--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most humans, in varying degrees, are…" description: "\"Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/og-mandino-1262_ambition_most-humans-in-varying-degrees-are-alrea_2899066.jpg" --- # Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one… ![“Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days…” quote by Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/og-mandino-1262_ambition_most-humans-in-varying-degrees-are-alrea_2899066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/og-mandino-1262_ambition_most-humans-in-varying-degrees-are-alrea_2899066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/og-mandino-1262_ambition_most-humans-in-varying-degrees-are-alrea_2899066.jpg) > “Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead...” [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that many people live half‑dead, having lost aspirations, but they can revive their potential and achieve extraordinary change. **In simple terms:** People often feel stuck but can reignite dreams and achieve greatness. Key Takeaway Reignite ambition and pursue purpose. Themes motivation self‑growth potential resilience transformation Mood hopeful empowering Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career change - personal development - overcoming adversity - goal setting workshops Key Concepts psychology of hope self‑actualization mindset shift Questions to Reflect On - What dreams have you abandoned? - What steps can you take to revive them? A Different Perspective Change requires effort and may face external obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Cemetery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“People have no idea of the things that don't happen to them—the lives they're not living, the deaths stalking them—and thank Christ for that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/people-have-no-idea-of-the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-them-the-lives/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [The greatest human attainment in all the world is for a life to be so surrendered to Him that the name of God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-kuhlman/the-greatest-human-attainment-in-all-the-world-is-for-a-life-to-be-so/) [Kathryn Kuhlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-kuhlman/) > [If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-my-life-is-surrendered-to-god-all-is-well-let-me-not-grab-it-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And because of who Jesus is and the power he has to still change lives and make them better, no one should feel hopeless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-walsh/and-because-of-who-jesus-is-and-the-power-he-has-to-still-change/) Dan Walsh > [And will he not come again? And will he not come again? No, no, he is dead. Go to thy deathbed. He never will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-will-he-not-come-again-and-will-he-not-come-again-no-no-he-is/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I feel tricked. I've literally come back from the dead for you and you're not interested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/i-feel-tricked-i-ve-literally-come-back-from-the-dead-for-you-and-you/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast, than to go in fast and come out dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stirling-moss/it-is-better-to-go-into-a-corner-slow-and-come-out-fast-than-to-go-in/) [Stirling Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stirling-moss/) > [If he's so smart, how come he's dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-he-s-so-smart-how-come-he-s-dead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And will 'a not come again? And will 'a not come again? No, no, he is dead, Go to thy death bed: He will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-will-a-not-come-again-and-will-a-not-come-again-no-no-he-is-dead/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In soaps, people come back from the dead all the time, to the point where death is just a bus stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-geary/in-soaps-people-come-back-from-the-dead-all-the-time-to-the-point/) [Anthony Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-geary/) > [“I will come back from the dead for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/i-will-come-back-from-the-dead-for-you/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [“There's some that came here never believing they were dead. They insisted all the way that they were alive, it was a mistake, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-s-some-that-came-here-never-believing-they-were-dead-they/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The accolades usually come when you're dead or too old to get a job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frankenheimer/the-accolades-usually-come-when-you-re-dead-or-too-old-to-get-a-job/) [John Frankenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frankenheimer/) > [“I will not come 2 your funeral because you will not come 2 mine because you will be dead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapsy/i-will-not-come-2-your-funeral-because-you-will-not-come-2-mine/) Tapsy > [“Come up and be dead! Come up and be dead!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/come-up-and-be-dead-come-up-and-be-dead/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Og Mandino > [Don't let your success of today lay you into complacency for tomorrow. For that is the worst form of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/don-t-let-your-success-of-today-lay-you-into-complacency-for-tomorrow/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Never settle for the crumbs of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/never-settle-for-the-crumbs-of-life/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-smallest-task-well-done-becomes-a-miracle-of-achievement/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Laugh at yourself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/laugh-at-yourself-for-man-is-most-comical-when-he-takes-himself-too/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-because-in-selling-as-in-all/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will persist. I will always take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-persist-i-will-always-take-another-step-if-that-is-of-no-avail/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Do the very best that you can, in the things you do best, and you will know in thy soul, that you are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/do-the-very-best-that-you-can-in-the-things-you-do-best-and-you-will/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I am indeed a fortunate man and today's hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-am-indeed-a-fortunate-man-and-today-s-hours-are-but-a-bonus/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [The person who knows one thing and does it better than anyone else, even if it only be the art of raising lentils, receives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/the-person-who-knows-one-thing-and-does-it-better-than-anyone-else/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/always-do-your-best-what-you-plant-now-you-will-harvest-later/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/to-do-anything-truly-worth-doing-i-must-not-stand-back-shivering-and/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [What is past is past. You can do nothing about yesterday and last month and the failures of last year, but you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/what-is-past-is-past-you-can-do-nothing-about-yesterday-and-last/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) [Explore all 256 Og Mandino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. 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