--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not try to do extraordinary things but…" description: "\"Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary things with intensity.\" — Emily Carr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png" --- # Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary… ![“Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary things with intensity.” quote by Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png) > “Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary things with intensity.” [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocating focus on intense, dedicated effort in everyday tasks rather than chasing grand feats. **In simple terms:** Intensity in ordinary work matters. Key Takeaway Apply full focus to daily tasks. Themes focus intensity humility Mood inspirational practical Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - daily chores - professional duties - creative practice Key Concepts work ethic mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can intensity lead to excellence? - When is extraordinary necessary? A Different Perspective May limit ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Extraordinary things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-things/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Things Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-intensity-3986509/) [Things Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-ordinary-295453/) [Try Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-extraordinary-3986510/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [The true call of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-call-of-a-christian-is-not-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/we-are-not-called-by-god-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-to-do/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The main goal in my life is to make extraordinary things out of the ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-grigolo/the-main-goal-in-my-life-is-to-make-extraordinary-things-out-of-the/) [Vittorio Grigolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-grigolo/) > [A great man may not do great things but they do ordinary things greatly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-great-man-may-not-do-great-things-but-they-do-ordinary-things/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Herd pressure is to be judged by two things: first, its intensity, and second, its direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/herd-pressure-is-to-be-judged-by-two-things-first-its-intensity-and/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Reuven, as you grow older you will discover that the most important thing that will happen to you will often come as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/reuven-as-you-grow-older-you-will-discover-that-the-most-important/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“But why would they do that? What is to be asked? He was a man who sees into things -- very ordinary things. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-connor/but-why-would-they-do-that-what-is-to-be-asked-he-was-a-man-who-sees/) [Joseph O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-connor/) > [Do not forget that the value and interest of life is not so much to do conspicuous things...as to do ordinary things with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/do-not-forget-that-the-value-and-interest-of-life-is-not-so-much-to/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [And this is what was fascinating to me about 'The Help'; they were ordinary people who did extraordinary things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/and-this-is-what-was-fascinating-to-me-about-the-help-they-were/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [You know, heroes are ordinary people that have achieved extraordinary things in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/you-know-heroes-are-ordinary-people-that-have-achieved-extraordinary/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [The interesting thing about Hain is that he's not a very interesting character. He's not fabulously clever. He's not a great policeman. He's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-coltraine/the-interesting-thing-about-hain-is-that-he-s-not-a-very-interesting/) [Robbie Coltraine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-coltraine/) > [“To be successful, you don't have to do extraordinary things. Just do ordinary things extraordinarily well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rohn/to-be-successful-you-don-t-have-to-do-extraordinary-things-just-do/) [John Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rohn/) > [Holiness doesn't mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/holiness-doesn-t-mean-doing-extraordinary-things-but-doing-ordinary/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Champions don’t do extraordinary things. They do ordinary things, but they do them without thinking, too fast for the other team to react. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/champions-don-t-do-extraordinary-things-they-do-ordinary-things-but/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [To be successful you don't need to do extraordinary things, you just need to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/to-be-successful-you-don-t-need-to-do-extraordinary-things-you-just/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) ## More by Emily Carr > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The biggest part of painting perhaps is faith, and waiting receptively, content to go any way, not planning or forcing. The fear, though, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-biggest-part-of-painting-perhaps-is-faith-and-waiting-receptively/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [What a splendid time Woo must have had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/what-a-splendid-time-woo-must-have-had/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The spirit must be felt so intensely that it has power to call others in passing, for it must pass, not stop in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-spirit-must-be-felt-so-intensely-that-it-has-power-to-call-others/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Inspiration is intention obeyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/inspiration-is-intention-obeyed/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Art being so much greater than ourselves, it will not give up once it has taken hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/art-being-so-much-greater-than-ourselves-it-will-not-give-up-once-it/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Oh, I wonder if I will ever feel the burst of birth-joy, that knowing that the indescribable, joyous thing that has wooed and wond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/oh-i-wonder-if-i-will-ever-feel-the-burst-of-birth-joy-that-knowing/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Sometimes I could quit paint and take to charring. It must be fine to clean perfectly, to shine and polish and know that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/sometimes-i-could-quit-paint-and-take-to-charring-it-must-be-fine-to/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [How badly I want that nameless thing! First there must be an idea, a feeling... Maybe it was an abstract idea that you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/how-badly-i-want-that-nameless-thing-first-there-must-be-an-idea-a/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The sun enriched the old poles grandly... The mothers expressed all womanhood - the big wooden hands holding the child were so full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-sun-enriched-the-old-poles-grandly-the-mothers-expressed-all/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Look at the earth crowded with growth, new and old bursting from their strong roots hidden in the silent, live ground, each seed according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/look-at-the-earth-crowded-with-growth-new-and-old-bursting-from-their/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Oh, the glory of growth, silent, mighty, persistent, inevitable! To awaken, to open up like a flower to the light of a fuller consciousness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/oh-the-glory-of-growth-silent-mighty-persistent-inevitable-to-awaken/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The earth is soaked and soggy with rain. Everything is drinking its fill and the surplus gluts the drains. The sky is full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-earth-is-soaked-and-soggy-with-rain-everything-is-drinking-its/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [So still were the big woods where I sat, sound might not yet have been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/so-still-were-the-big-woods-where-i-sat-sound-might-not-yet-have-been/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Got a new pup. He is half griffon. The other half is mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/got-a-new-pup-he-is-half-griffon-the-other-half-is-mistake/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) [Explore all 76 Emily Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) ## More Extraordinary quotes > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Newspapers have an extraordinary amount of local content, including real estate listings and restaurant reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/newspapers-have-an-extraordinary-amount-of-local-content-including/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [The contributions being made by Latinos are extraordinary, and we need to talk about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/the-contributions-being-made-by-latinos-are-extraordinary-and-we-need/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [Jeb Bush was supposed to be the establishment candidate, but he didn't catch on. And the extraordinary thing about this Republican primary is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/jeb-bush-was-supposed-to-be-the-establishment-candidate-but-he-didn-t/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [We are very fortunate to be recognized here in such an extraordinary manner for work that we enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/we-are-very-fortunate-to-be-recognized-here-in-such-an-extraordinary/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) > [My books are about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-robards/my-books-are-about-ordinary-people-caught-up-in-extraordinary/) [Karen Robards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-robards/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [It isn't necessary to seek out adventure. Opening to what is around you will produce the most extraordinary experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-lewis/it-isn-t-necessary-to-seek-out-adventure-opening-to-what-is-around/) [Edward B. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-lewis/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) [Browse all 2,906 Extraordinary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary things with intensity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Carr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-do-ordinary-things-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extraordinary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-do-ordinary-things-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c42/emily-carr-8993_extraordinary_do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-bu_2880086.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not try to do extraordinary things but do ordinary things with intensity.” — Emily Carr", "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": "Emily Carr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not try to do extraordinary...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-do-ordinary-things-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/do-not-try-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-do-ordinary-things-with/#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 } } ] } ```