--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Accomplishment is such a patronizing…" description: "\"Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word, isn't it? I haven't really accomplished anything. The most accomplished thing I've done is to hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/patrick-macnee-27262_accomplished_accomplishment-is-such-a-patronizing-dan_2799405.jpg" --- # Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word… ![“Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word, isn't it? I haven't really accomplished anything. The most accomplished thing I've done is to have lived this long - 81.” quote by Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/patrick-macnee-27262_accomplished_accomplishment-is-such-a-patronizing-dan_2799405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/patrick-macnee-27262_accomplished_accomplishment-is-such-a-patronizing-dan_2799405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/patrick-macnee-27262_accomplished_accomplishment-is-such-a-patronizing-dan_2799405.jpg) > “Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word, isn't it? I haven't really accomplished anything. The most accomplished thing I've done is to have lived this long - 81.” [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accomplishment feels patronizing; the speaker feels they have only truly accomplished living a long life. **In simple terms:** Accomplishment feels condescending; only living long counts. Key Takeaway Reevaluate personal definitions of success. Themes aging self‑reflection humility Mood contemplative humorous Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - retirement planning - memoir writing - intergenerational dialogues - celebration events Key Concepts life milestones longevity personal legacy Questions to Reflect On - What does success mean to you? - How can you create meaningful achievements now? A Different Perspective Longevity alone may not satisfy deeper aspirations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Patronizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patronizing/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/don-t-measure-yourself-by-what-you-have-accomplished-but-by-what-you/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [We have a Marlboro Man Theory of leadership and change, especially in America, but in fact anything great that's accomplished is accomplished by many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-morgan/we-have-a-marlboro-man-theory-of-leadership-and-change-especially-in/) [Nick Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-morgan/) > [When you listen to people who have accomplished so much, the one thing they always say is, "I didn't let anybody stop me." I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-oxford/when-you-listen-to-people-who-have-accomplished-so-much-the-one-thing/) [Kelly Oxford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-oxford/) > [Every great thing that has been accomplished, and is yet to be accomplished, starts with a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-courtney/every-great-thing-that-has-been-accomplished-and-is-yet-to-be/) [Bill Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-courtney/) > [A scientist who cannot prove what he has accomplished, has accomplished nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-reisch/a-scientist-who-cannot-prove-what-he-has-accomplished-has/) [Walter Reisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-reisch/) > [“But sometimes, by the deserving and the fortunate, even that task is accomplished. And when it is accomplished— behold!— all the truth of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/but-sometimes-by-the-deserving-and-the-fortunate-even-that-task-is/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [So many people define themselves by what they've accomplished or not accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morley/so-many-people-define-themselves-by-what-they-ve-accomplished-or-not/) [Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morley/) > [I never could do anything with figures, never had any talent for mathematics, never accomplished anything in my efforts at that rugged study, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-could-do-anything-with-figures-never-had-any-talent-for/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If I have accomplished anything good, then it's mainly because I've been driven by the need to know whether I can accomplish things I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-i-have-accomplished-anything-good-then-it-s-mainly-because-i-ve/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [You always wonder whether the attacks on my capabilities came from an honest evaluation of my accomplishments or from stereotypical presumptions that we, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/you-always-wonder-whether-the-attacks-on-my-capabilities-came-from-an/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Accolades and lists may tell us about accomplishments, but life is meant to be experienced, not just accomplished. It's like the difference between reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lz-granderson/accolades-and-lists-may-tell-us-about-accomplishments-but-life-is/) [LZ Granderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lz-granderson/) > [Remember, the very moment you wake up in the morning-a goal has been accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-hunter/remember-the-very-moment-you-wake-up-in-the-morning-a-goal-has-been/) [Lucas Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-hunter/) > [I tend not to attempt to describe pain. I don't feel I can comprehend or re-create the personal suffering of others, so I simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-tend-not-to-attempt-to-describe-pain-i-don-t-feel-i-can-comprehend/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [The salesman thanks the customer for patronizing his shop and asks him to come again. But the socialists say: Be grateful to Hitler, render…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-salesman-thanks-the-customer-for-patronizing-his-shop-and-asks/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Patronizing the Arts is a brilliantly nuanced assessment of why universities must become art patrons. Learning from the twentieth-century university's embrace of Big Science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-phelan/patronizing-the-arts-is-a-brilliantly-nuanced-assessment-of-why/) [Peggy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-phelan/) ## More by Patrick Macnee > [It doesn't work that way, you know, because most parts that you think you'd do well, most other people don't. So they offer you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/it-doesn-t-work-that-way-you-know-because-most-parts-that-you-think/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [They call it The New Avengers but it's really the old Avengers with new people except for me, looking rather fat and rather old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/they-call-it-the-new-avengers-but-it-s-really-the-old-avengers-with/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [These things don't just come, arrive and settle like a bird picking up a few bits of crumbs. They develop. I think the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/these-things-don-t-just-come-arrive-and-settle-like-a-bird-picking-up/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [But I did an awful lot of work in Hollywood, and in New York for that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/but-i-did-an-awful-lot-of-work-in-hollywood-and-in-new-york-for-that/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [The only danger about websites, you know, is people who remember something you did or said thirty or forty years ago, and bring it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/the-only-danger-about-websites-you-know-is-people-who-remember/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [Until the year 1967, it was a crime, for which you could be put in prison, to make homosexual love to someone in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/until-the-year-1967-it-was-a-crime-for-which-you-could-be-put-in/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [I like most of the Humphrey Bogart movies because they had to act then, and they acted very well. Edward G. Robinson is probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/i-like-most-of-the-humphrey-bogart-movies-because-they-had-to-act/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [The radio even weren't allowed to say there was a Holocaust and people were being killed right, left and center in these terrible camps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/the-radio-even-weren-t-allowed-to-say-there-was-a-holocaust-and/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [The strange thing about the English character is that they understate everything. It's considered bad form to comment on the food, money, romance, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/the-strange-thing-about-the-english-character-is-that-they-understate/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [Well, you know, I was through the whole of the Second World War and saw all my friends killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/well-you-know-i-was-through-the-whole-of-the-second-world-war-and-saw/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [I mean, everyone says Citizen Kane. It isn't that great, anyway. And Orson Welles I knew well, of course. He made other incredible films…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/i-mean-everyone-says-citizen-kane-it-isn-t-that-great-anyway-and/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [I went to acting school, but only for nine months. If you're an actor, you know, don't really need to learn how to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/i-went-to-acting-school-but-only-for-nine-months-if-you-re-an-actor/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [And there was a very famous man called Michael Powell, who probably is the greatest director all round, except possibly a couple of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/and-there-was-a-very-famous-man-called-michael-powell-who-probably-is/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [I was producing a series about Sir Winston Churchill, about which I was extremely proud, and earning a lot of money as a producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/i-was-producing-a-series-about-sir-winston-churchill-about-which-i/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) > [And in the Second World War, you didn't just read about it in the newspapers because you weren't allowed to read it in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macnee/and-in-the-second-world-war-you-didn-t-just-read-about-it-in-the/) [Patrick Macnee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) [Explore all 20 Patrick Macnee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macnee/) ## More Accomplished quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I'm proud of what I've accomplished and that is empowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/i-m-proud-of-what-i-ve-accomplished-and-that-is-empowering/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-do-not-know-today-whether-we-are-busy-or-idle-in-times-when-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [With Epcot Center, the Disney corporation has accomplished something I didn't think possible in today's world. They have created a land of make-believe that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-accomplished-something-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ridenour/listing-the-polar-bear-under-the-endangered-species-act-could-harm/) Amy Ridenour > [“Great things can be accomplished, when it doesnt matter who gets the credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/great-things-can-be-accomplished-when-it-doesnt-matter-who-gets-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If I could inspire you for even a moment to be yourself and love yourself, and not let what anyone has to say hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-neal-hartry/if-i-could-inspire-you-for-even-a-moment-to-be-yourself-and-love/) [Joshua Neal Hartry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-neal-hartry/) Browse all 1,379 Accomplished quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word, isn't it? 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