--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever it is that you do, if you have…" description: "\"Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and desire for it, that's the most important thing.\" — Doris Kearns Goodwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png" --- # Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and… ![“Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and desire for it, that's the most important thing.” quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png) > “Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and desire for it, that's the most important thing.” [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passion and desire are the primary drivers of success, outweighing talent or circumstance. **In simple terms:** Passion matters most for success. Key Takeaway Cultivate passion in your work. Themes motivation success personal growth Mood inspired determined Type motivational advisory When to use this quote - career choice - entrepreneurship - creative projects - education Key Concepts intrinsic motivation goal setting Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel passionate about your current path? - How can you nurture desire when faced with setbacks? A Different Perspective Passion alone may not overcome lack of skill or resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passion and desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion-and-desire/) [Passion Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion-desire/) ## Related quotes > [When people have a passion and desire, it burns through and shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickie-james/when-people-have-a-passion-and-desire-it-burns-through-and-shows/) [Mickie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickie-james/) > [“Passion and desire = Emotional urges or impulses, accompanied by mental intention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/master-del-pe/passion-and-desire-emotional-urges-or-impulses-accompanied-by-mental/) [Master Del Pe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/master-del-pe/) > [Passion and desire bind your Heart. Remove the locks. Become a key, become a key . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/passion-and-desire-bind-your-heart-remove-the-locks-become-a-key/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [But I'm going to play with the same passion and desire every night, and nobody's going to change that. Not referees. Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jackson/but-i-m-going-to-play-with-the-same-passion-and-desire-every-night/) [Stephen Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jackson/) > [“The battle between her body and mind was raging, and she was adrift in a sea of passion and desire without a life preserver.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avery-gale/the-battle-between-her-body-and-mind-was-raging-and-she-was-adrift-in/) Avery Gale > [“Objectives are only words written on paper without passion and desire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-t-albright/objectives-are-only-words-written-on-paper-without-passion-and-desire/) W.T. Albright > [A goal is not the same as a desire, and this is an important distinction to make. You can have a desire you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-goal-is-not-the-same-as-a-desire-and-this-is-an-important/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sexuality, eroticism and desire are important for all of us. But that is also the contradiction. How can we speak about pictures and, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pipilotti-rist/sexuality-eroticism-and-desire-are-important-for-all-of-us-but-that/) [Pipilotti Rist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pipilotti-rist/) > [Desire is important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantona/desire-is-important/) [Eric Cantona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantona/) > [“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 order to profit from this path \[of prayer\] and ascend to the dwelling places we desire, the important thing is not to think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/in-order-to-profit-from-this-path-of-prayer-and-ascend-to-the/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [“Let's go back to the train station,' she said. 'Or, rather, let's come back to this room, to the day when we sat here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/let-s-go-back-to-the-train-station-she-said-or-rather-let-s-come-back/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When I was fresh out of law school, I had a burning desire to do something important, to have an impact in some way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/when-i-was-fresh-out-of-law-school-i-had-a-burning-desire-to-do/) [Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/) > [Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-shoemaker/desire-is-the-most-important-factor-in-the-success-of-any-athlete/) [Bill Shoemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-shoemaker/) > [I'm here with all my faults and my many fears, but also with the desire to do something important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/i-m-here-with-all-my-faults-and-my-many-fears-but-also-with-the/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) ## More by Doris Kearns Goodwin > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [What I think I've learned is that you're never going to get it all right, and you can't obsess about having a fact wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/what-i-think-i-ve-learned-is-that-you-re-never-going-to-get-it-all/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-wish-we-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-the-private-lives-of-our/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [People will love him (Theodore Roosevelt) for the enemies he has made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/people-will-love-him-theodore-roosevelt-for-the-enemies-he-has-made/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“This extreme treatment was among the proliferating regimens developed in response to the stunning increase in nervous disorders diagnosed around the turn of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/this-extreme-treatment-was-among-the-proliferating-regimens-developed/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone than that,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-could-carve-out-of-a-banana-a-judge-with-more-backbone-than-that/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“And Lincoln, as would be evidenced throughout his presidency, was a master of timing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/and-lincoln-as-would-be-evidenced-throughout-his-presidency-was-a/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Don’t hit till you have to; but, when you do hit, hit hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/don-t-hit-till-you-have-to-but-when-you-do-hit-hit-hard/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“After ministering each day to the hundreds of young men who had endured ghastly wounds, submitted to amputations without anesthesia, and often died without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/after-ministering-each-day-to-the-hundreds-of-young-men-who-had/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [The value that I found in interviewing was for an educational experience, just to know that history itself is subjective, that you can't say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/the-value-that-i-found-in-interviewing-was-for-an-educational/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Excitement about things became a habit, a part of my personality, and the expectation that I should enjoy new experiences often engendered the enjoyment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/excitement-about-things-became-a-habit-a-part-of-my-personality-and/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“All the cartoonists at heart liked him, and there was seldom or never anything bitter or really unfriendly in their portrayals of him; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/all-the-cartoonists-at-heart-liked-him-and-there-was-seldom-or-never/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I think that's still what the American Dream means: that with perseverance, with hard work, you can become something, that the classes won't prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-dream-means-that-with/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past, allowing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-shall-always-be-grateful-for-this-curious-love-of-history-allowing/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Simon Cameron: “I loved my brother, as only the poor and lonely can love those with whom they have toiled and struggled up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/simon-cameron-i-loved-my-brother-as-only-the-poor-and-lonely-can-love/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) [Explore all 196 Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## 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": "Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and desire for it, that's the most important thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doris Kearns Goodwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-that-passion-and-desire-for-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-that-passion-and-desire-for-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_desire_whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-t_248012.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatever it is that you do, if you have that passion and desire for it, that's the most important thing.” — Doris Kearns Goodwin", "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": "Doris Kearns Goodwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whatever it is that you do,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-that-passion-and-desire-for-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/whatever-it-is-that-you-do-if-you-have-that-passion-and-desire-for-it/#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 } } ] } ```