--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether in the workplace or in personal…" description: "\"Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships, success belongs to those who are willing to take responsibility for attaining their desires-thos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png" --- # Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships… ![“Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships, success belongs to those who are willing to take responsibility for attaining their desires-those who respond to life actively rather than passively.” quote by Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png) > “Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships, success belongs to those who are willing to take responsibility for attaining their desires-those who respond to life actively rather than passively.” [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success comes to those who actively take responsibility for their goals, rather than waiting passively for outcomes. **In simple terms:** Active responsibility leads to success more than passivity. Key Takeaway Own your actions and pursue goals proactively. Themes responsibility success proactivity personal development Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - relationship building - personal projects - health goals Key Concepts self‑determination agency goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What area of your life needs more active responsibility? - How can you shift from passive to active engagement? A Different Perspective Passive attitudes can still dominate despite knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Personal relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-relationships/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Taking responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-responsibility/) [Workplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workplace/) ## Related quotes > [Self-respecting men and women think about the consequences of their actions-and are willing to take responsibility for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/self-respecting-men-and-women-think-about-the-consequences-of-their/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [“Life, relationships and success is not for compromise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-artner/life-relationships-and-success-is-not-for-compromise/) [Dee Dee Artner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-artner/) > [“It's sad, and you're sad, but as you reflect on the three wonderful years you shared you begin to realize that relationships can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-north/it-s-sad-and-you-re-sad-but-as-you-reflect-on-the-three-wonderful/) [Ryan North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-north/) > [All my success belongs to those who have contributed in my pursuit of art, ranging from writers and directors to makeup artists, lighting crew,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/all-my-success-belongs-to-those-who-have-contributed-in-my-pursuit-of/) [Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/) > [Yesterday's success belongs to yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dewar-1st-baron-dewar/yesterday-s-success-belongs-to-yesterday/) [Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dewar-1st-baron-dewar/) > [Success belongs only to those who are willing to work harder than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/success-belongs-only-to-those-who-are-willing-to-work-harder-than/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Success belongs to those who are goal-oriented, determined and persevering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-belongs-to-those-who-are-goal-oriented-determined-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you find a man who knows his job and is willing to take responsibility, keep out of his way and don't bother him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dreier/when-you-find-a-man-who-knows-his-job-and-is-willing-to-take/) [Thomas Dreier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dreier/) > [Are you willing to take responsibility for your team's culture or do you treat it like the weather - something that happens to you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-spool/are-you-willing-to-take-responsibility-for-your-team-s-culture-or-do/) [Jared Spool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-spool/) > [“In my father's last letter he said that the world is run by those willing to take the responsibility for the running of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/in-my-father-s-last-letter-he-said-that-the-world-is-run-by-those/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [If you're responsible, and you're willing to take responsibility, we'll give you a pass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/if-you-re-responsible-and-you-re-willing-to-take-responsibility-we-ll/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we learned from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/when-you-decide-to-get-involved-in-a-military-operation-in-a-place/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“I have come to believe, and believe powerfully, that when we are willing to take responsibility for changing ourselves, we become unlimited in potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-w-herrman/i-have-come-to-believe-and-believe-powerfully-that-when-we-are/) Nathalie W. Herrman > [A mind willing to take responsibility for his or her own actions, is supported by a personality of great change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/a-mind-willing-to-take-responsibility-for-his-or-her-own-actions-is/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [Realize that in order for you to grow emotionally, you must be willing to take full responsibility for all your actions and outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/realize-that-in-order-for-you-to-grow-emotionally-you-must-be-willing/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) ## More by Nathaniel Branden > [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/) > [A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/a-commitment-to-lifelong-learning-is-a-natural-expression-of-the/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [What a great teacher, a great parent, a great psychotherapist and a great coach have in common is a deep belief in the potential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/what-a-great-teacher-a-great-parent-a-great-psychotherapist-and-a/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [If we are happy within ourselves, we don't accept or demand that our partner should fulfill every need. We need to be comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-we-are-happy-within-ourselves-we-don-t-accept-or-demand-that-our/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [The world belongs to those who persevere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-persevere/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Productive achievement is a consequence and an expression of health, self-esteem, not its cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/productive-achievement-is-a-consequence-and-an-expression-of-health/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Faith is the commitment of one's consciousness to beliefs for which one has no sensory evidence or rational proof. When man rejects reason as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/faith-is-the-commitment-of-one-s-consciousness-to-beliefs-for-which/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [In the nature of our existence, we must act to achieve values. And in order to act appropriately, we need to value the beneficiary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/in-the-nature-of-our-existence-we-must-act-to-achieve-values-and-in/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [I cannot remember a time when the question of why people behave as they do was not intensely interesting to me. The desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-the-question-of-why-people-behave-as/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Suppose you feel you cannot accept some fact about yourself. Then own your refusal to accept. Own the block. Embrace it fully. And watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/suppose-you-feel-you-cannot-accept-some-fact-about-yourself-then-own/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Doing more of what doesn't work doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/doing-more-of-what-doesn-t-work-doesn-t-work/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [“Out of fear, out of the desire for approval, out of misguided notions of duty, people surrender themselves--their convictions and their aspirations--every day. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/out-of-fear-out-of-the-desire-for-approval-out-of-misguided-notions/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [If you overcome your fear to ask someone for a date, a raise, or help with a project, that is an act of self-assertiveness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-you-overcome-your-fear-to-ask-someone-for-a-date-a-raise-or-help/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [It would be hard to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/it-would-be-hard-to-name-a-more-certain-sign-of-poor-self-esteem-than/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [When we bury our feelings, we also bury ourselves. It means we exist in a state of alienation. We rarely know it, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/when-we-bury-our-feelings-we-also-bury-ourselves-it-means-we-exist-in/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Explore all 183 Nathaniel Branden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [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/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships, success belongs to those who are willing to take responsibility for attaining their desires-those who respond to life actively rather than passively.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathaniel Branden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal-relationships-success-belongs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal-relationships-success-belongs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bd/nathaniel-branden-2125_desire_whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal_2510666.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whether in the workplace or in personal relationships, success belongs to those who are willing to take…” — Nathaniel Branden", "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": "Nathaniel Branden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whether in the workplace or in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal-relationships-success-belongs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/whether-in-the-workplace-or-in-personal-relationships-success-belongs/#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 } } ] } ```