--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Greatness is not a function of…" description: "\"“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.”\" — Jim Collins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jim-collins-23358_circumstance_greatness-is-not-a-function-of-circumsta_2429925.jpg" --- # Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it… ![“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.” quote by Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jim-collins-23358_circumstance_greatness-is-not-a-function-of-circumsta_2429925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jim-collins-23358_circumstance_greatness-is-not-a-function-of-circumsta_2429925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/jim-collins-23358_circumstance_greatness-is-not-a-function-of-circumsta_2429925.jpg) > ““Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.”” [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness stems from deliberate choices, not external circumstances. **In simple terms:** Success is a conscious decision. Key Takeaway Make intentional choices to achieve greatness. Themes leadership choice success Mood inspirational direct Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - entrepreneurship - personal development - team building Key Concepts deliberate decision-making personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What choices define your path? - How do you resist circumstance excuses? A Different Perspective External factors still influence outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumstance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance/) [Circumstance Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance-greatness-268315/) [Conscious Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-choice/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Greatness Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness-function-268317/) [Greatness Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness-turns-268316/) ## Related quotes > [Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greatness-is-not-a-function-of-circumstance-greatness-it-turns-out-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“greatness is first and foremost a matter of conscious choice and discipline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/greatness-is-first-and-foremost-a-matter-of-conscious-choice-and/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [Falling in love is not an act of will. It is not a conscious choice. No matter how open to or eager for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/falling-in-love-is-not-an-act-of-will-it-is-not-a-conscious-choice-no-2/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If you find yourself saying things like, "I'm hitting the age where I'll need reading glasses," "I'm too old to try yoga (or some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-find-yourself-saying-things-like-i-m-hitting-the-age-where-i/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-becoming-a-conscious-choice-maker-you-begin-to-generate-actions/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The birth of excellence begins with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice. We usually don't think of it that way, but belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-birth-of-excellence-begins-with-our-awareness-that-our-beliefs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your mind is open to opposing ideas, your intelligence will go up. If your mind is closed to opposing ideas, your ignorance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-your-mind-is-open-to-opposing-ideas-your-intelligence-will-go-up/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Whenever a person is ignoring me, what they're actually doing is making a conscious choice to communicate that I'm not important to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-a-person-is-ignoring-me-what-they-re-actually-doing-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I made a conscious choice to turn down some movies that were action-based, so that I could direct Road to Paloma and show that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-momoa/i-made-a-conscious-choice-to-turn-down-some-movies-that-were-action/) [Jason Momoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-momoa/) > [Every actor wants to show a good and deep range, so you look at all the elements here, and you make a conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-keoghan/every-actor-wants-to-show-a-good-and-deep-range-so-you-look-at-all/) [Barry Keoghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-keoghan/) > [You've got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old - whatever "the old" means for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/you-ve-got-to-make-a-conscious-choice-every-day-to-shed-the-old/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Nothing is a conscious choice as an actor at the begining stage. There's so little that's a conscious choice even now. The offers, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-grunberg/nothing-is-a-conscious-choice-as-an-actor-at-the-begining-stage-there/) [Greg Grunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-grunberg/) > [“Change is inevitable, but transformation is by conscious choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heatherash-amara/change-is-inevitable-but-transformation-is-by-conscious-choice/) [HeatherAsh Amara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heatherash-amara/) > [“Human agency, the ability to affect the surrounding world, may be a result not so simply of conscious choice - but instead a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/human-agency-the-ability-to-affect-the-surrounding-world-may-be-a/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [Become very conscious of every choice you make today so you can begin to make smarter choices moving forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/become-very-conscious-of-every-choice-you-make-today-so-you-can-begin/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) ## More by Jim Collins > [“Visionary companies make some of their best moves by experimentation, trial and error, opportunism, and—quite literally—accident. What looks in retrospect like brilliant foresight and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/visionary-companies-make-some-of-their-best-moves-by-experimentation/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“When you marry operating excellence with innovation, you multiply the value of your creativity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/when-you-marry-operating-excellence-with-innovation-you-multiply-the/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“wouldn’t that person be even more amazing if, instead of telling the time, he or she built a clock that could tell the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/wouldn-t-that-person-be-even-more-amazing-if-instead-of-telling-the/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“Letting the wrong people hang around is unfair to all the right people, as they inevitably find themselves compensating for the inadequacies of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/letting-the-wrong-people-hang-around-is-unfair-to-all-the-right/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment Would you capture it? Or just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/look-if-you-had-one-shot-or-one-opportunity-to-seize-everything-you/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [ “When \[what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine\] come together,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/when-what-you-are-deeply-passionate-about-what-you-can-be-best-in-the/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/no-they-first-got-the-right-people-on-the-bus-and-the-wrong-people/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“Visionary companies are so clear about what they stand for and what they’re trying to achieve that they simply don’t have room for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/visionary-companies-are-so-clear-about-what-they-stand-for-and-what/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“greatness is first and foremost a matter of conscious choice and discipline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/greatness-is-first-and-foremost-a-matter-of-conscious-choice-and/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“if you want to achieve consistent performance, you need both parts of a 20 Mile March: a lower bound and an upper bound, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/if-you-want-to-achieve-consistent-performance-you-need-both-parts-of/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“What separates people is not the presence or absence of difficulty, but how they deal with the inevitable difficulties of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/what-separates-people-is-not-the-presence-or-absence-of-difficulty/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“by breakthrough, broken into three broad stages: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/by-breakthrough-broken-into-three-broad-stages-disciplined-people/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“My God, these guys don’t even know what the return-on-investment will be on this thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/my-god-these-guys-don-t-even-know-what-the-return-on-investment-will/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“The good-to-great leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or become unreachable icons. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/the-good-to-great-leaders-never-wanted-to-become-larger-than-life/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [“Paradox: You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/paradox-you-must-maintain-unwavering-faith-that-you-can-and-will/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) [Explore all 26 Jim Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) ## More Circumstance quotes > [The Circumstance of your life don't have to dictate the outcome of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-wilmont/the-circumstance-of-your-life-don-t-have-to-dictate-the-outcome-of/) [Teresa Wilmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-wilmont/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Man liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what may happen; Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he answer for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/man-liveth-from-hour-to-hour-and-knoweth-not-what-may-happen/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [“God never tells me to get over something and just get past it. Never. Instead, He asks me to trust Him with every circumstance.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/god-never-tells-me-to-get-over-something-and-just-get-past-it-never/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [You just try to get the best jobs that you can get. Sometimes I produce my own movies, so that's your own sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/you-just-try-to-get-the-best-jobs-that-you-can-get-sometimes-i/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [“Your circumstance is not your outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-r-sneed-carter/your-circumstance-is-not-your-outcome/) [Anita R. Sneed-Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-r-sneed-carter/) > [“Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/under-any-circumstance-always-do-your-best-no-more-and-no-less-but/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [“manner, a change of circumstance happens as a result of a change in your state of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville/manner-a-change-of-circumstance-happens-as-a-result-of-a-change-in/) [Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville/) > [You know, you don't need a leader to sort of administer something that's going very well. In fact, in one sense, an overly ambitious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-v-gerstner-jr/you-know-you-don-t-need-a-leader-to-sort-of-administer-something-that/) [Louis V. Gerstner, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-v-gerstner-jr/) > [“God said to accept whatever circumstances that come along. Circumstance is a natural thing. A claim of “Do this and don’t do that” should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/god-said-to-accept-whatever-circumstances-that-come-along/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides the personal relationship to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/circumstance-has-no-value-it-is-how-one-relates-to-a-situation-that/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [The fact is: You are not a manager of circumstance, you're the architect of your life's experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-fact-is-you-are-not-a-manager-of-circumstance-you-re-the/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“You can overcome your circumstances or you can let your circumstances overcome you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/you-can-overcome-your-circumstances-or-you-can-let-your-circumstances/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-in-the-heart-not-in-the-circumstance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ is in the form of the eternal element (vastu swaroop) and ‘my’ is in the form of circumstances (saiyog swaroop). Circumstance form and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/i-is-in-the-form-of-the-eternal-element-vastu-swaroop-and-my-is-in/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 296 Circumstance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. 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