--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One has to devote oneself to a particular…" description: "\"One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be successful at anything, you have to make a total commitment to it.\" — Donald Johanson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/donald-johanson-16932_being-successful_one-has-to-devote-oneself-to-a-particula_2706191.png" --- # One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be… ![“One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be successful at anything, you have to make a total commitment to it.” quote by Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/donald-johanson-16932_being-successful_one-has-to-devote-oneself-to-a-particula_2706191.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/donald-johanson-16932_being-successful_one-has-to-devote-oneself-to-a-particula_2706191.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/donald-johanson-16932_being-successful_one-has-to-devote-oneself-to-a-particula_2706191.png) > “One has to devote oneself to a particular pursuit. To be successful at anything, you have to make a total commitment to it.” [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Total commitment is required for mastery in any field. **In simple terms:** Commit fully to succeed. Key Takeaway Dedicate yourself wholly. Themes commitment mastery focus discipline Mood determined serious Type motivational practical When to use this quote - research - skill development - career focus - personal projects Key Concepts Education human evolution Questions to Reflect On - What does total commitment look like? - How to avoid burnout? A Different Perspective Overcommitment can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Devote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devote/) [Devote Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devote-oneself-1856943/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Particular Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-pursuit-2772120/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Total Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total-commitment-526596/) ## Related quotes > [To be rich is to give; to give nothing is to be poor; to live is to love; to love nothing is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/to-be-rich-is-to-give-to-give-nothing-is-to-be-poor-to-live-is-to/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [To devote oneself to vigilance when the enemy is an imaginary one is idle, and to congratulate oneself for looking long and well for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/to-devote-oneself-to-vigilance-when-the-enemy-is-an-imaginary-one-is/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [All artists are self-sacrificing human beings, and to become an artist is nothing but to devote oneself to the subterranean gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/all-artists-are-self-sacrificing-human-beings-and-to-become-an-artist/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [When I decide to do something, I stick with it, total commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/when-i-decide-to-do-something-i-stick-with-it-total-commitment/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [A total commitment is paramount to reaching the ultimate in performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-flores/a-total-commitment-is-paramount-to-reaching-the-ultimate-in/) [Tom Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-flores/) > [I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria God willing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammadu-buhari/i-will-continue-to-show-openly-and-inside-me-the-total-commitment-to/) [Muhammadu Buhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammadu-buhari/) > [A total commitment gives you the extra ounce of courage that it takes to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-l-williams-jr/a-total-commitment-gives-you-the-extra-ounce-of-courage-that-it-takes/) [Arthur L. Williams, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-l-williams-jr/) > [There are plenty of paths to becoming a writer, but I think the most reliable ones involve total commitment: writing for magazines and newspapers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/there-are-plenty-of-paths-to-becoming-a-writer-but-i-think-the-most/) [Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/) > [Make a total commitment to your company, your job, and your career. 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Holding each member accountable to that commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-team-leader-is-simply-giving-total-commitment-to-the-team/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A total commitment to anxiously serve the Lord and others is the surest way to overcome temptations of the adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-paramore/a-total-commitment-to-anxiously-serve-the-lord-and-others-is-the/) [James M. Paramore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-paramore/) > [Marriage is a total commitment and a total sharing of the total person with another person until death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-mack/marriage-is-a-total-commitment-and-a-total-sharing-of-the-total/) [Wayne Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-mack/) > [Total commitment. You know, the idea of discovering something that, for all intents and purposes, goes against your abilities, and yet still deciding to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/total-commitment-you-know-the-idea-of-discovering-something-that-for/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Donald Johanson > [My real father died when I was two years old, so I never knew him. He was a barber in Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/my-real-father-died-when-i-was-two-years-old-so-i-never-knew-him-he/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [But what really excited me was the idea that humans had a tremendous pre-history that went back millions of years. 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You can't order one from a biological supply house.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/in-our-case-finding-a-lucy-is-unique-no-one-will-ever-find-another/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [Most Achievers I Know Are People Who Have Made A Strong And Deep Dedication to Pursuing A Particular Goal. That Dedication Took A Tremendous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/most-achievers-i-know-are-people-who-have-made-a-strong-and-deep/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [Evolution is a fact. It is the best explanation of what is known from observations. It's a theory as powerful as the theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/evolution-is-a-fact-it-is-the-best-explanation-of-what-is-known-from/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [It's very hard for all of us, when we've committed ourselves to a particular interpretation, to change our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/it-s-very-hard-for-all-of-us-when-we-ve-committed-ourselves-to-a/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [This was the most important discovery I had ever made in my life. It was a discovery which has irrevocably changed my whole life's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/this-was-the-most-important-discovery-i-had-ever-made-in-my-life-it/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [What's changed is we now have good anatomical, geological, archaeological evidence that Neanderthals are not our ancestors. 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