--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is certain that most who concentrate…" description: "\"It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.\" — Michael Joseph Oakeshott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png" --- # It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement… ![“It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.” quote by Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png) > “It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.” [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense focus on achievement often leads individuals to neglect broader life experiences and personal fulfillment **In simple terms:** Obsessing on success can cause life to be overlooked Key Takeaway Balance achievement with savoring life’s moments Themes philosophy life balance achievement Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal counseling - life coaching Key Concepts career planning mindfulness practice relationship building Questions to Reflect On - What does a fulfilling life look like beyond achievements? - How can you integrate joy into goal pursuit? A Different Perspective Success metrics may ignore subjective well‑being ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-life-and-if-you-miss-love-you-miss-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Love is life. If you miss out on love, you miss out on life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/love-is-life-if-you-miss-out-on-love-you-miss-out-on-life/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [If you miss the moment, you miss your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/if-you-miss-the-moment-you-miss-your-life/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [Don't miss out on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/don-t-miss-out-on-your-life/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [“Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddh-rtha-gautama/be-where-you-are-otherwise-you-will-miss-your-life/) [Siddhārtha Gautama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddh-rtha-gautama/) > [Miss life's simplest blessings and you'll miss out on life's greatest joys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/miss-life-s-simplest-blessings-and-you-ll-miss-out-on-life-s-greatest/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“Far too often we miss life by doing something that we call ‘life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/far-too-often-we-miss-life-by-doing-something-that-we-call-life/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Live to love, because if you miss love you miss life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-to-love-because-if-you-miss-love-you-miss-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lot of people say I'd miss show business if I quit. I'd miss some of it. Now it's the only life I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lynn/a-lot-of-people-say-i-d-miss-show-business-if-i-quit-i-d-miss-some-of/) [Loretta Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lynn/) > [Don't miss your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/don-t-miss-your-life/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [DONT MISS OUT ON YOUR LIFE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/dont-miss-out-on-your-life/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It is impossible not to miss someone who was once a part of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-impossible-not-to-miss-someone-who-was-once-a-part-of-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think there are so many young girls out there who may be discouraged by the images they see in magazines or on TV,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-knox/i-think-there-are-so-many-young-girls-out-there-who-may-be/) Kelly Knox > [If you try to over-control what you think you will achieve, you'll miss what you can actually accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-wolff/if-you-try-to-over-control-what-you-think-you-will-achieve-you-ll/) Patrick Wolff > [At least to look back over their own lives, as I have looked back over mine, for certain themes and patterns and signals that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/at-least-to-look-back-over-their-own-lives-as-i-have-looked-back-over/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## More by Michael Joseph Oakeshott > [In political activity, then, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/in-political-activity-then-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Education is ... the invitation to disentangle oneself, for a time, from the urgencies of the here and now and to listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/education-is-the-invitation-to-disentangle-oneself-for-a-time-from/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [A recorded past is no more than a bygone present composed of the footprints made by human beings actually going somewhere but not knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/a-recorded-past-is-no-more-than-a-bygone-present-composed-of-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [To be conservative…is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/to-be-conservative-is-to-prefer-the-familiar-to-the-unknown-to-prefer/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The man of conservative temperament believes that a known good is not lightly to be surrendered for an unknown better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-man-of-conservative-temperament-believes-that-a-known-good-is-not/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The rule of law bakes no bread, it is unable to distribute loaves or fishes (it has none), and it cannot protect itself against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-rule-of-law-bakes-no-bread-it-is-unable-to-distribute-loaves-or/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The conjunction of ruling and dreaming generates tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-conjunction-of-ruling-and-dreaming-generates-tyranny/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [This, I believe, is the appropriate image of human intercourse -- appropriate because it recognizes the qualities, the diversities, and the proper relationships of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/this-i-believe-is-the-appropriate-image-of-human-intercourse/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Our predicament is not the difficulty of attaining happiness, but the difficult of avoiding the misery to which the pursuit of happiness exposes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/our-predicament-is-not-the-difficulty-of-attaining-happiness-but-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [History is what the evidence compels us to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/history-is-what-the-evidence-compels-us-to-believe/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Politics I take to be the activity of attending to the general arrangements of a set of people whom chance or choice have brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/politics-i-take-to-be-the-activity-of-attending-to-the-general/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Economics is not an attempt to generalize human desires or human behavior; but to generalize the phenomena of price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/economics-is-not-an-attempt-to-generalize-human-desires-or-human/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [We consider ourselves to be free because no one in our society is allowed unlimited powerno leader, faction, party or 'class', no majority, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/we-consider-ourselves-to-be-free-because-no-one-in-our-society-is/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Like Midas, the Rationalist is always in the unfortunate position of not being able to touch anything, without transforming it into an abstraction; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/like-midas-the-rationalist-is-always-in-the-unfortunate-position-of/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [“So far from a political ideology being the quasi-divine parent of political activity, it turns out to be its earthly stepchild. Instead of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/so-far-from-a-political-ideology-being-the-quasi-divine-parent-of/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) [Explore all 23 Michael Joseph Oakeshott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Joseph Oakeshott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_achievement_it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate_632601.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.” — Michael Joseph Oakeshott", "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": "Michael Joseph Oakeshott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is certain that most who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/#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 } } ] } ```