--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough to be a hardworking…" description: "\"It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Think: what do you work at?\" — Leo Tolstoy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/leo-tolstoy-55_enough_it-is-not-enough-to-be-a-hardworking-per_2525965.png" --- # It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Think: what… ![“It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Think: what do you work at?” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/leo-tolstoy-55_enough_it-is-not-enough-to-be-a-hardworking-per_2525965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/leo-tolstoy-55_enough_it-is-not-enough-to-be-a-hardworking-per_2525965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/leo-tolstoy-55_enough_it-is-not-enough-to-be-a-hardworking-per_2525965.png) > “It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Think: what do you work at?” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work alone isn’t sufficient; one must consider the purpose of their labor. **In simple terms:** Work hard, but know why you work. Key Takeaway Align effort with meaningful goals. Themes purpose effort self‑reflection Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal projects - volunteering - education Key Concepts meaningful work goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What is the deeper purpose of your current work? - How can you align daily tasks with long‑term values? A Different Perspective Hard work without purpose can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Hardworking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardworking/) [Hardworking Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardworking-person-1297027/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Person Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-think/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Think Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-work/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just a really hardworking person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anitta/i-m-just-a-really-hardworking-person/) [Anitta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anitta/) > [I wouldn't have a No. 1 record or song if I wasn't a hardworking person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-wouldn-t-have-a-no-1-record-or-song-if-i-wasn-t-a-hardworking-person/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [I'm a really hardworking person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sean/i-m-a-really-hardworking-person/) [Jay Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sean/) > [It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Equally important is the job you are working at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-not-enough-to-be-a-hardworking-person-equally-important-is-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm the only person in the world that, when he holds down two jobs, gets criticized for it; everyone else gets a pat on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-m-the-only-person-in-the-world-that-when-he-holds-down-two-jobs/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [I am a very driven and hardworking person, and I am independent, and I feel that I have really good instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-cartelli/i-am-a-very-driven-and-hardworking-person-and-i-am-independent-and-i/) [Brynn Cartelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-cartelli/) > [You think if you work hard enough, you can fix the precious things you've broken - rather than being careful with them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/you-think-if-you-work-hard-enough-you-can-fix-the-precious-things-you/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I work every day on skills, and I don't think you can ever work enough on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hayward/i-work-every-day-on-skills-and-i-don-t-think-you-can-ever-work-enough/) [Gordon Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hayward/) > [“When I see a poor person I think of me, and then I think, maybe I should pay my clones for all the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/when-i-see-a-poor-person-i-think-of-me-and-then-i-think-maybe-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Sometimes the person we think we’ll become is the person we already are, and the person we truly become is the person we least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/sometimes-the-person-we-think-we-ll-become-is-the-person-we-already/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [There are very few new things in this world, very few. That's why people that are young, if they're smart, try to profit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cus-d-amato/there-are-very-few-new-things-in-this-world-very-few-that-s-why/) [Cus D'Amato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cus-d-amato/) > [Sometimes a person you think is NOTHING will the one who'll give you EVERTYHING ..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-rafal/sometimes-a-person-you-think-is-nothing-will-the-one-who-ll-give-you/) [Rain Rafal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-rafal/) > [I'm quite a studious person, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-higgins/i-m-quite-a-studious-person-i-think/) [Alex Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-higgins/) > [Music tells you about the artist and what they were thinking about at the time, because the person has to think about it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-paul/music-tells-you-about-the-artist-and-what-they-were-thinking-about-at/) [Sean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-paul/) > [I am mostly a positive person and I think I always have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-becker/i-am-mostly-a-positive-person-and-i-think-i-always-have-been/) [Jason Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-becker/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Enough quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) [Rena Kornreich Gelissen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rena-kornreich-gelissen/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) [Browse all 23,898 Enough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not enough to be a hardworking person. 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