---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It matters not whether you're led by…"
description: "\"“It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words, by need or greed, by conviction or fear, by truth or deceit. Intent is unimportant. Results..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg"
---

#  It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words…

![“It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words, by need or greed, by conviction or fear, by truth or deceit. Intent is unimportant. Results endure.” quote by J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg)

> ““It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words, by need or greed, by conviction or fear, by truth or deceit. Intent is unimportant. Results endure.””

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

## About This Quote

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

Motivation and methods matter less than outcomes; lasting results define success.

**In simple terms:** Results matter more than intent.

Key Takeaway

Focus on achieving lasting results.

Themes

leadership ethics outcome

Mood

pragmatic serious

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- business projects
- personal goals
- team management

Key Concepts

Consequentialism goal‑oriented action

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance intent and outcome?
- What metrics best capture lasting impact?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting intent can erode trust and integrity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Intent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intent/) [Intent Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intent-unimportant-4358053/) [Kind words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-words/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Matters Led](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matters-led-4358052/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Results Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results-endure-4358051/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [It's probably a combination of personal and non-personal matters that have led us to where we are musically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/it-s-probably-a-combination-of-personal-and-non-personal-matters-that/)

[Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/)

> [“Sometimes it's not the intent, but the result, that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/sometimes-it-s-not-the-intent-but-the-result-that-matters/)

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

> [The intent to preserve and capture something is very different from the urge to share, but they had become intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/the-intent-to-preserve-and-capture-something-is-very-different-from/)

[Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/)

> [A person's current personality of love, hatred, jealousy, rage or a murderous intent and so on is formed upon genetic elements, education, the environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/a-person-s-current-personality-of-love-hatred-jealousy-rage-or-a/)

[Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/)

> [The intent of Slayer's musical and lyrical content has always been selfish. We feel very strongly about the importance of staying true to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hanneman/the-intent-of-slayer-s-musical-and-lyrical-content-has-always-been/)

[Jeff Hanneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hanneman/)

> [“Be intent on the action, not on the fruits of action.2”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurcharan-das/be-intent-on-the-action-not-on-the-fruits-of-action-2/)

[Gurcharan Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurcharan-das/)

> [“It is important that when we make a resolution, or establish a goal, that we take the ACTION necessary to accomplish that goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/it-is-important-that-when-we-make-a-resolution-or-establish-a-goal/)

[Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/)

> [“Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others' choices make us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/intentional-living-is-the-art-of-making-our-own-choices-before-others/)

[Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/)

> [“Always assume positive intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/always-assume-positive-intent/)

[Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/)

> [“I live not with the intent of leaving my mark in this world, but rather with the intent of leaving my imprint on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ferreira/i-live-not-with-the-intent-of-leaving-my-mark-in-this-world-but/)

[Rick Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ferreira/)

> [“Powerful words come with powerful intent. Where you have passion, strength, courage, and determination you can accomplish anything!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-toth/powerful-words-come-with-powerful-intent-where-you-have-passion/)

[K.L. Toth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-toth/)

> [“Real love' is not just instinct, but intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/real-love-is-not-just-instinct-but-intent/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [When you're an artist, you can't write with the intent of affecting anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/when-you-re-an-artist-you-can-t-write-with-the-intent-of-affecting/)

[Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/)

> [Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/intent-is-what-can-make-a-man-succeed-when-his-thoughts-tell-him-that/)

[Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/)

> [My intent was to gain experience for fiction I eventually hoped to write. But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-intent-was-to-gain-experience-for-fiction-i-eventually-hoped-to/)

[Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/)

## More by J. Kyle McNeal

> [“No one took a smiling jailer seriously. A smiling executioner was worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/no-one-took-a-smiling-jailer-seriously-a-smiling-executioner-was-worse/)

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

> [“Sometimes it's not the intent, but the result, that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/sometimes-it-s-not-the-intent-but-the-result-that-matters/)

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

> [“A man who would give advice without understanding is a fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/a-man-who-would-give-advice-without-understanding-is-a-fool/)

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

> [“Learn when to talk and when to listen. If you're unsure, listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/learn-when-to-talk-and-when-to-listen-if-you-re-unsure-listen/)

[J. Kyle McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

[Explore all 5 J. Kyle McNeal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/)

## More Endure quotes

> [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

[James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/)

> [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/)

[Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/)

> [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/)

[Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/)

> [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/)

[Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/)

> [It is impossible to build enduring institutions without solid values. For us, the fundamental value is that associated with democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/it-is-impossible-to-build-enduring-institutions-without-solid-values/)

[Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/)

> [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/)

[Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/)

> [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/)

[Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/)

> [There are many who say they want to be victorious Christians, but few are willing to endure the discipline necessary to make one a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/there-are-many-who-say-they-want-to-be-victorious-christians-but-few/)

[Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/)

> [“Whatever befalls us, we will endure it together. I clutch my longbow and dagger close to my side. My last thoughts linger on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-noce/whatever-befalls-us-we-will-endure-it-together-i-clutch-my-longbow/)

[Mark Noce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-noce/)

> [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

[Browse all 2,549 Endure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words, by need or greed, by conviction or fear, by truth or deceit. Intent is unimportant. Results endure.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "J. Kyle McNeal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-chains-or-kind-words-by-need-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Endure"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-chains-or-kind-words-by-need-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/j-kyle-mcneal-64601_endure_it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-cha_2936802.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It matters not whether you're led by chains or kind words, by need or greed, by conviction or fear, by truth…” — J. Kyle McNeal",
                "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": "J. Kyle McNeal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kyle-mcneal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It matters not whether you're led...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-chains-or-kind-words-by-need-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kyle-mcneal/it-matters-not-whether-you-re-led-by-chains-or-kind-words-by-need-or/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
