--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is just the little difference between…" description: "\"It is just the little difference between the good and the best that makes the difference between the artist and the artisan. It is just the little touc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/orison-swett-marden-711_art_it-is-just-the-little-difference-between_2515985.jpg" --- # It is just the little difference between the good and the… ![“It is just the little difference between the good and the best that makes the difference between the artist and the artisan. It is just the little touches after the average man would quit that makes the master's fame.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/orison-swett-marden-711_art_it-is-just-the-little-difference-between_2515985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/orison-swett-marden-711_art_it-is-just-the-little-difference-between_2515985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/orison-swett-marden-711_art_it-is-just-the-little-difference-between_2515985.jpg) > “It is just the little difference between the good and the best that makes the difference between the artist and the artisan. It is just the little touches after the average man would quit that makes the master's fame.” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excellence is achieved by paying attention to small details and persisting beyond the average effort. **In simple terms:** Greatness comes from tiny, persistent improvements. Key Takeaway Focus on details and keep going beyond mediocrity. Themes excellence persistence detail mastery Mood motivational determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - art - business - personal development - skill mastery Key Concepts incremental improvement craftsmanship Questions to Reflect On - Which small habit could elevate your work? - Are you willing to push past the point where others quit? A Different Perspective Small details can be ignored, leading to mediocrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artisan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artisan/) [Artisans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artisans/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Artisan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-artisan-1202368/) [Average](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) [Average man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-man/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Makes Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-master-376480/) [Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master/) [Master Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master-fame-1202369/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) ## Related quotes > [It is just the little touches after the average man would quit that make the master's fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/it-is-just-the-little-touches-after-the-average-man-would-quit-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Risk is what separates the artist from the artisan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/risk-is-what-separates-the-artist-from-the-artisan/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [The painter who is content with the praise of the world for what does not satisfy himself, is not an artist, but an artisan;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/the-painter-who-is-content-with-the-praise-of-the-world-for-what-does/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [You're master of what you've lived, artisan at what you're living, amateur at what's next to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-re-master-of-what-you-ve-lived-artisan-at-what-you-re-living/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [If we could combine Starbucks spirit with the spirit of the artisan, we knew we could achieve something special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kengo-kuma/if-we-could-combine-starbucks-spirit-with-the-spirit-of-the-artisan/) [Kengo Kuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kengo-kuma/) > [Every man is the artisan of his own fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/appius-claudius-caecus/every-man-is-the-artisan-of-his-own-fortune/) [Appius Claudius Caecus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/appius-claudius-caecus/) > [“When you visit a country, visit the forgotten artisans of the narrow streets because they are the ones who made that country! Do this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-visit-a-country-visit-the-forgotten-artisans-of-the-narrow/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I am an artisan. I only became an artist when people watch what I do. That is when it becomes art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-am-an-artisan-i-only-became-an-artist-when-people-watch-what-i-do/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [If the corn laws were altered, the British artisan might again be able to subsist by twelve hours' labour, a most desirable event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hume/if-the-corn-laws-were-altered-the-british-artisan-might-again-be-able/) [Joseph Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hume/) > [ \[Computing\] is just a fabulous place for that, because it's a place where you don't have to be a Ph.D. or anything else. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/computing-is-just-a-fabulous-place-for-that-because-it-s-a-place/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [A designer who is not also a couturier, who hasn't learned the most refined mysteries of physically creating his models, is like a sculptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-saint-laurent/a-designer-who-is-not-also-a-couturier-who-hasn-t-learned-the-most/) [Yves Saint Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-saint-laurent/) > [There is a creative pleasure, which, for instance, the artisan in the Middle Ages, or in a country like Mexico, still today has -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/there-is-a-creative-pleasure-which-for-instance-the-artisan-in-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I have a kind of old-fashioned, artisan approach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/i-have-a-kind-of-old-fashioned-artisan-approach/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [In the practice of any craft, we are less concerned with the quantity of the product than with its quality, and less concerned with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanza-del-vasto/in-the-practice-of-any-craft-we-are-less-concerned-with-the-quantity/) [Lanza del Vasto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanza-del-vasto/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. 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As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is just the little difference between the good and the best that makes the difference between the artist and the artisan. 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