--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best kept secret in America today is…" description: "\"The best kept secret in America today is that people would rather work hard for something they believe in than live a life of aimless diversion.\" — Joh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/john-w-gardner-7687_america_the-best-kept-secret-in-america-today-is_1787066.jpg" --- # The best kept secret in America today is that people would… ![“The best kept secret in America today is that people would rather work hard for something they believe in than live a life of aimless diversion.” quote by John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/john-w-gardner-7687_america_the-best-kept-secret-in-america-today-is_1787066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/john-w-gardner-7687_america_the-best-kept-secret-in-america-today-is_1787066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/john-w-gardner-7687_america_the-best-kept-secret-in-america-today-is_1787066.jpg) > “The best kept secret in America today is that people would rather work hard for something they believe in than live a life of aimless diversion.” [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People work harder when they feel purpose, than when they drift aimlessly. **In simple terms:** Purpose drives effort more than idle distraction. Key Takeaway Find work you believe in. Themes purpose motivation work ethic meaning career fulfillment Mood inspired reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career choice - entrepreneurship - volunteer projects - personal development - team leadership Key Concepts Existentialism self‑determination psychology of motivation Questions to Reflect On - What belief could you align with your current role? - How does purpose change your daily motivation? A Different Perspective Not everyone can easily align work with belief; financial constraints may limit options. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-today/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Best kept secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-kept-secrets/) [Diversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversion/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Kept Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-secret/) [Kept secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-secrets/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-america-1150850/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [Despite what The Wall Street Journal says, our awards are the best-kept secret in America, with the possible exception of what George W. Bush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/despite-what-the-wall-street-journal-says-our-awards-are-the-best/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) > [The first best-kept secret of total success is that we must feel love inside ourselves before we can give it to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-first-best-kept-secret-of-total-success-is-that-we-must-feel-love/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The best kept secret in the investing world: Almost nothing turns out as expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-best-kept-secret-in-the-investing-world-almost-nothing-turns-out/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Northern Ireland is the world’s best kept secret, both in the character of its people and its scenery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/northern-ireland-is-the-world-s-best-kept-secret-both-in-the/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [The best kept secret in the global economy today is this: When your service is AWESOME you get so stinking rich you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-best-kept-secret-in-the-global-economy-today-is-this-when-your/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Silicon Bayou - aka Lafayette, LA - is the best kept secret reservoir of innovation mojo in America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-park/silicon-bayou-aka-lafayette-la-is-the-best-kept-secret-reservoir-of/) [Todd Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-park/) > [My three favorite travel writers of all time are Robert Louis Stevenson, Graham Greene, and Chuck Thompson. Smile When You're Lying not only tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/my-three-favorite-travel-writers-of-all-time-are-robert-louis/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [Time is the best kept secret of the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/time-is-the-best-kept-secret-of-the-rich/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aliko-dangote/nigeria-is-one-of-the-best-kept-secrets/) [Aliko Dangote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aliko-dangote/) > [One of the most dangerous and best-kept secrets of the medical profession is the epidemic of anesthesiologists who are addicted to their own drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/one-of-the-most-dangerous-and-best-kept-secrets-of-the-medical/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [If you want success badly enough, you must weigh each thought, action, and experience. The reward you reap will be the knowledge of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-d/if-you-want-success-badly-enough-you-must-weigh-each-thought-action/) [Thomas D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-d/) > [Mr. Gorbachev has apparently stumbled onto one of the best-kept secrets in recent Soviet history: Communism doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/mr-gorbachev-has-apparently-stumbled-onto-one-of-the-best-kept/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [The joy that compassion brings is one of the best-kept secrets of humanity. It is a secret known only to a very few people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/the-joy-that-compassion-brings-is-one-of-the-best-kept-secrets-of/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [If you're from New Jersey, let people make all those bad jokes about our state. Don't let anyone know how great it is here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/if-you-re-from-new-jersey-let-people-make-all-those-bad-jokes-about/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) ## More by John W. Gardner > [“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/we-are-continually-faced-with-a-series-of-great-opportunities/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [One man interacting creatively with others can move the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/one-man-interacting-creatively-with-others-can-move-the-world/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [To sensible men, every day is a day of reckoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/to-sensible-men-every-day-is-a-day-of-reckoning/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/all-excellence-involves-discipline-and-tenacity-of-purpose/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [Tax reduction has an almost irresistible appeal to the politician, and it is no doubt also gratifying to the citizen. It means more dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/tax-reduction-has-an-almost-irresistible-appeal-to-the-politician-and/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [We get richer and richer in filthier and filthier communities until we reach a final state of affluent misery - crocus on a garbage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/we-get-richer-and-richer-in-filthier-and-filthier-communities-until/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [At home we have lost the capacity to see what is before us. Travel shakes us out of our apathy, and we regain an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/at-home-we-have-lost-the-capacity-to-see-what-is-before-us-travel/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Few have excellence thrust upon them ... They achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/some-people-have-greatness-thrust-upon-them-few-have-excellence/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/leaders-come-in-many-forms-with-many-styles-and-diverse-qualities/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-educational-system-is-to-shift-to-the/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [The first and last task of aleader is to keep hope alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/the-first-and-last-task-of-aleader-is-to-keep-hope-alive/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/an-excellent-plumber-is-infinitely-more-admirable-than-an-incompetent/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure-all your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/there-is-no-learning-without-some-difficulty-and-fumbling-if-you-want/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [All of us celebrate our values in our behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/all-of-us-celebrate-our-values-in-our-behavior/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) > [Some people seem to believe that for each problem there is a solution readily available - a solution that can be promptly achieved by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/some-people-seem-to-believe-that-for-each-problem-there-is-a-solution/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Explore all 88 John W. Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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