--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gabe was referring to people like Lou who…" description: "\"“Gabe was referring to people like Lou who were competitive. Ambitious people, with their eye on the prize instead of the task at hand. People who want..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/cecilia-ahern-35847_greater-things_gabe-was-referring-to-people-like-lou-wh_3083634.jpg" --- # Gabe was referring to people like Lou who were… ![“Gabe was referring to people like Lou who were competitive. Ambitious people, with their eye on the prize instead of the task at hand. People who wanted to be the best for all the wrong reasons and who'd take almost any path to get there. Being the best was only slightly better than being in the…” quote by Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/cecilia-ahern-35847_greater-things_gabe-was-referring-to-people-like-lou-wh_3083634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/cecilia-ahern-35847_greater-things_gabe-was-referring-to-people-like-lou-wh_3083634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/cecilia-ahern-35847_greater-things_gabe-was-referring-to-people-like-lou-wh_3083634.jpg) > ““Gabe was referring to people like Lou who were competitive. Ambitious people, with their eye on the prize instead of the task at hand. People who wanted to be the best for all the wrong reasons and who'd take almost any path to get there. Being the best was only slightly better than being in the middle, which was equal to being the worst. All were merely a state of being. It was how a person felt in that state and why that was the important thing. Gabe wanted to explain to Lou that people like him were always looking at what the other person was doing, always looking to achieve more and greater things. Always wanting to be better. And the entire point of Gabe's telling Lou Suffern about people like Lou Suffern was to warn him that people who constantly looked over their shoulders often bumped into things. Paths are so much clearer when people stop looking at what everyone else is doing and instead concentrate on themselves.”” [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) ## 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 warns that relentless competition and comparison hinder personal clarity and fulfillment, urging focus on one's own path. **In simple terms:** Comparing to others blinds you; focus on yourself. Key Takeaway Stop comparing, pursue your own goals. Themes competition self-awareness focus growth mindset Mood reflective motivational cautionary Type advice philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - creative projects - team leadership - goal setting Key Concepts psychology motivation identity self-determination Questions to Reflect On - How does constant comparison affect your decisions? - What steps can you take to focus inward? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on competition can cause burnout and missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explain Lou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-lou-5270422/) [Gabe Referring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gabe-referring-5270421/) [Gabe Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gabe-telling-5270420/) [Gabe Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gabe-wanted-4353369/) [Greater things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-things/) [Task at hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/task-at-hand/) [Telling Lou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-lou-5270423/) ## Related quotes > [“Gabe realized he was standing there alone, with a goofy smile on his face. Limping inside, he closed the door behind him, her words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-owens/gabe-realized-he-was-standing-there-alone-with-a-goofy-smile-on-his/) [Wendy Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-owens/) > [“He knew she loved him in that moment. Gabe never wanted to be part of the holy fight, but now he was, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-owens/he-knew-she-loved-him-in-that-moment-gabe-never-wanted-to-be-part-of/) [Wendy Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-owens/) > [A great thing is a great book; but a greater thing than all is the talk of a great man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-great-thing-is-a-great-book-but-a-greater-thing-than-all-is-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [What we fight with is so small, and when we win, it makes us small. What we want is to be defeated, decisively, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/what-we-fight-with-is-so-small-and-when-we-win-it-makes-us-small-what/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Men are often capable of greater things than they perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/men-are-often-capable-of-greater-things-than-they-perform/) [Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/) > [I always say that playing Christ has just made me a better version of myself because I aspire to greater things, to a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-roumie/i-always-say-that-playing-christ-has-just-made-me-a-better-version-of/) [Jonathan Roumie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-roumie/) > [How few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding ; How many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-few-things-can-a-man-measure-with-the-tape-of-his-understanding/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In life we have many disappointments. Those who go on to greater things dwell on the disappointments briefly and then move on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/in-life-we-have-many-disappointments-those-who-go-on-to-greater/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“Could be I've finally gone crazy, but men crazier than me have done greater things than I've ever dreamed, so we'll see where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-bankston/could-be-i-ve-finally-gone-crazy-but-men-crazier-than-me-have-done/) [Drew Bankston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-bankston/) > [Your capacity to say "No" determines your capacity to say "Yes" to greater things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/your-capacity-to-say-no-determines-your-capacity-to-say-yes-to/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [Inspire yourself with words that make you take the right actions. Tell yourself that you are here to do good and greater things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-valadez/inspire-yourself-with-words-that-make-you-take-the-right-actions-tell/) [Benjamin Valadez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-valadez/) > [Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/nothing-was-ever-in-any-man-that-is-not-in-you-no-man-ever-had-more/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Yazoo was Vince's sound ultimately. At the time Vince and I got together he had only recorded one album with Depeche and Depeche were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/yazoo-was-vince-s-sound-ultimately-at-the-time-vince-and-i-got/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [In life, everyone is intelligence, don't let a low test score, or a college rejection define who you are. Because you were made for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byaombe-salome/in-life-everyone-is-intelligence-don-t-let-a-low-test-score-or-a/) [Byaombe Salome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byaombe-salome/) > [Working against a restriction - for me - often produces greater things than getting rid of all boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lord/working-against-a-restriction-for-me-often-produces-greater-things/) [Jon Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lord/) ## More by Cecilia Ahern > [“Friends and family came and went, sometimes helping her with her tears, other times making her laugh. But even in her laughter there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/friends-and-family-came-and-went-sometimes-helping-her-with-her-tears/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“Memories were fine, but you couldn't touch them. They were never exactly as the moment had been, & they faded w/ time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/memories-were-fine-but-you-couldn-t-touch-them-they-were-never/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“You deserve someone who loves you with every single beat of his heart, someone who thinks about you constantly, someone who spends every minute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/you-deserve-someone-who-loves-you-with-every-single-beat-of-his-heart-2/) [cecilia ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“One thing of great importance can affect a small number of people. Equally so, a thing of little importance can affect a multitude. Either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/one-thing-of-great-importance-can-affect-a-small-number-of-people/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“And older people were like babies; something about their demeanour made you love them despite their ignorant selfish personalities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/and-older-people-were-like-babies-something-about-their-demeanour/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“Maybe love is thinking that everytime your partner does or says something mundane that you want to start a Mexican wave from here to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/maybe-love-is-thinking-that-everytime-your-partner-does-or-says/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“A helping hand can come from the most unlikely of places”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/a-helping-hand-can-come-from-the-most-unlikely-of-places/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“When you drop a glass or a plate to the ground it makes a long crashing sound. When a window shatters, a table leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/when-you-drop-a-glass-or-a-plate-to-the-ground-it-makes-a-long/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“Svi se katkad izgubimo, katkad svojevoljno, a katkad zbog silnica nad kojima nemamo nadzora. Kad naučimo ono što naša duša treba naučiti, ukaže nam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/svi-se-katkad-izgubimo-katkad-svojevoljno-a-katkad-zbog-silnica-nad/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“Life is funny isn't it? Just when you think you've got it all figured out, just when you finally begin to plan something, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/life-is-funny-isn-t-it-just-when-you-think-you-ve-got-it-all-figured-2/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“There aren’t many sure things in life, but one thing I do know is that you have to deal with the consequences of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/there-aren-t-many-sure-things-in-life-but-one-thing-i-do-know-is-that/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) > [“So that makes time more precious, doesn't it? More precious than money, more precious than anything. You can never earn more time. Once an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-ahern/so-that-makes-time-more-precious-doesn-t-it-more-precious-than-money/) [Cecilia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) [Explore all 13 Cecilia Ahern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-ahern/) ## More Greater things quotes > [Working against a restriction - for me - often produces greater things than getting rid of all boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lord/working-against-a-restriction-for-me-often-produces-greater-things/) [Jon Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lord/) > [In life, everyone is intelligence, don't let a low test score, or a college rejection define who you are. Because you were made for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byaombe-salome/in-life-everyone-is-intelligence-don-t-let-a-low-test-score-or-a/) [Byaombe Salome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byaombe-salome/) > [Yazoo was Vince's sound ultimately. At the time Vince and I got together he had only recorded one album with Depeche and Depeche were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/yazoo-was-vince-s-sound-ultimately-at-the-time-vince-and-i-got/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/nothing-was-ever-in-any-man-that-is-not-in-you-no-man-ever-had-more/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Inspire yourself with words that make you take the right actions. Tell yourself that you are here to do good and greater things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-valadez/inspire-yourself-with-words-that-make-you-take-the-right-actions-tell/) [Benjamin Valadez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-valadez/) > [Your capacity to say "No" determines your capacity to say "Yes" to greater things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/your-capacity-to-say-no-determines-your-capacity-to-say-yes-to/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [“Could be I've finally gone crazy, but men crazier than me have done greater things than I've ever dreamed, so we'll see where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-bankston/could-be-i-ve-finally-gone-crazy-but-men-crazier-than-me-have-done/) [Drew Bankston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-bankston/) > [In life we have many disappointments. Those who go on to greater things dwell on the disappointments briefly and then move on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/in-life-we-have-many-disappointments-those-who-go-on-to-greater/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [How few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding ; How many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-few-things-can-a-man-measure-with-the-tape-of-his-understanding/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I always say that playing Christ has just made me a better version of myself because I aspire to greater things, to a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-roumie/i-always-say-that-playing-christ-has-just-made-me-a-better-version-of/) [Jonathan Roumie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-roumie/) > [Men are often capable of greater things than they perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/men-are-often-capable-of-greater-things-than-they-perform/) [Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/) > [What we fight with is so small, and when we win, it makes us small. What we want is to be defeated, decisively, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/what-we-fight-with-is-so-small-and-when-we-win-it-makes-us-small-what/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [A great thing is a great book; but a greater thing than all is the talk of a great man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-great-thing-is-a-great-book-but-a-greater-thing-than-all-is-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [LOVE, If love is great, and there are no greater things, then what I feel for you must be the greatest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-if-love-is-great-and-there-are-no-greater-things-then-what-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes legends find themselves remembered more for what they have not done than for their accomplishments. But those resume gaps can also help drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-yaeger/sometimes-legends-find-themselves-remembered-more-for-what-they-have/) [Don Yaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-yaeger/) [Browse all 136 Greater things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Gabe was referring to people like Lou who were competitive. Ambitious people, with their eye on the prize instead of the task at hand. People who wanted to be the best for all the wrong reasons and who'd take almost any path to get there. Being the best was only slightly better than being in the middle, which was equal to being the worst. All were merely a state of being. It was how a person felt in that state and why that was the important thing. Gabe wanted to explain to Lou that people like him were always looking at what the other person was doing, always looking to achieve more and greater things. Always wanting to be better. And the entire point of Gabe's telling Lou Suffern about people like Lou Suffern was to warn him that people who constantly looked over their shoulders often bumped into things. 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