--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: . . . success is a combination of many…" description: "\". . . success is a combination of many things, but a good character is the foundation of the kind of success that will bring you real happiness. Choose..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/j-willard-marriott-27320_break_success-is-a-combination-of-many-things_2569591.png" --- # . . . success is a combination of many things, but a good… ![“. . . success is a combination of many things, but a good character is the foundation of the kind of success that will bring you real happiness. Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you.” quote by J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/j-willard-marriott-27320_break_success-is-a-combination-of-many-things_2569591.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/j-willard-marriott-27320_break_success-is-a-combination-of-many-things_2569591.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/j-willard-marriott-27320_break_success-is-a-combination-of-many-things_2569591.png) > “. . . success is a combination of many things, but a good character is the foundation of the kind of success that will bring you real happiness. Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you.” [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success depends on character and wise friendships; character is the base for lasting happiness. **In simple terms:** Good character and good friends lead to true success and happiness. Key Takeaway Cultivate integrity and choose supportive friends. Themes character friendship success happiness integrity Mood inspirational thoughtful practical Type business personal When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - networking Key Concepts Moral foundation social capital Questions to Reflect On - What traits define good character? - How to evaluate friends’ influence? A Different Perspective Character alone may not guarantee success without opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Choose Your Friends Wisely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-your-friends-wisely/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Good character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-character/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Make or break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-or-break/) [Real happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-happiness/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Bad company corrupts good character. Choose your friends wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bad-company-corrupts-good-character-choose-your-friends-wisely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pain builds character and character is the foundation of your faith and your faith manifest your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teisha-d-hines/pain-builds-character-and-character-is-the-foundation-of-your-faith/) [Teisha D Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teisha-d-hines/) > [“While having a strong character foundation may not sell newspapers, increase TV ratings, or make a person famous, it's essential for building a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/while-having-a-strong-character-foundation-may-not-sell-newspapers/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/choose-your-friends-wisely-they-will-make-or-break-you/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Character develops in stream of struggle and adversity. Character is foundation of your inner beauty which reflects in your personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/character-develops-in-stream-of-struggle-and-adversity-character-is/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [Another qualification of success is that we not only bring harmonious and beneficial results to ourselves, but also share those benefits with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/another-qualification-of-success-is-that-we-not-only-bring-harmonious/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Keep taking small steps towards success as they bring the biggest goal little more closer to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-luthra/keep-taking-small-steps-towards-success-as-they-bring-the-biggest/) Sonam Luthra > [If you think that material success will bring you happiness, relationships, people, places, things, fame, fortune, you definitely should not practice tantra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-think-that-material-success-will-bring-you-happiness/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Sometimes success can bring complacency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/sometimes-success-can-bring-complacency/) [Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/) > [Success will bring back the people that left you, this time not as FRIENDS but FANS!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laylow/success-will-bring-back-the-people-that-left-you-this-time-not-as/) [Laylow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laylow/) > [“The trappings of success bring the opposite of success in the ways most meaningful to people's lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-trappings-of-success-bring-the-opposite-of-success-in-the-ways/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Do what your inner soul tells you to do, regardless of any money or success it will bring you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etel-adnan/do-what-your-inner-soul-tells-you-to-do-regardless-of-any-money-or/) [Etel Adnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etel-adnan/) > [The way you can be careful of the catastrophe that success can bring is by paying attention to something else that comes along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-debarge/the-way-you-can-be-careful-of-the-catastrophe-that-success-can-bring/) [El DeBarge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-debarge/) > [You have success within. It's up to you to bring it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/you-have-success-within-it-s-up-to-you-to-bring-it-out/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Yes, I have used my success to bring goodness to the world. Because I'm an actress, and I'm on someone's favorite show or whatever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisol-nichols/yes-i-have-used-my-success-to-bring-goodness-to-the-world-because-i-m/) [Marisol Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisol-nichols/) ## More by J. Willard Marriott > [See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk around, make yourself visible and accessible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/see-and-be-seen-get-out-of-your-office-walk-around-make-yourself/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Eliminate the cause of a mistake. Don't just clean it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/eliminate-the-cause-of-a-mistake-don-t-just-clean-it-up/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Customer needs may vary, but their bias for quality never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/customer-needs-may-vary-but-their-bias-for-quality-never-does/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Entrepreneurs are never satisfied. They want to do things better. They strive for perfection and use all the ingenuity to their command to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/entrepreneurs-are-never-satisfied-they-want-to-do-things-better-they/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Do it and do it now. Err on the side of taking action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/do-it-and-do-it-now-err-on-the-side-of-taking-action/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Celebrate your people's success, not your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/celebrate-your-people-s-success-not-your-own/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Choose your friends wisely-they will make or break you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/choose-your-friends-wisely-they-will-make-or-break-you/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Take good care of your employees, and they'll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/take-good-care-of-your-employees-and-they-ll-take-good-care-of-your/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/take-care-of-your-people-and-they-will-take-care-of-your-customers/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [No person can get very far in this life on a 40 hour week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/no-person-can-get-very-far-in-this-life-on-a-40-hour-week/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Great companies are built by people who never stop thinking about ways to improve the business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/great-companies-are-built-by-people-who-never-stop-thinking-about/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [Motivate them, train them, care about them, and make winners out of them... they'll treat the customers right. And if customers are treated right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/motivate-them-train-them-care-about-them-and-make-winners-out-of-them/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [It's the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/it-s-the-little-things-that-make-the-big-things-possible-only-close/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [No matter how hard you work for your money, there's always someone out there willing to work twice as hard to take it away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/no-matter-how-hard-you-work-for-your-money-there-s-always-someone-out/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) > [It's more important to hire people with the right qualities than with specific experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-marriott/it-s-more-important-to-hire-people-with-the-right-qualities-than-with/) [J. Willard Marriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) [Explore all 20 J. Willard Marriott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-marriott/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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