---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether people were great or not, there…"
description: "\"“Whether people were great or not, there was not much variety in their inner life experience. Any difference lay merely in how they dealt with common h..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg"
---

#  Whether people were great or not, there was not much…

![“Whether people were great or not, there was not much variety in their inner life experience. Any difference lay merely in how they dealt with common human weaknesses.” quote by Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg)

> ““Whether people were great or not, there was not much variety in their inner life experience. Any difference lay merely in how they dealt with common human weaknesses.””

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Inner life varies little; differences arise from how people manage common weaknesses, not from extraordinary traits.

**In simple terms:** People differ mainly in handling flaws.

Key Takeaway

Focus on improving how you deal with weaknesses.

Themes

personal growth human nature psychology

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- relationship counseling
- leadership training
- self‑help reading
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

character development self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- What common weakness do you manage best?
- How can you cultivate healthier coping strategies?

A Different Perspective

Emphasizing inner work may overlook structural or external factors influencing behavior.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Common Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-human-1033624/) [Human Weaknesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-weaknesses-460046/) [Inner life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-experience/) [People Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-great/) [Weaknesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weaknesses/)

## Related quotes

> [“You talking about computer weaknesses?" "Yes. But also human weaknesses." "Meaning what?" "Meaning the types of weaknesses that make humans let down their guard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/you-talking-about-computer-weaknesses-yes-but-also-human-weaknesses/)

[Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/)

> [Making use of human weaknesses in intelligence work is a logical matter. It keeps coming up, and of course you try to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/making-use-of-human-weaknesses-in-intelligence-work-is-a-logical/)

[Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/)

> [We're all human; we all have weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-foles/we-re-all-human-we-all-have-weaknesses/)

[Nick Foles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-foles/)

> [“But if love and friendship are weaknesses, they are basic human weaknesses: by which I mean that they are weaknesses so endemic to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-slote/but-if-love-and-friendship-are-weaknesses-they-are-basic-human/)

[Michael Slote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-slote/)

> [Im human. I have weaknesses, I make mistakes, and I experience sadness; but I learn from all these things and they make me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-human-i-have-weaknesses-i-make-mistakes-and-i-experience-sadness/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-word-god-is-for-me-nothing-more-than-the-expression-and-product-4/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [“Herein lies the great difference between divine weakness and human weakness, the wounds of Christ and the wounds of man. Two human weaknesses only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/herein-lies-the-great-difference-between-divine-weakness-and-human/)

[Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/)

> [Im just human, I have weaknesses, I make mistakes and I experience sadness; But I learn from all these things to make me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-just-human-i-have-weaknesses-i-make-mistakes-and-i-experience/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“How many loves fail because, in an unconscious effort to make our weaknesses more strong, we link with others precisely at those points? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/how-many-loves-fail-because-in-an-unconscious-effort-to-make-our/)

[Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/)

> [“Hornblower worked as hard to conceal his human weaknesses as some men worked to conceal ignoble birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-forester-2/hornblower-worked-as-hard-to-conceal-his-human-weaknesses-as-some-men/)

[C.S. Forester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-forester-2/)

> [In a different time, in a different place, it is always some other side of our common human nature that has been developing itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/in-a-different-time-in-a-different-place-it-is-always-some-other-side/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [The common moral praxis of Jews and Christians is most definitely theologically informed by the doctrine we share in common: The human person, male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/the-common-moral-praxis-of-jews-and-christians-is-most-definitely/)

[David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/)

> [The most beautiful lives, to my mind, are those that conform to the common human pattern, with order, but without miracle and without eccentricity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-most-beautiful-lives-to-my-mind-are-those-that-conform-to-the/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [“Common human experience alone is no guarantee with which we can build a science of psychology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/common-human-experience-alone-is-no-guarantee-with-which-we-can-build/)

[Wolfgang Köhler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/)

> [The one thing we all have in common is that we're human. Why pay more attention to the things that make us different over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/the-one-thing-we-all-have-in-common-is-that-we-re-human-why-pay-more/)

[T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/)

## More by Eiji Yoshikawa

> [“How was Gengo to know, Saigyo reflected, that this unheroic existence imposed even greater torment than the icy lashings of the Nachi Falls in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/how-was-gengo-to-know-saigyo-reflected-that-this-unheroic-existence/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [The world is a stone wall ... and they have put the stones so close together that there is not a single crack through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/the-world-is-a-stone-wall-and-they-have-put-the-stones-so-close/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“He used to say that a true rōnin did not seek fame or profit, did not curry favor with the powerful, did not attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/he-used-to-say-that-a-true-r-nin-did-not-seek-fame-or-profit-did-not/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“A wanderer with no ideal, no sense of gratitude for his independence, is no more than a beggar! The difference between a beggar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/a-wanderer-with-no-ideal-no-sense-of-gratitude-for-his-independence/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“Lord Karasumaru considered it a grave mistake on the part of the gods to have made a man like himself a nobleman. And, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/lord-karasumaru-considered-it-a-grave-mistake-on-the-part-of-the-gods/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“I can only bow to the will of the heaven, but not to the will of these men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/i-can-only-bow-to-the-will-of-the-heaven-but-not-to-the-will-of-these/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“People were born with two hands; why not use both of them? As it was, swordsmen fought with only one sword, and often one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/people-were-born-with-two-hands-why-not-use-both-of-them-as-it-was/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“If the talents I was born with are the right ones, I may someday achieve my goal. If not, I may go through life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/if-the-talents-i-was-born-with-are-the-right-ones-i-may-someday/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“kalau agama itu ajaran sehat, kita tak akan membutuhkan nabi-nabi untuk menyampaikannya kepada kita. -Takuan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/kalau-agama-itu-ajaran-sehat-kita-tak-akan-membutuhkan-nabi-nabi/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“Fighting isn’t all there is to the Art of War. The men who think that way, and are satisfied to have food to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/fighting-isn-t-all-there-is-to-the-art-of-war-the-men-who-think-that/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [The line between life and death is not thicker than an eyelid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/the-line-between-life-and-death-is-not-thicker-than-an-eyelid/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“How to make his mother, whom he imagined to be the unhappiest person in the world, the happiest, was what drove him on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/how-to-make-his-mother-whom-he-imagined-to-be-the-unhappiest-person/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [I wouldn't say Musashi is ordinary. But he is. That's what's extraordinary about him. He is not content to rely on whatever natural gifts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/i-wouldn-t-say-musashi-is-ordinary-but-he-is-that-s-what-s/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [“Musashi wondered how many people there were who on this night could say: “I was right. I did what I should have done. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/musashi-wondered-how-many-people-there-were-who-on-this-night-could/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

> [The greatest happiness of life was to stand at the difficult border between success and failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/the-greatest-happiness-of-life-was-to-stand-at-the-difficult-border/)

[Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

[Explore all 80 Eiji Yoshikawa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/)

## More Inner life quotes

> [“if you act (and dress) as if you have a fascinating inner life, you may soon find that you actually do—and that you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-act-and-dress-as-if-you-have-a-fascinating-inner-life-you-may/)

[Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/)

> [For me, psychology and art interact and overlap in so many ways. Psychology is the study of the inner life and creativity comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-carlin-mccall/for-me-psychology-and-art-interact-and-overlap-in-so-many-ways/)

[Kelly Carlin-McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-carlin-mccall/)

> [World power means nothing. Only the unsayable, jeweled inner life matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/world-power-means-nothing-only-the-unsayable-jeweled-inner-life/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

> [“A woman carries her inner life—lugs it around or holds it in like fumes that both poison and bless her—while nourishing another’s inner life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/a-woman-carries-her-inner-life-lugs-it-around-or-holds-it-in-like/)

[Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/)

> [Music is our myth of the inner life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/music-is-our-myth-of-the-inner-life/)

[Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/)

> [ There were really funny characteristics about this guy \[Richard Nixon\], chief of which would be that he seemed to devote about 85 percent of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-shearer/there-were-really-funny-characteristics-about-this-guy-richard-nixon/)

[Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-shearer/)

> [“We live in the most ‘connected’ time ever… yet loneliness is everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roche-uccello/we-live-in-the-most-connected-time-ever-yet-loneliness-is-everywhere/)

[Roche Uccello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roche-uccello/)

> [There is not a place to which the Christian can withdraw from the world, whether it be outwardly or in the sphere of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-not-a-place-to-which-the-christian-can-withdraw-from-the/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/)

[Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/)

> [Art, when inspired with love, leads to higher realms. Love art and that art will open for you the inner life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/art-when-inspired-with-love-leads-to-higher-realms-love-art-and-that/)

[Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/)

> [I thought it would be really cool to show the world the inner life of someone like me, who doesn't have a huge personality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/i-thought-it-would-be-really-cool-to-show-the-world-the-inner-life-of/)

[Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/)

> [“Here is a masterly study of the inner life by a heart thirsting after God, eager to grasp at least the outskirts of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/here-is-a-masterly-study-of-the-inner-life-by-a-heart-thirsting-after/)

[A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/)

> [One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/one-cannot-be-a-good-historian-of-the-outward-visible-world-without/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/)

[Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/)

[Browse all 445 Inner life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Whether people were great or not, there was not much variety in their inner life experience. Any difference lay merely in how they dealt with common human weaknesses.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eiji Yoshikawa"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-was-not-much-variety-in-their/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inner life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-was-not-much-variety-in-their/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/eiji-yoshikawa-7381_inner-life_whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-w_492186.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Whether people were great or not, there was not much variety in their inner life experience. Any difference…” — Eiji Yoshikawa",
                "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": "Eiji Yoshikawa",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Whether people were great or not,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-was-not-much-variety-in-their/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/whether-people-were-great-or-not-there-was-not-much-variety-in-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
