--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The true way is the middle one, halfway…" description: "\"The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.\" — Baltasar Gracian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg" --- # The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving… ![“The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.” quote by Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg) > “The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.” [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True success lies in a balanced approach, neither assuming entitlement nor overexerting. **In simple terms:** Balance between entitlement and effort leads to success. Key Takeaway Seek the middle path. Themes balance moderation self‑esteem Mood thoughtful philosophical Type wisdom inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - relationships - skill development Key Concepts ethical decision‑making personal growth Questions to Reflect On - When does moderation become complacency? - How to know when to push forward? A Different Perspective Too much balance can cause indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserving/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [Halfway Deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway-deserving-3237991/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-halfway-3237992/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Pushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-middle-3237993/) ## Related quotes > [“Even the middle of nowhere is halfway to somewhere!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-beckwith/even-the-middle-of-nowhere-is-halfway-to-somewhere/) [Jason Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-beckwith/) > [Performing is the craziest workout for me, because I feel like, on the first day of tour, I'm going nuts. Halfway through, I'm just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/performing-is-the-craziest-workout-for-me-because-i-feel-like-on-the/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [Anybody can be a halfway man, but the one who rises above this class is the one who keeps everlastingly pushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-ogden-armour/anybody-can-be-a-halfway-man-but-the-one-who-rises-above-this-class/) [J. Ogden Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-ogden-armour/) > [Lil Wayne is a person who I think is really deserving of the success he's had. I'm someone who can stay in the studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-elliot/lil-wayne-is-a-person-who-i-think-is-really-deserving-of-the-success/) [Missy Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-elliot/) > [Im not single. Im not taken. Im simply reserved, for the one who fits the word deserving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/im-not-single-im-not-taken-im-simply-reserved-for-the-one-who-fits/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [Do it the hard way! Think ahead of your job. Then nothing in the world can keep the job ahead from reaching out for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlow-curtice/do-it-the-hard-way-think-ahead-of-your-job-then-nothing-in-the-world/) [Harlow Curtice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlow-curtice/) > [We are all deserving of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/we-are-all-deserving-of-love/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I do firmly believe that universal forces are at work that pull us inexorably toward the deserving results of our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ringer/i-do-firmly-believe-that-universal-forces-are-at-work-that-pull-us/) [Robert Ringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ringer/) > [“having patience always gives you what you deserve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatma-alfalasi/having-patience-always-gives-you-what-you-deserve/) [Fatma Alfalasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatma-alfalasi/) > [The legislature have anxiously provided for those most useful and deserving body of men, the seamen and marines of this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-legislature-have-anxiously-provided-for-those-most-useful-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [No, no, football doesn't understand about 'deserving' something. You have to grab it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodri/no-no-football-doesn-t-understand-about-deserving-something-you-have/) [Rodri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodri/) > [Military caregivers play an essential role in the recovery process of our veterans and are more than deserving of our support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-chestnut/military-caregivers-play-an-essential-role-in-the-recovery-process-of/) [Joey Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-chestnut/) > [I am encouraged President Obama now says he will fulfill his constitutional obligation to seek authorization for any potential military action in Syria. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-am-encouraged-president-obama-now-says-he-will-fulfill-his/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) ## More by Baltasar Gracian > [To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/to-be-at-ease-is-better-than-to-be-at-business-nothing-really-belongs/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/there-are-friendships-merely-for-pleasure-some-for-the-exchange-of/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What is not seen is as if it was not. Even the Right does not receive proper consideration if it does not seem right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-is-not-seen-is-as-if-it-was-not-even-the-right-does-not-receive/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What the multitude says, is so, or soon will be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-the-multitude-says-is-so-or-soon-will-be-so/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-synonym-is-a-word-you-use-when-you-can-t-spell-the-other-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-is-good-to-vary-in-order-that-you-may-frustrate-the-curious/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/hope-has-a-good-memory-gratitude-a-bad-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Knowing how to keep a friend is more important than gaining a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/knowing-how-to-keep-a-friend-is-more-important-than-gaining-a-new-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Leave your luck while still winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/leave-your-luck-while-still-winning/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Superiority is always detested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/superiority-is-always-detested/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“We have eyelids but not earlids, for the ears are the portals of learning, and Nature wanted to keep them wide open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/we-have-eyelids-but-not-earlids-for-the-ears-are-the-portals-of/) [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [The wise persono would rather see others needing him than thanking him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-wise-persono-would-rather-see-others-needing-him-than-thanking-him/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [No one demands more caution than a spy, and when someone has the skeleton key to minds, counter him by leaving the key of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/no-one-demands-more-caution-than-a-spy-and-when-someone-has-the/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/keep-the-extent-of-your-abilities-unknown-the-wise-man-does-not-allow/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) [Explore all 288 Baltasar Gracian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Baltasar Gracian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-between-deserving-a-place-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-between-deserving-a-place-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/baltasar-gracian-1090_ambition_the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-b_1961180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The true way is the middle one, halfway between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.” — Baltasar Gracian", "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": "Baltasar Gracian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The true way is the middle...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-between-deserving-a-place-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-true-way-is-the-middle-one-halfway-between-deserving-a-place-and/#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 } } ] } ```