--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Listen to what is being preached today…" description: "\"“Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/ayn-rand-59_desire_listen-to-what-is-being-preached-today-l_890525.jpg" --- # Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone… ![“Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/ayn-rand-59_desire_listen-to-what-is-being-preached-today-l_890525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/ayn-rand-59_desire_listen-to-what-is-being-preached-today-l_890525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/ayn-rand-59_desire_listen-to-what-is-being-preached-today-l_890525.jpg) > ““Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander's delusion - prestige. A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. He can't say about a single thing: 'This is what I wanted because I wanted it, not because it made my neighbors gape at me'. Then he wonders why he's unhappy.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques people who chase prestige and external approval rather than authentic personal desires, leading to unhappiness. **In simple terms:** Seeking others’ approval causes emptiness. Key Takeaway Pursue true personal goals. Themes authenticity prestige unhappiness motivation self‑reflection Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - self‑assessment - relationship counseling - philosophical discussion Key Concepts existentialism individualism Questions to Reflect On - What truly motivates you? - How can you separate personal desire from external pressure? A Different Perspective May ignore structural factors influencing desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Material wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-wealth/) [Personal desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-desire/) [Prestige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prestige/) ## Related quotes > [Did it ever occur to you, that there is no conflict of interests among men, neither in business nor in trade nor in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/did-it-ever-occur-to-you-that-there-is-no-conflict-of-interests-among-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Did it ever occur to you, that there is no conflict of interests among men, neither in business nor in trade nor in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/did-it-ever-occur-to-you-that-there-is-no-conflict-of-interests-among/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [At the end of your lives you will not be judged by academic successes, the degrees or diplomas earned, the positions held, the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-hunter/at-the-end-of-your-lives-you-will-not-be-judged-by-academic-successes/) [Howard W. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/) > [But neither life nor happiness can be achieved by the pursuit of irrational whims. Just as man is free to attempt to survive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/but-neither-life-nor-happiness-can-be-achieved-by-the-pursuit-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Now you see, Dr. Stadler, you're speaking as if this book were addressing to a thinking audience. If it were, one would have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/now-you-see-dr-stadler-you-re-speaking-as-if-this-book-were/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Once you're a mom, all of your personal desires come secondary as the survival of the child becomes your life's priority, which leads you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/once-you-re-a-mom-all-of-your-personal-desires-come-secondary-as-the/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires will sooner or later always lead to bitter disappointment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-life-directed-chiefly-toward-the-fulfillment-of-personal-desires/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-finely-tempered-nature-longs-to-escape-from-the-personal-life-into/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Christmas has been a season of mixed interests and meanings, but the very foundation, of course, is its religious significance. No matter what other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/christmas-has-been-a-season-of-mixed-interests-and-meanings-but-the/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“The artist's life cannot be otherwise than full of conflicts, for two forces are at war within him; on the one hand, the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-artist-s-life-cannot-be-otherwise-than-full-of-conflicts-for-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true. Everything that is not puts us in a rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/everything-that-is-in-agreement-with-our-personal-desires-seems-true/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/man-is-at-one-and-the-same-time-a-solitary-being-and-a-social-being/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [When mystics use the word love, they use it very carefully - in the deeply spiritual sense, where to love is to know; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eknath-easwaran/when-mystics-use-the-word-love-they-use-it-very-carefully-in-the/) [Eknath Easwaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eknath-easwaran/) > [I have no personal desire to get married whatsoever and I certainly have no desire to be a soldier. I'm old school, I'm from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleve-jones/i-have-no-personal-desire-to-get-married-whatsoever-and-i-certainly/) [Cleve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleve-jones/) > [His desire to bless you goes infinitely beyond your own personal desire to secure His blessing. There is always peace in His presence. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-j-roberts/his-desire-to-bless-you-goes-infinitely-beyond-your-own-personal/) [Frances J Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-j-roberts/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander's delusion - prestige. A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. 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