--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing between you and success is…" description: "\"The only thing between you and success is your thinking. Defeatist thoughts are the mother of inaction.\" — Iimani David" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/iimani-david-27199_defeatist_the-only-thing-between-you-and-success-i_2808949.png" --- # The only thing between you and success is your thinking… ![“The only thing between you and success is your thinking. Defeatist thoughts are the mother of inaction.” quote by Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/iimani-david-27199_defeatist_the-only-thing-between-you-and-success-i_2808949.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/iimani-david-27199_defeatist_the-only-thing-between-you-and-success-i_2808949.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/iimani-david-27199_defeatist_the-only-thing-between-you-and-success-i_2808949.png) > “The only thing between you and success is your thinking. Defeatist thoughts are the mother of inaction.” [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoughts shape outcomes; negative thinking blocks action and success. **In simple terms:** Mindset determines achievement; defeatism stops progress. Key Takeaway Cultivate positive thinking to enable success. Themes psychology motivation success Mood motivational determined Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - career - personal development - entrepreneurship Key Concepts cognitive reframing goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What practices transform defeatist thoughts? - How can you sustain constructive mindset under pressure? A Different Perspective Positive thinking alone may not overcome external barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeatist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeatist/) [Inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaction/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Defeatist thoughts handicap persons from elevating their mechanistic life to superior states. The majority of persons consider themselves defeated even before beginning the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/defeatist-thoughts-handicap-persons-from-elevating-their-mechanistic/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [I've achieved a certain amount of success and now I'm thinking about the good things I can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-greiner/i-ve-achieved-a-certain-amount-of-success-and-now-i-m-thinking-about/) [Lori Greiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-greiner/) > [Whether your focus is on preserving and strengthening family ties in a world of increasingly unstable relationships, gaining access to a decent job, growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/whether-your-focus-is-on-preserving-and-strengthening-family-ties-in/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Failure-it centers me. Too much success has me thinking, All right, what's goin' on?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/failure-it-centers-me-too-much-success-has-me-thinking-all-right-what/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [When we talk about climate, we need to do everything we can to set the stage before the actors come on. And they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/when-we-talk-about-climate-we-need-to-do-everything-we-can-to-set-the/) [David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/) > [“Today is the day for success thinking, activities, and vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-briscoe/today-is-the-day-for-success-thinking-activities-and-vision/) Karen Briscoe > [“Because he refused to adopt a defeatist attitude, he overcame the obstacles in his path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-dobson/because-he-refused-to-adopt-a-defeatist-attitude-he-overcame-the/) [James C. Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-dobson/) > [“Defeatist Christians who do not fight against sins because they figure they were “born this way” or “will never change” or “don’t have enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/defeatist-christians-who-do-not-fight-against-sins-because-they/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [Defeatist, you and I will never be the same! I've taken this vow of hatred. A promise to myself to never be my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hatebreed/defeatist-you-and-i-will-never-be-the-same-i-ve-taken-this-vow-of/) [Hatebreed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hatebreed/) > [The single biggest surprise about arriving to the Senate is the defeatist attitude here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-single-biggest-surprise-about-arriving-to-the-senate-is-the/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Don't be defeatist, dear, it's very middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/don-t-be-defeatist-dear-it-s-very-middle-class/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Can't is the tool of the defeatist. You have to believe, and you have to fight if you want your dreams to come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-michael-hardy/can-t-is-the-tool-of-the-defeatist-you-have-to-believe-and-you-have/) [D Michael Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-michael-hardy/) > [“If I felt less, I could do more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/if-i-felt-less-i-could-do-more/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It's defeatist to harp on what might have been, and yet, it's hard to resist considering what might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/it-s-defeatist-to-harp-on-what-might-have-been-and-yet-it-s-hard-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [A defeatist spirit must inevitably lead to disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-znosko-borovsky/a-defeatist-spirit-must-inevitably-lead-to-disaster/) [Eugene Znosko-Borovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-znosko-borovsky/) ## More by Iimani David > [“God is in the questions, not the answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/god-is-in-the-questions-not-the-answers/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“Art cannot be bought or sold. It can only be created or destroyed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/art-cannot-be-bought-or-sold-it-can-only-be-created-or-destroyed/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [Love changes things; hope allows us to endure until the change arrives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/love-changes-things-hope-allows-us-to-endure-until-the-change-arrives/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [The market follows the artist. The artist does not follow the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/the-market-follows-the-artist-the-artist-does-not-follow-the-market/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [If it's too easy it's probably not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/if-it-s-too-easy-it-s-probably-not-love/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [Think about it. Every time you fail at a task you've actually learned something new. The question is "what?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/think-about-it-every-time-you-fail-at-a-task-you-ve-actually-learned/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“Life's a bitch but i love it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/life-s-a-bitch-but-i-love-it/) [iimani david](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [A peaceful soul haunts the warring mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/a-peaceful-soul-haunts-the-warring-mind/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [Your spirit lives on in your work. YOU decide what manner of work that will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/your-spirit-lives-on-in-your-work-you-decide-what-manner-of-work-that/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [To protect themselves, the weak focus on the "bad" in people. Conversely, the strong, who fear little, focus on the "good".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/to-protect-themselves-the-weak-focus-on-the-bad-in-people-conversely/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“Art is what separates us from the animals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/art-is-what-separates-us-from-the-animals/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“Art is in you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/art-is-in-you/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [Thirty-nine years of my life had passed before I understood that clouds were not my enemy; that they were beautiful, and that I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/thirty-nine-years-of-my-life-had-passed-before-i-understood-that/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [The problem with at-home IQ tests is that too many people wouldn't understand the results. Calling customer service is a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/the-problem-with-at-home-iq-tests-is-that-too-many-people-wouldn-t/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [“All things pass away. Only Love and her creations endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/all-things-pass-away-only-love-and-her-creations-endure/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) [Explore all 21 Iimani David quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) ## More Defeatist quotes > [Defeatist thoughts handicap persons from elevating their mechanistic life to superior states. The majority of persons consider themselves defeated even before beginning the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/defeatist-thoughts-handicap-persons-from-elevating-their-mechanistic/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [“If I felt less, I could do more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/if-i-felt-less-i-could-do-more/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It's defeatist to harp on what might have been, and yet, it's hard to resist considering what might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/it-s-defeatist-to-harp-on-what-might-have-been-and-yet-it-s-hard-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [The single biggest surprise about arriving to the Senate is the defeatist attitude here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-single-biggest-surprise-about-arriving-to-the-senate-is-the/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [A defeatist spirit must inevitably lead to disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-znosko-borovsky/a-defeatist-spirit-must-inevitably-lead-to-disaster/) [Eugene Znosko-Borovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-znosko-borovsky/) > [Can't is the tool of the defeatist. You have to believe, and you have to fight if you want your dreams to come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-michael-hardy/can-t-is-the-tool-of-the-defeatist-you-have-to-believe-and-you-have/) [D Michael Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-michael-hardy/) > [Don't be defeatist, dear, it's very middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/don-t-be-defeatist-dear-it-s-very-middle-class/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Defeatist, you and I will never be the same! I've taken this vow of hatred. A promise to myself to never be my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hatebreed/defeatist-you-and-i-will-never-be-the-same-i-ve-taken-this-vow-of/) [Hatebreed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hatebreed/) > [“Defeatist Christians who do not fight against sins because they figure they were “born this way” or “will never change” or “don’t have enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/defeatist-christians-who-do-not-fight-against-sins-because-they/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [“Because he refused to adopt a defeatist attitude, he overcame the obstacles in his path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-dobson/because-he-refused-to-adopt-a-defeatist-attitude-he-overcame-the/) [James C. Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-dobson/) > [“The attitude of “I can’t” is really a decision of “I won’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-attitude-of-i-can-t-is-really-a-decision-of-i-won-t/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“You need to stop this defeatist aura around you. When you project sadness, you push people away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felice-stevens/you-need-to-stop-this-defeatist-aura-around-you-when-you-project/) Felice Stevens > [I'm not going to take this defeatist attitude and listen to all this crap any more from all these people who have nothing except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-shelby/i-m-not-going-to-take-this-defeatist-attitude-and-listen-to-all-this/) [Carroll Shelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-shelby/) > [To stop challenging someone from using anti-gay language simply because they persist in using anti-gay language strikes me as a defeatist approach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/to-stop-challenging-someone-from-using-anti-gay-language-simply/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [“Her eyes, which refused to meet mine, had the defensive coldness of those who are determined to lose hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/her-eyes-which-refused-to-meet-mine-had-the-defensive-coldness-of/) [iris murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Browse all 22 Defeatist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeatist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only thing between you and success is your thinking. 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