--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keep away from those who try to belittle…" description: "\"Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png" --- # Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions… ![“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png) > “Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surround yourself with supporters; critics often diminish ambition, while true mentors inspire greatness. **In simple terms:** Avoid naysayers; seek uplifting people. Key Takeaway Choose encouraging companions. Themes ambition mentorship confidence Mood motivational critical Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career - personal development - creative projects Key Concepts social influence self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - Who lifts you up? - When to accept constructive feedback? A Different Perspective Some criticism can be constructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquaintance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquaintance/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great make you feel that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people-3/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that; but the really great ones make you feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-cornwell/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people-2/) Karen Cornwell > [Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Never allow anyone to take YOUR spirit away from you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khloe-kardashian/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-never-allow/) [Khloe Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khloe-kardashian/) > [Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-dreams-small-people/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambition/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Sometimes people tend to look your ability on the negative aspect.They criticize you in every possible way. Keep away from those who try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-people-tend-to-look-your-ability-on-the-negative-aspect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't be intimidated by people who try to belittle your ambitions. Most of the time they are just jealous of your success or determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/don-t-be-intimidated-by-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [“Ben Says: Those that constantly talk down and try to belittle you are just trying to make themselves feel bigger by making you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/ben-says-those-that-constantly-talk-down-and-try-to-belittle-you-are/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Stay away from people who belittle your ambition, small people do that, but great people make you like to be great!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twian/stay-away-from-people-who-belittle-your-ambition-small-people-do-that/) Mark Twian > [I think back and marvel that my ambitions were so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-think-back-and-marvel-that-my-ambitions-were-so-small/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Stay away from people who try to belittle your faith, goals and ambitions. Follow your heart and keep pushing forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stay-away-from-people-who-try-to-belittle-your-faith-goals-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be human is to have one's little modicum of romance secreted away in one's composition. One never ceases to make a hero of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-be-human-is-to-have-one-s-little-modicum-of-romance-secreted-away/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If other people choose to believe because I do, great. I want to show people God's love through what I do and who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-aiken/if-other-people-choose-to-believe-because-i-do-great-i-want-to-show/) [Clay Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-aiken/) > [When you meet someone who is truly great, he makes you believe you can be great, too. This is the kind of relationship you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/when-you-meet-someone-who-is-truly-great-he-makes-you-believe-you-can/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Acquaintance quotes > [Distrust all those who love you extremely upon a very slight acquaintance and without any visible reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distrust-all-those-who-love-you-extremely-upon-a-very-slight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be much alone with God, and take time to get thoroughly acquainted. Converse over everything with Him. Unburden yourself wholly -every thought, feeling, wish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/be-much-alone-with-god-and-take-time-to-get-thoroughly-acquainted/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-study-of-history-and-philosophy-accompanied-by-some-acquaintance/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The love of new acquaintance comes not so much from being weary of what we had before, or from any satisfaction there is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-love-of-new-acquaintance-comes-not-so-much-from-being-weary-of/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [One frequently only finds out how really beautiful a women is, until after considerable acquaintance with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/one-frequently-only-finds-out-how-really-beautiful-a-women-is-until/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I'd rather be a nodding acquaintance, than a bobble head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/i-d-rather-be-a-nodding-acquaintance-than-a-bobble-head/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [God is a spirit. Jesus was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil; and it is also true that spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/god-is-a-spirit-jesus-was-led-up-of-the-spirit-to-be-tempted-of-the/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract. The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [ \[Books\] will visit you at your convenience, whether you are lonesome or not, on rainy days or fair. They propose themselves as either transient… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/books-will-visit-you-at-your-convenience-whether-you-are-lonesome-or/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [I'm not dating Prateik; he is just a good acquaintance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amyra-dastur/i-m-not-dating-prateik-he-is-just-a-good-acquaintance/) [Amyra Dastur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amyra-dastur/) > [Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/moderation-is-the-inseparable-companion-of-wisdom-but-with-it-genius/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. I seem almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-greatest-embarrassment-of-my-political-career-has-been-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [A woman who can't forgive should never have more than a nodding acquaintance with a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-woman-who-can-t-forgive-should-never-have-more-than-a-nodding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 484 Acquaintance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquaintance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acquaintance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/mark-twain-22_acquaintance_keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle_2918548.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Keep away from those who try...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/keep-away-from-those-who-try-to-belittle-your-ambitions-small-people/#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 } } ] } ```