--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest discovery of my generation…" description: "\"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.\" — Lee Iacocca" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png" --- # The greatest discovery of my generation is that human… ![“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” quote by Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png) > “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The core insight is that personal transformation is driven by changing one's mindset, implying that attitudes shape life outcomes. **In simple terms:** Mindset determines life direction. Key Takeaway Attitude shapes reality. Themes self‑improvement psychology mindset personal growth Mood motivational optimistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career changes - recovering from setbacks - habit formation Key Concepts cognitive reframing agency Practical Applications - adopt growth‑mindset practices - use affirmations to shift perspective Questions to Reflect On - What attitudes limit your current life path? - How can you deliberately reshape a limiting belief? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/the-greatest-discovery-of-any-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“All human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/all-human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jones/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can-2/) [William Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jones/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-being-can-alter/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-a-human-being-can-3/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Your outer world of attitudes, wealth, work, relationships and health will always be a reflection of your inner attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/your-outer-world-of-attitudes-wealth-work-relationships-and-health/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“The point is, it seems to me that my mind is a mass of totally contradictory attitudes about everything.’ ‘Everyone’s mind is a mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-point-is-it-seems-to-me-that-my-mind-is-a-mass-of-totally/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“Studies of cancer patients show that attitudes of mind have very little effect on clinical outcome. We may say we are fighting cancer, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/studies-of-cancer-patients-show-that-attitudes-of-mind-have-very/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I understand that space travel and expansion is just as much about altering ourselves, our attitudes, our social structures, our very biology, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/i-understand-that-space-travel-and-expansion-is-just-as-much-about/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [By altering our attitudes we can alter our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/by-altering-our-attitudes-we-can-alter-our-lives/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [Well-meaning, helpful, good-natured attitudes of mind have not come to be honored on account of their usefulness, but because they are states of richer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/well-meaning-helpful-good-natured-attitudes-of-mind-have-not-come-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Your thoughts become your words and your attitudes. Where the mind goes, the man follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/your-thoughts-become-your-words-and-your-attitudes-where-the-mind/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-greatest-discovery-of-any-generation-is-that-a-human-can-alter/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are the first generation of human beings to have substantial insights into the origin of our cosmos and of human life in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-peacocke/we-are-the-first-generation-of-human-beings-to-have-substantial/) [Arthur Peacocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-peacocke/) ## More by Lee Iacocca > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then...do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/apply-yourself-get-all-the-education-you-can-but-then-do-something/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [The ability to concentrate and to use time well is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-ability-to-concentrate-and-to-use-time-well-is-everything/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of adversity... when things seem so bad that you've got to grab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-in-everyone-s-life-when-something-constructive-is/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/in-a-completely-rational-society-the-best-of-us-would-be-teachers-and/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/it-was-emotional-when-chrysler-sold-out-to-the-germans/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/we-are-continually-faced-by-great-opportunities-brilliantly-disguised/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/no-matter-what-you-ve-done-for-yourself-or-for-humanity-if-you-can-t/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Be creative. Use unconventional thinking. And have the guts to carry it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/be-creative-use-unconventional-thinking-and-have-the-guts-to-carry-it/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [ They're on you day and night. Their oversight is just too extreme \[. . .\] That's why our 10-year loan, we paid it back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/they-re-on-you-day-and-night-their-oversight-is-just-too-extreme-that/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-hire-people-brighter-than-me-and-then-i-get-out-of-their-way/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-have-found-that-being-honest-is-the-best-technique-i-can-use-right/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/your-legacy-should-be-that-you-made-it-better-than-it-was-when-you/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Never rest on your oars as a boss. If you do, the whole company starts sinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/never-rest-on-your-oars-as-a-boss-if-you-do-the-whole-company-starts/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [I've got to get stop getting fired like this. People will start to think I'm a drifter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-ve-got-to-get-stop-getting-fired-like-this-people-will-start-to/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) [Explore all 138 Lee Iacocca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Iacocca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/lee-iacocca-3170_discovery_the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation_110193.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their…” — Lee Iacocca", "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": "Lee Iacocca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greatest discovery of my generation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/#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 } } ] } ```