--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know people by their stories: their…" description: "\"We know people by their stories: their history, their habits, their secrets, their triumphs and failures. We know them by what they do. We want to know..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg" --- # We know people by their stories: their history, their… ![“We know people by their stories: their history, their habits, their secrets, their triumphs and failures. We know them by what they do. We want to know mountains too, but they’ve got no story. So we do the next best thing. We throw ourselves onto them and make the stories happen.” quote by Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg) > “We know people by their stories: their history, their habits, their secrets, their triumphs and failures. We know them by what they do. We want to know mountains too, but they’ve got no story. So we do the next best thing. We throw ourselves onto them and make the stories happen.” [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) ## 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 how we understand people through their stories and actions, while mountains lack narratives, prompting us to project our own stories onto them. **In simple terms:** People have stories; mountains do not, so we create stories about them. Key Takeaway Create meaning by engaging with the environment. Themes perception storytelling nature human experience meaning-making Mood thoughtful inspirational contemplative Type philosophical environmental literary When to use this quote - Travel writing - mountaineering - personal reflection - creative projects - educational programs Key Concepts Narrative construction environmental interaction anthropomorphism Questions to Reflect On - How does storytelling shape our relationship with nature? - What responsibilities arise when we anthropomorphize landscapes? A Different Perspective Over‑projecting human motives onto nature can obscure ecological realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Know Mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-mountains-1983706/) [Know People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-people-249937/) [Make Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-stories-356573/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-stories-327804/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-happen-2056661/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [You know how mountains get moved? Everyone who can move a couple, move a couple. Those who can move rocks, move rocks. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/you-know-how-mountains-get-moved-everyone-who-can-move-a-couple-move/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [I have a low opinion of books; they are but piles of stones set up to show coming travelers where other minds have been,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-have-a-low-opinion-of-books-they-are-but-piles-of-stones-set-up-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Unless you know the mountains and the forests, the defiles and impasses, the lay of the marshes and swamps, you cannot maneuver with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/unless-you-know-the-mountains-and-the-forests-the-defiles-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [You know, the mountains are full of dangers, and they swallow you up. But mostly, they give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-coombs/you-know-the-mountains-are-full-of-dangers-and-they-swallow-you-up/) [Doug Coombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-coombs/) > [My songs don't deal with locations that specifically, even if there are very specific references to them in there; they're sort of just where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-lekman/my-songs-don-t-deal-with-locations-that-specifically-even-if-there/) [Jens Lekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-lekman/) > [When you're writing, your mind has a place where the stories happen. With one word, you can get the idea of where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-negron/when-you-re-writing-your-mind-has-a-place-where-the-stories-happen/) [Luis Negron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-negron/) > [Great stories happen to those who can tell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/great-stories-happen-to-those-who-can-tell-them/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [Love stories happen in communities outside of just the Upper West Side of Manhattan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-famuyiwa/love-stories-happen-in-communities-outside-of-just-the-upper-west/) [Rick Famuyiwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-famuyiwa/) > [An unread book does nobody any good. Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/an-unread-book-does-nobody-any-good-stories-happen-in-the-mind-of-a/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Stories happen only to those who are able to tell them, someone once said. In the same way, perhaps, experiences present themselves only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/stories-happen-only-to-those-who-are-able-to-tell-them-someone-once/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Stories only happen to people who can tell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stories-only-happen-to-people-who-can-tell-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know little stories that happen to people around me, and I can repeat that in a way that has some color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-dean-stanton/i-know-little-stories-that-happen-to-people-around-me-and-i-can/) [Harry Dean Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-dean-stanton/) > [I'm interested in the small moment, in the minutia of things, and in the small moment, so I tend to tell stories that happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reichardt/i-m-interested-in-the-small-moment-in-the-minutia-of-things-and-in/) [Kelly Reichardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reichardt/) > [Stories happen to those who tell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/stories-happen-to-those-who-tell-them/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Know something, sugar? Stories only happen to people who can tell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-gurganus/know-something-sugar-stories-only-happen-to-people-who-can-tell-them/) [Allan Gurganus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-gurganus/) ## More by Bruce Barcott > [The mountain receives our expressions and becomes part of us; we imprint our memories upon it and trust it with out dearest divisions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/the-mountain-receives-our-expressions-and-becomes-part-of-us-we/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [“This is not about you. Nobody gives a shit whether you like pot or hate it. This is a race issue. It's a civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/this-is-not-about-you-nobody-gives-a-shit-whether-you-like-pot-or/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [“Civilization proceeds in a direction opposite from everything mountains represent: starvation, hardship, coldness, the constant scramble to survive...People used to avoid mountains, but now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/civilization-proceeds-in-a-direction-opposite-from-everything/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [A gripper of a read . . . Silence revives the cliff’s-edge drama of those Jazz age climbs and drives home the tragedy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/a-gripper-of-a-read-silence-revives-the-cliff-s-edge-drama-of-those/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [“This is how I think of Mount Rainier, not as an icon of permanence but as a source of relentless change, a mountain forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/this-is-how-i-think-of-mount-rainier-not-as-an-icon-of-permanence-but/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [ The thing that I still come back away with is how close so many people feel to the mountain \[Mt. Rainier\] emotionally and psychically,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/the-thing-that-i-still-come-back-away-with-is-how-close-so-many/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [This is what we see when we look up at Rainier, the beauty, the horror, the awe the unbelievability of size that confirms our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/this-is-what-we-see-when-we-look-up-at-rainier-the-beauty-the-horror/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) [Explore all 8 Bruce Barcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We know people by their stories: their history, their habits, their secrets, their triumphs and failures. We know them by what they do. We want to know mountains too, but they’ve got no story. So we do the next best thing. We throw ourselves onto them and make the stories happen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Barcott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-history-their-habits-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-history-their-habits-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/bruce-barcott-47994_failure_we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-hi_309742.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We know people by their stories: their history, their habits, their secrets, their triumphs and failures. We…” — Bruce Barcott", "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": "Bruce Barcott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We know people by their stories:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-history-their-habits-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/we-know-people-by-their-stories-their-history-their-habits-their/#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 } } ] } ```