--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The lure of the distant and the difficult…" description: "\"The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.\" — John Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/john-burroughs-1157_deceptive_the-lure-of-the-distant-and-the-difficul_3130098.png" --- # The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive… ![“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.” quote by John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/john-burroughs-1157_deceptive_the-lure-of-the-distant-and-the-difficul_3130098.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/john-burroughs-1157_deceptive_the-lure-of-the-distant-and-the-difficul_3130098.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/john-burroughs-1157_deceptive_the-lure-of-the-distant-and-the-difficul_3130098.png) > “The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.” [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often chase far‑off, hard challenges, but real value lies in the present circumstances. **In simple terms:** Opportunity is where you are now. Key Takeaway Focus on current chances. Themes focus opportunity presence Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - local projects - personal growth - community involvement Key Concepts mindfulness perception value Questions to Reflect On - What local opportunity are you ignoring? - How can you assess value without romanticizing distance? A Different Perspective Overlooking distant goals can miss broader possibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceptive/) [Deceptive Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceptive-great-5532963/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult Deceptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-deceptive-5532961/) [Distant Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distant-difficult-5532962/) [Great opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-opportunity/) [Lure Distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lure-distant-5532960/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) ## Related quotes > [Look underfoot. You are always nearer to the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/look-underfoot-you-are-always-nearer-to-the-true-sources-of-your/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is 'look under foot.' You are always nearer the divine and the true sources of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-lesson-which-life-repeats-and-constantly-enforces-is-look-under-2/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/and-i-despise-your-books-i-despise-wisdom-and-the-blessings-of-this/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Experience, as we know, is deceptive: one judges the world through the prism of what has happened to oneself and considers this a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-bonilla/experience-as-we-know-is-deceptive-one-judges-the-world-through-the/) [Juan Bonilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-bonilla/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Too great cleverness is but deceptive delicacy, true delicacy is the most substantial cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/too-great-cleverness-is-but-deceptive-delicacy-true-delicacy-is-the/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Famous people are deceptive. Deep down, they're just regular people. Like Larry King. We've been friends for forty years. He's one of the few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/famous-people-are-deceptive-deep-down-they-re-just-regular-people/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“Destiny is not obvious, it's deceptive, but you can't stop if from happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-simmons/destiny-is-not-obvious-it-s-deceptive-but-you-can-t-stop-if-from/) [Terence Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-simmons/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Imagination is the deceptive part in man, the mistress of error and falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/imagination-is-the-deceptive-part-in-man-the-mistress-of-error-and/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“right wing’s most common techniques—including the deceptive use of statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/right-wing-s-most-common-techniques-including-the-deceptive-use-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“Looks are deceptive and has an ability to compel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momin-mishra/looks-are-deceptive-and-has-an-ability-to-compel/) [Momin Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momin-mishra/) > [Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. (Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/nihil-est-incertius-vulgo-nihil-obscurius-voluntate-hominum-nihil/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be misled by appearances for these are apt to be deceptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/do-not-be-misled-by-appearances-for-these-are-apt-to-be-deceptive/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) ## More by John Burroughs > [As life nears its end with me, I find myself meditating more and more upon the mystery of its nature and origin, yet without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/as-life-nears-its-end-with-me-i-find-myself-meditating-more-and-more/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [When Darwin published his conclusion that man was descended from an apelike ancestor who was again descended from a still lower type, most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/when-darwin-published-his-conclusion-that-man-was-descended-from-an/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Science sees the process of evolution from the outside, as one might a train of cars going by, and resolves it into the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/science-sees-the-process-of-evolution-from-the-outside-as-one-might-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Maybe that will happen with other countries as well. And so, that's why one of the things that groups like mine that work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/maybe-that-will-happen-with-other-countries-as-well-and-so-that-s-why/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [One can only learn his powers of action by action, and his powers of thought by thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/one-can-only-learn-his-powers-of-action-by-action-and-his-powers-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [I was born with a chronic anxiety about the weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-was-born-with-a-chronic-anxiety-about-the-weather/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [When the woodpecker is searching for food, or laying siege to some hidden grub, the sound of his hammer is dead or muffled and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/when-the-woodpecker-is-searching-for-food-or-laying-siege-to-some/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [In what bold relief stand out the lives of all walkers of the snow! The snow is a great tell-tale, and blabs as effectually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-what-bold-relief-stand-out-the-lives-of-all-walkers-of-the-snow/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-october-a-maple-tree-before-your-window-lights-up-your-room-like-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [One can return to their place of birth, but one cannot go back to your youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/one-can-return-to-their-place-of-birth-but-one-cannot-go-back-to-your/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [I still find each day too short..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-still-find-each-day-too-short/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Following World War II, the U.S. was the architect of the UN system, and the world financial system, and the Human Rights Declaration, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/following-world-war-ii-the-u-s-was-the-architect-of-the-un-system-and/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“Go to the sea or climb the mountain, and with the ruggedest and the savagest you will find likewise the fairest and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/go-to-the-sea-or-climb-the-mountain-and-with-the-ruggedest-and-the/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) [Explore all 281 John Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## More Deceptive quotes > [Do not be misled by appearances for these are apt to be deceptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/do-not-be-misled-by-appearances-for-these-are-apt-to-be-deceptive/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. (Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/nihil-est-incertius-vulgo-nihil-obscurius-voluntate-hominum-nihil/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Looks are deceptive and has an ability to compel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momin-mishra/looks-are-deceptive-and-has-an-ability-to-compel/) [Momin Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momin-mishra/) > [“right wing’s most common techniques—including the deceptive use of statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/right-wing-s-most-common-techniques-including-the-deceptive-use-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Imagination is the deceptive part in man, the mistress of error and falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/imagination-is-the-deceptive-part-in-man-the-mistress-of-error-and/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Destiny is not obvious, it's deceptive, but you can't stop if from happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-simmons/destiny-is-not-obvious-it-s-deceptive-but-you-can-t-stop-if-from/) [Terence Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-simmons/) > [Famous people are deceptive. Deep down, they're just regular people. Like Larry King. We've been friends for forty years. He's one of the few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/famous-people-are-deceptive-deep-down-they-re-just-regular-people/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [Too great cleverness is but deceptive delicacy, true delicacy is the most substantial cleverness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/too-great-cleverness-is-but-deceptive-delicacy-true-delicacy-is-the/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Experience, as we know, is deceptive: one judges the world through the prism of what has happened to oneself and considers this a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-bonilla/experience-as-we-know-is-deceptive-one-judges-the-world-through-the/) [Juan Bonilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-bonilla/) > [And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/and-i-despise-your-books-i-despise-wisdom-and-the-blessings-of-this/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The important task rarely must be done today, or even this week...But the urgent task calls for instant action...The momentary appeal of these tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hummel/the-important-task-rarely-must-be-done-today-or-even-this-week-but/) [Charles Hummel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hummel/) > [Sade's stuff is real deceptive. She's got stuff about prostitutes, poverty and people on the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-williams/sade-s-stuff-is-real-deceptive-she-s-got-stuff-about-prostitutes/) [Lucinda Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-williams/) [Browse all 177 Deceptive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceptive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. 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