--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In plain words, you’ve got to make up…" description: "\"“In plain words, you’ve got to make up your mind to study whatever you undertake, and concentrate your mind on it, and really work at it. This isn’t wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/354/eugene-o-neill-4173_education_in-plain-words-you-ve-got-to-make-up-you_2759165.jpg" --- # In plain words, you’ve got to make up your mind to study… ![“In plain words, you’ve got to make up your mind to study whatever you undertake, and concentrate your mind on it, and really work at it. This isn’t wisdom. Any damned fool in the world knows it’s true, whether it’s a question of raising horses or writing plays. You simply have to face the prospect…” quote by Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/354/eugene-o-neill-4173_education_in-plain-words-you-ve-got-to-make-up-you_2759165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/354/eugene-o-neill-4173_education_in-plain-words-you-ve-got-to-make-up-you_2759165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/354/eugene-o-neill-4173_education_in-plain-words-you-ve-got-to-make-up-you_2759165.jpg) > ““In plain words, you’ve got to make up your mind to study whatever you undertake, and concentrate your mind on it, and really work at it. This isn’t wisdom. Any damned fool in the world knows it’s true, whether it’s a question of raising horses or writing plays. You simply have to face the prospect of starting at the bottom and spending years learning how to do it.”” [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success requires deliberate focus, commitment, and willingness to start from the bottom and learn over years. **In simple terms:** Hard work and focus lead to mastery. Key Takeaway Commit fully to your chosen pursuit. Themes discipline learning perseverance Mood determined inspirational Type motivational practical When to use this quote - career advancement - artistic practice - skill acquisition - academic study Key Concepts growth mindset expertise development Questions to Reflect On - What area of your life needs deeper focus? - How can you structure consistent practice? A Different Perspective Talent alone is insufficient without sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Grit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grit/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Amusement to an observing mind is study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/amusement-to-an-observing-mind-is-study/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [The way of the mind is to study many things; the way of the Beingness is to focus on one thing...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/the-way-of-the-mind-is-to-study-many-things-the-way-of-the-beingness/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) > [“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/to-develop-a-complete-mind-study-the-science-of-art-study-the-art-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-use-your-mind-to-study-reality-you-won-t-understand-either-2/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [Just like there are different roads that lead to different places, so there are different levels of awareness that lead to different places and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/just-like-there-are-different-roads-that-lead-to-different-places-so/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We can work out anything if we put our mind to it, study it, do hard work instead of finding simple answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-can-work-out-anything-if-we-put-our-mind-to-it-study-it-do-hard/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [One wears one's mind out in study, and yet has more mind with which to study. One gives away one's heart in love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-steinberg/one-wears-one-s-mind-out-in-study-and-yet-has-more-mind-with-which-to/) [Milton Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-steinberg/) > ['Study' was the cry that reverberated in the corridors of my mind. Study to enable yourself to face the arguments advanced by opposition. Study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/study-was-the-cry-that-reverberated-in-the-corridors-of-my-mind-study/) [Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/) > [If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-use-your-mind-to-study-reality-you-won-t-understand-either/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [There are some careers that will develop your mind more than others. In the study of enlightenment, it is most important to develop your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-some-careers-that-will-develop-your-mind-more-than-others/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Our minds are forced to become fixed upon different things by an attraction in them which we cannot resist. To control the mind, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-minds-are-forced-to-become-fixed-upon-different-things-by-an/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Because any fool knows that to work hard at something you want to accomplish is the only way to be happy. But beyond that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/because-any-fool-knows-that-to-work-hard-at-something-you-want-to/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“It is best not to dwell in the past,nor dream of the future.But it is better to concentrate the mind on the present moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacksin-taviri/it-is-best-not-to-dwell-in-the-past-nor-dream-of-the-future-but-it-is/) [jacksin taviri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacksin-taviri/) > [Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-scott-momaday/once-in-his-life-a-man-ought-to-concentrate-his-mind-upon-the/) [N. Scott Momaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-scott-momaday/) > [Deadlines concentrate the mind. But deadlines should not be dogmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/deadlines-concentrate-the-mind-but-deadlines-should-not-be-dogmas/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) ## More by Eugene O'Neill > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [We need above all to learn again to believe in the possibility of nobility of spirit in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-need-above-all-to-learn-again-to-believe-in-the-possibility-of/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The past is the present, isn’t it? It’s the future too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-past-is-the-present-isn-t-it-it-s-the-future-too/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“You can't be too careful about work. It's the most dangerous habit known to medical science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/you-can-t-be-too-careful-about-work-it-s-the-most-dangerous-habit/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-for-each-man-a-solitary-cell-whose-walls-are-mirrors/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“LARRY--(with increasing bitter intensity, more as if he were fighting with himself than with Hickey) I'm afraid to live, am I?--and even more afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/larry-with-increasing-bitter-intensity-more-as-if-he-were-fighting/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The child was diseased at birth, stricken with a hereditary ill that only the most vital men are able to shake off. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/the-child-was-diseased-at-birth-stricken-with-a-hereditary-ill-that/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Drunken with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you will. But be drunken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/drunken-with-what-with-wine-with-poetry-or-with-virtue-as-you-will/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“Now I have to lie, especially to myself. But how can you understand, when I don't myself. I've never understood anything about it, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/now-i-have-to-lie-especially-to-myself-but-how-can-you-understand/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [We are such things as rubbish is made of, so let's drink up and forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/we-are-such-things-as-rubbish-is-made-of-so-let-s-drink-up-and-forget/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/curiosity-killed-the-cat-but-satisfaction-brought-it-back/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [How thick the fog is. I can't see the road. All the people in the world could pass by and I would never know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/how-thick-the-fog-is-i-can-t-see-the-road-all-the-people-in-the-world/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [I hate doctors! They'll do anything... to keep you coming to them. They'll sell their souls. What's worse, they'll sell yours, and you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/i-hate-doctors-they-ll-do-anything-to-keep-you-coming-to-them-they-ll/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Like a saint's vision of beatitude. Like the veil of things as they seem drawn back by an unseen hand. For a second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/like-a-saint-s-vision-of-beatitude-like-the-veil-of-things-as-they/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again-now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/there-is-no-present-or-future-only-the-past-happening-over-and-over/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) [Explore all 114 Eugene O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) ## More Education 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 > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In plain words, you’ve got to make up your mind to study whatever you undertake, and concentrate your mind on it, and really work at it. 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