--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have all my life been considering…" description: "\"“I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future,” he wrote. “In laying..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg" --- # I have all my life been considering distant effects and… ![“I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future,” he wrote. “In laying out Central Park we determined to think of no result to be realized in less than forty years.” quote by Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg) > ““I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future,” he wrote. “In laying out Central Park we determined to think of no result to be realized in less than forty years.”” [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He emphasizes planning for long‑term impact over short‑term praise, using Central Park as an example of visionary patience. **In simple terms:** Focus on future benefits, not immediate applause. Key Takeaway Prioritize lasting value. Themes vision patience legacy urban planning Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - city development - environmental projects - policy making Key Concepts long‑term planning public works strategic foresight Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance present needs with future goals? - What sacrifices are worth making for lasting impact? A Different Perspective Short‑term gains can be tempting and may divert resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Central park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-park/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“To produce the kind of landscape effects Olmsted strived to create required not months but years, even decades. "I have all my life been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/to-produce-the-kind-of-landscape-effects-olmsted-strived-to-create/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Let's escape the past. The past didn't work. All we have is the future, and I'm the one who wrote "no future for you!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/let-s-escape-the-past-the-past-didn-t-work-all-we-have-is-the-future/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [When my parents died, it became clear to me that there was an end in sight. Death was never a real thing to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-baker/when-my-parents-died-it-became-clear-to-me-that-there-was-an-end-in/) [Rick Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-baker/) > [Someone said to me a long time ago, 'You're a drag queen,' and at the time I was a little like... hello? But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-murphy/someone-said-to-me-a-long-time-ago-you-re-a-drag-queen-and-at-the/) [Roisin Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-murphy/) > [For me, music was an age/time/place thing. One day I woke up and realized I was done. That was many years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/for-me-music-was-an-age-time-place-thing-one-day-i-woke-up-and/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [What I've realized over the years is that I have some pretty good friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/what-i-ve-realized-over-the-years-is-that-i-have-some-pretty-good/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [He's only 4 years old, so I don't think he realized, you know, that I played so many years. Of course, we watch tapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-lemieux/he-s-only-4-years-old-so-i-don-t-think-he-realized-you-know-that-i/) [Mario Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-lemieux/) > [I did 'Animal House' in 1978, then 'Local Hero' in 1983, and then in '88, 'Crossing Delancey.' And I realized that every three to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-riegert/i-did-animal-house-in-1978-then-local-hero-in-1983-and-then-in-88/) [Peter Riegert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-riegert/) > [“I once saw her throw a Juicy Fruit wrapper on the ground in Central Park. She doesn’t even feel guilty about littering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/i-once-saw-her-throw-a-juicy-fruit-wrapper-on-the-ground-in-central/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [When I thought about Detroit, I would think big city, very urban - not a lot of places to walk around, not a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-cummings/when-i-thought-about-detroit-i-would-think-big-city-very-urban-not-a/) [Erin Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-cummings/) > [“She was perhaps seventeen when it happened. She was in Central Park, in New York. It was too warm for such an early spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/she-was-perhaps-seventeen-when-it-happened-she-was-in-central-park-in/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I'm the only woman who can walk in Central Park at night... and reduce the crime rate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/i-m-the-only-woman-who-can-walk-in-central-park-at-night-and-reduce/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [“Go ahead, throw this book away. Spit on me. Revile me. I dare you. Cast me out of your intellectual orbit. Throw me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/go-ahead-throw-this-book-away-spit-on-me-revile-me-i-dare-you-cast-me/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“But the heat and the drought were in some ways the least of it. On May 9 a colossal dust storm had swung out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-james-brown/but-the-heat-and-the-drought-were-in-some-ways-the-least-of-it-on-may/) [Daniel James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-james-brown/) > [“Then she began to mutter to herself and gesture to the empty air. oh. Sonny sighed. Just another central park crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/then-she-began-to-mutter-to-herself-and-gesture-to-the-empty-air-oh/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) ## More by Erik Larson > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“look as if they had been plucked from the Palace of Versailles or a Jacobean mansion—that you were aboard a ship being propelled far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/look-as-if-they-had-been-plucked-from-the-palace-of-versailles-or-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [That's what I love about history - nuance. I don't believe in unalloyed heroes. Everyone's got warts, and everyone's got a surprise side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/that-s-what-i-love-about-history-nuance-i-don-t-believe-in-unalloyed/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Holmes was charming and gracious, but something about him made Belknap uneasy. He could not have defined it. Indeed, for the next several decades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/holmes-was-charming-and-gracious-but-something-about-him-made-belknap/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [. . . why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/why-some-men-choose-to-fill-their-brief-allotment-of-time-engaging/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“At present," he said, "I am responsible for conveying my associates to a place called Chicago. I understand it is somewhere in the hinterland.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/at-present-he-said-i-am-responsible-for-conveying-my-associates-to-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I knew from an online search that the Wisconsin State Historical Society, on the vast University of Wisconsin campus, held the papers of Sigrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-knew-from-an-online-search-that-the-wisconsin-state-historical/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Dodd continued to hope that the murders would so outrage the German public that the regime would fall, but as the days passed he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/dodd-continued-to-hope-that-the-murders-would-so-outrage-the-german/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I envy other writers who claim to have a backlog of books they'd like to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-envy-other-writers-who-claim-to-have-a-backlog-of-books-they-d-like/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Trying to find ideas is the hardest part of my job. You'd think it would be the most fun. Just sitting around reading whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/trying-to-find-ideas-is-the-hardest-part-of-my-job-you-d-think-it/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Her blind endorsement of Hitler’s regime first faded to a kind of sympathetic skepticism, but as summer approached,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/her-blind-endorsement-of-hitler-s-regime-first-faded-to-a-kind-of/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Perhaps, Herr Ditzen, it is less important where one lives than how one lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/perhaps-herr-ditzen-it-is-less-important-where-one-lives-than-how-one/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I figured, correctly, that Berlin in February was not a destination coveted by tourists. I found good airfares on Lufthansa, an airline I quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-figured-correctly-that-berlin-in-february-was-not-a-destination/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“It was truly a transitional moment: There he was, at the cusp of the twentieth century, using the telephone to send a telegram.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/it-was-truly-a-transitional-moment-there-he-was-at-the-cusp-of-the/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) [Explore all 214 Erik Larson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More Central park quotes > [“Then she began to mutter to herself and gesture to the empty air. oh. Sonny sighed. Just another central park crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/then-she-began-to-mutter-to-herself-and-gesture-to-the-empty-air-oh/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) > [“But the heat and the drought were in some ways the least of it. On May 9 a colossal dust storm had swung out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-james-brown/but-the-heat-and-the-drought-were-in-some-ways-the-least-of-it-on-may/) [Daniel James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-james-brown/) > [“Go ahead, throw this book away. Spit on me. Revile me. I dare you. Cast me out of your intellectual orbit. Throw me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/go-ahead-throw-this-book-away-spit-on-me-revile-me-i-dare-you-cast-me/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I'm the only woman who can walk in Central Park at night... and reduce the crime rate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/i-m-the-only-woman-who-can-walk-in-central-park-at-night-and-reduce/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [“She was perhaps seventeen when it happened. She was in Central Park, in New York. It was too warm for such an early spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/she-was-perhaps-seventeen-when-it-happened-she-was-in-central-park-in/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [When I thought about Detroit, I would think big city, very urban - not a lot of places to walk around, not a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-cummings/when-i-thought-about-detroit-i-would-think-big-city-very-urban-not-a/) [Erin Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-cummings/) > [“I once saw her throw a Juicy Fruit wrapper on the ground in Central Park. She doesn’t even feel guilty about littering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/i-once-saw-her-throw-a-juicy-fruit-wrapper-on-the-ground-in-central/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [Back in the mid '90s, I went to a film festival, and they were airing 'Central Park West' at the same time as this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madchen-amick/back-in-the-mid-90s-i-went-to-a-film-festival-and-they-were-airing/) [Madchen Amick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madchen-amick/) > [And the most unusual and surrealistic place in New York City is Central Park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/and-the-most-unusual-and-surrealistic-place-in-new-york-city-is/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) > [It was sweaty Whitney (Houston) in Central Park. She knew that park pretty well. Every bush!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/it-was-sweaty-whitney-houston-in-central-park-she-knew-that-park/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [“Structured Notes. These are perhaps one of the more exciting tools available today, but, unfortunately, they are rarely offered to the general public because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/structured-notes-these-are-perhaps-one-of-the-more-exciting-tools/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [I don't force myself to exercise; I find going to gyms really boring. I find it easier to go for a fast walk or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-brightman/i-don-t-force-myself-to-exercise-i-find-going-to-gyms-really-boring-i/) [Sarah Brightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-brightman/) > [“Tips for aliens in New York: ‘Land anywhere, Central Park, anywhere. No one will care, or indeed even notice. ‘Surviving: Get a job as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/tips-for-aliens-in-new-york-land-anywhere-central-park-anywhere-no/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Running in Central Park is my favorite thing to wake up and do. I have my own specific path that I have to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-ruess/running-in-central-park-is-my-favorite-thing-to-wake-up-and-do-i-have/) [Nate Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-ruess/) > [I've also gotten to play in front of a million people in Central Park when there was a grass roots movement calling for nuclear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-browne/i-ve-also-gotten-to-play-in-front-of-a-million-people-in-central-park/) [Jackson Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-browne/) [Browse all 161 Central park quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-park/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future,” he wrote. “In laying out Central Park we determined to think of no result to be realized in less than forty years.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erik Larson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-distant-effects-and-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Central park" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-distant-effects-and-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/erik-larson-1710_central-park_i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-dist_2688124.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to…” — Erik Larson", "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": "Erik Larson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have all my life been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-distant-effects-and-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-have-all-my-life-been-considering-distant-effects-and-always/#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 } } ] } ```