--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every great accomplishment of mankind has…" description: "\"Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by an extended period, often over many years, of concentrated effort.\" — Earl Nightingale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png" --- # Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by… ![“Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by an extended period, often over many years, of concentrated effort.” quote by Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png) > “Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by an extended period, often over many years, of concentrated effort.” [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Significant achievements arise after long, focused preparation, not sudden inspiration. **In simple terms:** Great work follows sustained effort. Key Takeaway Invest time in focused practice. Themes perseverance preparation achievement Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career advancement - scientific research - artistic creation - entrepreneurship Key Concepts Goal setting deliberate practice Questions to Reflect On - What long‑term effort are you neglecting? - How do you maintain focus over years? A Different Perspective Success may still need luck or external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Accomplishment Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment-mankind-2703952/) [Concentrated Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrated-effort-1291651/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Great accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-accomplishment/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mankind Preceded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind-preceded-2703954/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Concentrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-concentrated-2703953/) ## Related quotes > [People are used to seeing natural history programmes that have been filmed over many years which are concentrated, focused visions of natural history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backshall/people-are-used-to-seeing-natural-history-programmes-that-have-been/) [Steve Backshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backshall/) > [Making the playoffs three consecutive seasons is a great accomplishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pau-gasol/making-the-playoffs-three-consecutive-seasons-is-a-great/) [Pau Gasol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pau-gasol/) > [Every great accomplishment starts with a first step. No matter how big your goals are. No matter how great your plans are. No matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-anderson/every-great-accomplishment-starts-with-a-first-step-no-matter-how-big/) [Clifton Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-anderson/) > [Virtually every subject is most effectively learned directly from the greatest thinkers, historians, artists, philosophers, scientists, prophets and their original works. Great works inspire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/virtually-every-subject-is-most-effectively-learned-directly-from-the/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [You are certainly wrong to compare suicide ... with great accomplishments, since it cannot be considered as anything but a weakness. After all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/you-are-certainly-wrong-to-compare-suicide-with-great-accomplishments/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I never thought that Bill Clinton should be the president. When he was running to be the president of the United States, he said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-never-thought-that-bill-clinton-should-be-the-president-when-he-was/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [People underestimate the importance of dilligence as a virtue. No doubt it has something to do with how supremely mundane it seems. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/people-underestimate-the-importance-of-dilligence-as-a-virtue-no/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Every great human achievement is preceeded by extended periods of dedicated, concentrated effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/every-great-human-achievement-is-preceeded-by-extended-periods-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Has your work become very easy? Do you find you can do it with little effort? Has it ceased to impose any strain or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/has-your-work-become-very-easy-do-you-find-you-can-do-it-with-little/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Every great human achievement is proceeded by extended periods of dedicated, concentrated effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/every-great-human-achievement-is-proceeded-by-extended-periods-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I've always been very one-sided about science, and when I was younger, I concentrated almost all my effort on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/i-ve-always-been-very-one-sided-about-science-and-when-i-was-younger/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Put forth the necessary concentrated effort and you will be wonderfully helped form sources unknown to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-walker-atkinson/put-forth-the-necessary-concentrated-effort-and-you-will-be/) [William Walker Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-walker-atkinson/) > [Persistence is nothing more than Concentrated Effort mixed with Determination and Faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/persistence-is-nothing-more-than-concentrated-effort-mixed-with/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The greatest accomplishment is not in never failing, but in rising again after you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/the-greatest-accomplishment-is-not-in-never-failing-but-in-rising/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) > [I started reading about people of great accomplishment... and it dawned on me suddenly that the person who has the most to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/i-started-reading-about-people-of-great-accomplishment-and-it-dawned/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) ## More by Earl Nightingale > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [People don't have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/people-don-t-have-great-attitudes-because-of-great-success-they-have/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-more-intensely-we-feel-about-an-idea-or-a-goal-the-more-assuredly/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.\[so we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-all-walk-in-the-dark-and-each-of-us-must-learn-to-turn-on-his-or/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-minimize-the-things-we-can-do-the-goals-we-can-accomplish/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [You can predict a person?s future and divine his bank balance if you know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/you-can-predict-a-person-s-future-and-divine-his-bank-balance-if-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do; our ability to do it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-amount-of-money-we-receive-will-always-be-in-direct-ratio-to-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“And the greatest teacher of them all, the carpenter from the plains of Galilee, gave us the Secret time and time again, "As ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/and-the-greatest-teacher-of-them-all-the-carpenter-from-the-plains-of/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [A success is anyone who is doing deliberately a pre-determined job, because that's what he decided to do deliberately. But only one out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/a-success-is-anyone-who-is-doing-deliberately-a-pre-determined-job/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-to-believe-that-you-are/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We may avoid the laws of man, but there are greater laws that can't be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-may-avoid-the-laws-of-man-but-there-are-greater-laws-that-can-t-be/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) [Explore all 213 Earl Nightingale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More Accomplishment quotes > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-most-important-rules-for-success-is-this-every-great/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [I'm not always right, but I learn from my mistakes and make it a productive experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-kolhoff/i-m-not-always-right-but-i-learn-from-my-mistakes-and-make-it-a/) [Carson Kolhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-kolhoff/) > [Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/suffering-in-life-can-uncover-untold-depths-of-character-and-unknown/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“One man accomplishment Is another mans failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-sargent/one-man-accomplishment-is-another-mans-failure/) [Anthony Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-sargent/) > [I expected college to feel like a major accomplishment. I walked across the stage, eight months pregnant with my almost seven-year-old daughter watching in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-expected-college-to-feel-like-a-major-accomplishment-i-walked/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [Our purpose on this earth is not one single event, an accomplishment we can check off a list. There is no test. No passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/our-purpose-on-this-earth-is-not-one-single-event-an-accomplishment/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/an-untrained-or-uneducated-marine-deployed-to-the-combat-zone-is-a/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) [Browse all 1,598 Accomplishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by an extended period, often over many years, of concentrated effort.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Earl Nightingale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-has-been-preceded-by-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accomplishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-has-been-preceded-by-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/earl-nightingale-1728_accomplishment_every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-ha_1075700.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every great accomplishment of mankind has been preceded by an extended period, often over many years, of…” — Earl Nightingale", "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": "Earl Nightingale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every great accomplishment of mankind has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-has-been-preceded-by-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/every-great-accomplishment-of-mankind-has-been-preceded-by-an/#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 } } ] } ```