--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Achilles acted as if he had already won…" description: "\"“Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.”\" — Orson Scott Card" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png" --- # Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the… ![“Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png) > ““Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confidence can become self‑fulfilling when others emulate it, reinforcing success. **In simple terms:** Confidence leads to success when others follow. Key Takeaway Cultivate confidence and let it inspire others. Themes leadership confidence influence Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational leadership When to use this quote - team sports - business leadership - public speaking Key Concepts self‑fulfilling prophecy social proof Questions to Reflect On - How does your confidence affect those around you? - When might confidence become a liability? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may cause reckless decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [“Besides," said Suriyawong. "This was not a rescue operation." "What was it, target practice? Chinese skeet?" "An offer of transportation to an invited guest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/besides-said-suriyawong-this-was-not-a-rescue-operation-what-was-it/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Achilles might be a good papa to the family, but he was also a killer, and he never forgives. Poke knew that, though. Bean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/achilles-might-be-a-good-papa-to-the-family-but-he-was-also-a-killer/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Poke had never shared out so many raisins, because she had never had so many to share. But the little kids wouldn't understand that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/poke-had-never-shared-out-so-many-raisins-because-she-had-never-had/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I won my husband. I won my kids. I've won a lot of really great jobs. I've won a lot of friendships. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-elise-goldsberry/i-won-my-husband-i-won-my-kids-i-ve-won-a-lot-of-really-great-jobs-i/) [Renee Elise Goldsberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-elise-goldsberry/) > [But if you caught my informant,' said Achilles, 'why in the world would Chamrajnagar—or Graff, if it was him—launch the shuttle anyway? Was catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/but-if-you-caught-my-informant-said-achilles-why-in-the-world-would/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I’m on his death list, too.” “Then why are you still alive?” asked Peter. “Because, contrary to widespread belief, Achilles is not a genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-m-on-his-death-list-too-then-why-are-you-still-alive-asked-peter/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“When Achilles is most useful and loyal to you, that is when he has most certainly betrayed you”?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-achilles-is-most-useful-and-loyal-to-you-that-is-when-he-has/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“You’re a strange kind of boy,” said Achilles. “I was not tested for normality before I was entrusted with this mission,” said Suriyawong. “But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-re-a-strange-kind-of-boy-said-achilles-i-was-not-tested-for/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“So you’re coming along with me, increasing our risk of being identified and allowing Achilles to get his two worst nemeses with one well-placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/so-you-re-coming-along-with-me-increasing-our-risk-of-being/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“To have Achilles’s gratitude was clearly a terminal disease.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/to-have-achilles-s-gratitude-was-clearly-a-terminal-disease/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Maybe we’re assigning Achilles supernatural powers,” said Petra. “He isn’t a god. Not even a hero. Just a sick kid.” “No,” said Bean. “I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/maybe-we-re-assigning-achilles-supernatural-powers-said-petra-he-isn/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Achilles quotes > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There comes a point where certain things are becoming my Achilles heel; you know when you start repeating yourself and saying the same anecdotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elson/there-comes-a-point-where-certain-things-are-becoming-my-achilles/) [Karen Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elson/) > [To reveal imprudently the spot where we are most sensitive and vulnerable is to invite a blow. The demigod Achilles admitted no one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/to-reveal-imprudently-the-spot-where-we-are-most-sensitive-and/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [Like Achilles, the hero who forgot his heel, or like Icarus who, flying close to the sun, forgot that his wings were made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-longenecker/like-achilles-the-hero-who-forgot-his-heel-or-like-icarus-who-flying/) [Dwight Longenecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-longenecker/) > [And overpowered by memory Both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely For man - killing Hector, throbbing, crouching Before Achilles' feet as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-overpowered-by-memory-both-men-gave-way-to-grief-priam-wept/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Briseis is kneeling by my body. She has brought water and cloth, and washes the blood and dirt from my skin. Her hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/briseis-is-kneeling-by-my-body-she-has-brought-water-and-cloth-and/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [When we consider the weak and nerveless periods of some literary men, who perchance in feet and inches come up to the standard oftheir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-consider-the-weak-and-nerveless-periods-of-some-literary-men/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Personal integrity in Achilles achieves the form and authority of immanent divinity, with its inviolable, lonely singleness, half repellent because of its almost inhuman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-h-whitman/personal-integrity-in-achilles-achieves-the-form-and-authority-of/) [Cedric H Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-h-whitman/) > [As the Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe has presciently pointed out, neoliberal corporate globalism threatens to exploit that advantage like never before, and it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/as-the-cameroonian-philosopher-achille-mbembe-has-presciently-pointed/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [“I listened and did not speak. Achilles’ eyes were bright in the firelight, his face drawn sharply by the flickering shadows. I would know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-listened-and-did-not-speak-achilles-eyes-were-bright-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At Achilles tomb, O fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/at-achilles-tomb-o-fortunate-youth-to-have-found-homer-as-the-herald/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/the-achilles-heel-of-the-americas-was-the-lack-of-cultural-confidence/) [Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/) [Browse all 180 Achilles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achilles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won-and-because-the-other-kids/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achilles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won-and-because-the-other-kids/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/orson-scott-card-134_achilles_achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won_916557.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.” — Orson Scott Card", "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": "Orson Scott Card", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Achilles acted as if he had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won-and-because-the-other-kids/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/achilles-acted-as-if-he-had-already-won-and-because-the-other-kids/#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 } } ] } ```