, produce results; for they are the only thing that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ore-abayomi/never-make-excuses-produce-results-for-they-are-the-only-thing-that/)

[Ore Abayomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ore-abayomi/)

## More by Arthur Japin

> [“We are unhappy because we think that love is something we require from someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/we-are-unhappy-because-we-think-that-love-is-something-we-require/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [“Conversely, the red plant itself burns a brighter red when set off by the green than when it grows among its peers. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/conversely-the-red-plant-itself-burns-a-brighter-red-when-set-off-by/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [Reason offers us many possibilities at once. Intuition infallibly chooses the best. Remember this and you cannot err; you will always make the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/reason-offers-us-many-possibilities-at-once-intuition-infallibly/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [The truth doesn't only excist of what you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/the-truth-doesn-t-only-excist-of-what-you-see/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [That's the only thing that matters, honey, for someone to see more in you than you thought there was to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/that-s-the-only-thing-that-matters-honey-for-someone-to-see-more-in/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [Everything comes down to this: the reason for every word I have written and every word I will write. I am recounting my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/everything-comes-down-to-this-the-reason-for-every-word-i-have/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [“In Holland vergeleek men hoeren met paarden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/in-holland-vergeleek-men-hoeren-met-paarden/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [I felt before I thought, as all humans do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/i-felt-before-i-thought-as-all-humans-do/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [If you accept others as equals, you embrace them unconditionally, now and forever. But if you let them know that you tolerate them, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/if-you-accept-others-as-equals-you-embrace-them-unconditionally-now/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [One can only learn what one doesn’t know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/one-can-only-learn-what-one-doesn-t-know/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

> [My love was alive, not because I was loved, but because I myself loved!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/my-love-was-alive-not-because-i-was-loved-but-because-i-myself-loved/)

[Arthur Japin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

[Explore all 12 Arthur Japin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/)

## More Darling quotes

> [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/)

[Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/)

> ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/)

[Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/)

> [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Mom?" I said. She turned. "Can I talk to you about something?" "Of course, darling. Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/tonight-darling-we-are-going-to-right-a-lot-of-wrongs/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/)

[Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/)

> [“Life is a great adventure, darling, and problems are nothing more than opportunities to show what you can do. Show them, darling. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/life-is-a-great-adventure-darling-and-problems-are-nothing-more-than/)

[Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/)

> [“If you're anything like me, You bite your nails, And laugh when you're nervous. You promise people the world, because that's what they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/if-you-re-anything-like-me-you-bite-your-nails-and-laugh-when-you-re/)

[Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/)

> [“Then you’ll do it brilliantly, darling. You’ll get to Pittsburgh yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/then-you-ll-do-it-brilliantly-darling-you-ll-get-to-pittsburgh-yet/)

[Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/)

> [Oh, darling, you will be good to me, won’t you? Because we’re going to have a strange life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-you-will-be-good-to-me-won-t-you-because-we-re-going-to/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Enough of self, that darling luscious theme, O'er which philosophers in raptures dream; Of which with seeming disregard they write Then prizing most when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-churchill/enough-of-self-that-darling-luscious-theme-o-er-which-philosophers-in/)

[Charles Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-churchill/)

> [You were joking about the whole please and thank you thing, right?" "Meant every word." A little light danced in his eyes and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/you-were-joking-about-the-whole-please-and-thank-you-thing-right/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [There have only been two authentic geniuses in the world, Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare and I think you'd better put Shakespeare first, darling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/there-have-only-been-two-authentic-geniuses-in-the-world-willie-mays/)

[Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/)

> [It's a brutal world out there. If you consider the case of superstar Rajesh Khanna, he was a darling of the masses in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bipasha-basu/it-s-a-brutal-world-out-there-if-you-consider-the-case-of-superstar/)

[Bipasha Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bipasha-basu/)

[Browse all 542 Darling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darling/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone to see more in you than you ever imagined was there.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Japin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-counts-for-someone-to-see-more-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Darling"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-counts-for-someone-to-see-more-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/arthur-japin-15909_darling_that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-coun_3161730.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“That, darling, is the only thing that counts for someone to see more in you than you ever imagined was there.” — Arthur Japin",
                "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": "Arthur Japin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-japin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“That, darling, is the only thing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-counts-for-someone-to-see-more-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-japin/that-darling-is-the-only-thing-that-counts-for-someone-to-see-more-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
