--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether our efforts are, or not, favored…" description: "\"Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I have done what I could.\" — Louis Pasteur" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png" --- # Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us… ![“Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I have done what I could.” quote by Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png) > “Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I have done what I could.” [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reflection on personal responsibility: regardless of external fortune, one should be able to claim sincere effort toward a noble aim. **In simple terms:** Personal accountability in pursuit of a goal Key Takeaway Effort matters more than outcome Themes Responsibility Perseverance Humility Self‑assessment Mood Resolute Reflective Type Philosophical Motivational When to use this quote - Facing uncertainty - Long‑term projects - When resources are limited Key Concepts Agency Ethics Practical Applications - Self‑evaluation - Motivational speaking Questions to Reflect On - What standards define 'doing all one can'? - How do we measure effort versus result? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Efforts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efforts/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of effort is the measure of the results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/in-all-human-affairs-there-are-efforts-and-there-are-results-and-the/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatan-ibrahimovic/everybody-tries-to-score-a-great-goal-and-i-am-lucky-i-have-netted-a/) [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatan-ibrahimovic/) > [All human history moves towards one great goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/all-human-history-moves-towards-one-great-goal/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I look at the occasion, and this was one of the biggest so far in my career. It was a bit of a gamble,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-van-persie/i-look-at-the-occasion-and-this-was-one-of-the-biggest-so-far-in-my/) [Robin van Persie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-van-persie/) > [America is the last great goal of these migrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-huntington/america-is-the-last-great-goal-of-these-migrations/) [Ellsworth Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-huntington/) > [“Acquiring wisdom is great but it is not the goal, applying it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idowu-koyenikan/acquiring-wisdom-is-great-but-it-is-not-the-goal-applying-it-is/) [idowu koyenikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idowu-koyenikan/) > [No great goal was ever easily achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/no-great-goal-was-ever-easily-achieved/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Individual honors and scoring championships are great, but my No. 1 goal is to win the Stanley Cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-crosby/individual-honors-and-scoring-championships-are-great-but-my-no-1/) [Sidney Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-crosby/) > [When we have a great goal we are superior even to justice, not merely to our deeds and our judges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-we-have-a-great-goal-we-are-superior-even-to-justice-not-merely/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A great goal in life is the only fortune worth finding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/a-great-goal-in-life-is-the-only-fortune-worth-finding/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [When hard work coupled with sincere efforts does not toll and time keeps on checking your patience, then what to do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athar-azeem/when-hard-work-coupled-with-sincere-efforts-does-not-toll-and-time/) [Athar Azeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athar-azeem/) > [“Dreams come true with much work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/dreams-come-true-with-much-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I think efforts sometimes don't get rewarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-seung-gi/i-think-efforts-sometimes-don-t-get-rewarded/) [Lee Seung-gi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-seung-gi/) > [“Challenge is tough. It needs efforts, energy and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-finder/challenge-is-tough-it-needs-efforts-energy-and-time/) [Joseph Finder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-finder/) > [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) ## More by Louis Pasteur > [There are no such things as applied sciences, only applications of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/there-are-no-such-things-as-applied-sciences-only-applications-of/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Nothing is lost and nothing is created in the operations of art as those of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/nothing-is-lost-and-nothing-is-created-in-the-operations-of-art-as/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Could I but know all, I would have the faith of a Breton peasant woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/could-i-but-know-all-i-would-have-the-faith-of-a-breton-peasant-woman/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [God grant that by my persevering labours I may bring a little stone to the frail and ill-assured edifice of our knowledge of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/god-grant-that-by-my-persevering-labours-i-may-bring-a-little-stone/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Posterity will one day laugh at the sublime foolishness of the modern materialistic philosophy. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/posterity-will-one-day-laugh-at-the-sublime-foolishness-of-the-modern/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science belongs to no one country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-belongs-to-no-one-country/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Work usually follows will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/work-usually-follows-will/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [If science has no country, the scientist should have one, and ascribe to it the influence which his works may have in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/if-science-has-no-country-the-scientist-should-have-one-and-ascribe/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [The universe is asymmetric and I am persuaded that life, as it is known to us, is a direct result of the asymmetry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/the-universe-is-asymmetric-and-i-am-persuaded-that-life-as-it-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Did you ever observe to whom the accidents happen? Chance favors only the prepared mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/did-you-ever-observe-to-whom-the-accidents-happen-chance-favors-only/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science proceeds by successive answers to questions more and more subtle, coming nearer and nearer to the very essence of phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-proceeds-by-successive-answers-to-questions-more-and-more/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [In matters of observation chance favors only the prepared mind. (not literal translation) - Dan's les champs de observation le hasard ne favorise que…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/in-matters-of-observation-chance-favors-only-the-prepared-mind-not/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Time is the best appraiser of scientific work, and I am aware that an industrial discovery rarely produces all its fruit in the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/time-is-the-best-appraiser-of-scientific-work-and-i-am-aware-that-an/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-knows-no-country-because-knowledge-belongs-to-humanity-and-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [My present and most fixed opinion regarding the nature of alcoholic fermentation is this: The chemical act of fermentation is essentially a phenomenon correlative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/my-present-and-most-fixed-opinion-regarding-the-nature-of-alcoholic/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) [Explore all 138 Louis Pasteur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I have done what I could.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louis Pasteur" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-by-life-let-us-be-able-to-say/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-by-life-let-us-be-able-to-say/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/411/louis-pasteur-3151_able_whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-b_58339.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great…” — Louis Pasteur", "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": "Louis Pasteur", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whether our efforts are, or not,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-by-life-let-us-be-able-to-say/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-by-life-let-us-be-able-to-say/#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 } } ] } ```