---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ordinary people merely think how they…"
description: "\"Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.\" — Arthur Schopenhauer"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg"
---

#  Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their…

![“Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg)

> “Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.”

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

## About This Quote

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

The quote contrasts passive time-wasting with proactive, purposeful use of time by talented individuals.

**In simple terms:** Talent uses time wisely, others waste it.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize purposeful actions.

Themes

time management productivity talent

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- career planning
- creative projects
- personal development
- learning new skills

Key Concepts

efficacy intentionality

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you currently spend your time?
- What changes could make your time more purposeful?

A Different Perspective

Talent alone doesn't guarantee success without discipline.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Man Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-talent-1887944/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Merely Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-think-4803000/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-merely-1173743/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Talent Tries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent-tries-4934123/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/)

## Related quotes

> [Do not merely think that you are great; think that you are great now. Do not think that you will begin to act in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/do-not-merely-think-that-you-are-great-think-that-you-are-great-now/)

[Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/)

> [“The good must be clearly good but not wholly clear. If it is wholly clear it is too easy to reject. What is wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kaufmann/the-good-must-be-clearly-good-but-not-wholly-clear-if-it-is-wholly/)

[Walter Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kaufmann/)

> [A man of talent will strive for money and reputation; but the spring that moves genius to the production of its works is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/a-man-of-talent-will-strive-for-money-and-reputation-but-the-spring/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-common-man-is-not-concerned-about-the-passage-of-time-the-man-of/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“There are people who merely see what is. And there are people who look beyond what is. There are those who swim in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/there-are-people-who-merely-see-what-is-and-there-are-people-who-look/)

[Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/)

> [Money and success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/money-and-success-don-t-change-people-they-merely-amplify-what-is/)

[Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/)

> [It's hard to rest knowing that millions of people merely carry on religious traditions but don't actually reach God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-hard-to-rest-knowing-that-millions-of-people-merely-carry-on/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [“There are many of us now. Enough to be called a people in ourselves and not merely a mistake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/there-are-many-of-us-now-enough-to-be-called-a-people-in-ourselves/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [Social intercourse, even friendship among most people, is a merely a business arrangement that lasts only so long as there is need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/social-intercourse-even-friendship-among-most-people-is-a-merely-a/)

[Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/)

> [Lending books to other people is merely a shrewd form of housecleaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/lending-books-to-other-people-is-merely-a-shrewd-form-of-housecleaning/)

[Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/)

> [My time is much too precious to be wasted on people who merely want to talk about being a high performance person and can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pena/my-time-is-much-too-precious-to-be-wasted-on-people-who-merely-want/)

[Dan Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pena/)

> [“Instead of relishing life, people merely existed. Such was the case with my family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kien-nguyen/instead-of-relishing-life-people-merely-existed-such-was-the-case/)

[Kien Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kien-nguyen/)

> [When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/when-we-treat-people-merely-as-they-are-they-will-remain-as-they-are/)

[Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/)

> [It is the tragedy of other people that they are to us merely showcases for the very perishable collections of our own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/it-is-the-tragedy-of-other-people-that-they-are-to-us-merely/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The idea of being a writer attracts a good many shiftless people, those who are merely burdened with poetic feelings or afflicted with sensibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-idea-of-being-a-writer-attracts-a-good-many-shiftless-people/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

## More by Arthur Schopenhauer

> [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. The cause of it is that men fight shy of all and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/imitation-and-custom-are-the-spring-of-almost-all-human-action-the/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [The eternal being..., as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-eternal-being-as-it-lives-in-us-also-lives-in-every-animal/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [there are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-are-very-few-who-can-think-but-every-man-wants-to-have-an/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [It is not what things are objectively and in themselves, but what they are for us, in our way of looking at them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-not-what-things-are-objectively-and-in-themselves-but-what-they/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ “\[Materialism\] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-simple-state-of-matter-and/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“For the will, as that which is common to all, is for that reason also common: consequently, every vehement emergence of will is common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/for-the-will-as-that-which-is-common-to-all-is-for-that-reason-also/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“Alles Urdenken geschieht in Bildern: darum ist die Phantasie ein so nothwendiges Werkzeug desselben, und werden phantasielose Köpfe nie etwas Großes leisten, - es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/alles-urdenken-geschieht-in-bildern-darum-ist-die-phantasie-ein-so/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/intellect-is-invisible-to-the-man-who-has-none/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Newspapers are the second hand of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/newspapers-are-the-second-hand-of-history/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-travelling-where-novelties-of-all-kinds-press-in-upon-us-mental/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

[Explore all 791 Arthur Schopenhauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

## More Men quotes

> [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/)

[Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/)

[Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/)

[Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Browse all 84,229 Men quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-shall-spend-their-time-a-man-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Men"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-shall-spend-their-time-a-man-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/arthur-schopenhauer-226_men_ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-sh_3028129.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.” — Arthur Schopenhauer",
                "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 Schopenhauer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Ordinary people merely think how they...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-shall-spend-their-time-a-man-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-shall-spend-their-time-a-man-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
