--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our destiny is greatness and we must…" description: "\"Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.\" — Paul Tsongas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png" --- # Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its… ![“Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.” quote by Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png) > “Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.” [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are destined for greatness and must actively pursue its realization. **In simple terms:** Greatness is our fate; we must act to achieve it. Key Takeaway Commit to purposeful actions toward your potential. Themes purpose greatness destiny action Mood determined optimistic Type inspirational political When to use this quote - career advancement - public service - personal development - community projects Key Concepts political philosophy self‑actualization motivation Questions to Reflect On - What steps will you take toward your envisioned greatness? - How do you define greatness for yourself? A Different Perspective Greatness is not guaranteed; effort alone may not fulfill destiny. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Destiny Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny-greatness-262448/) [Fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfillment/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Greatness Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness-return-3844112/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) ## Related quotes > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Pursue great things. You are destiny for greatness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/pursue-great-things-you-are-destiny-for-greatness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Why settle for a lesser vision? When you are destiny for greatness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/why-settle-for-a-lesser-vision-when-you-are-destiny-for-greatness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“You are destiny for greatness! Realise and pursue this greatness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-realise-and-pursue-this-greatness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I draw comfort in the valley situations when realizing it takes two mountains to form one valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-w-griffin/i-draw-comfort-in-the-valley-situations-when-realizing-it-takes-two/) [Kenneth W Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-w-griffin/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [The wild black scavengers of the skies laid their eggs in season and lovingly fed their young. They soared high over prairies and mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr-2/the-wild-black-scavengers-of-the-skies-laid-their-eggs-in-season-and/) [Walter M. Miller, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr-2/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [In the chain of my life, there were so many links, all of which tended towards bringing me to the fulfillment of my destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baroness-orczy/in-the-chain-of-my-life-there-were-so-many-links-all-of-which-tended/) [Baroness Orczy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baroness-orczy/) > [Never be tired of a dream, if not fulfilled. Fear of failure should not deter you from your path of self belief. Your belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/never-be-tired-of-a-dream-if-not-fulfilled-fear-of-failure-should-not/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [“It is my desire that you consider the advice I am rendering here; that you should no longer sell your life but invest it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-my-desire-that-you-consider-the-advice-i-am-rendering-here-that/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The search for God is a reversal of the normal, mundane worldly order. In search for God, you revert from what attracts you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-search-for-god-is-a-reversal-of-the-normal-mundane-worldly-order/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [You know, it’s the same thing as the question of free will and destiny, the question of creativity - you, the artist, you’re not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-know-it-s-the-same-thing-as-the-question-of-free-will-and-destiny/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Every fragment of time that passes daily must be converted for it to be fully effective”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/every-fragment-of-time-that-passes-daily-must-be-converted-for-it-to/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Three hundred men, all of whom know one another, direct the economic destiny of Europe and choose their successors from among themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walther-rathenau/three-hundred-men-all-of-whom-know-one-another-direct-the-economic/) [Walther Rathenau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walther-rathenau/) ## More by Paul Tsongas > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Breaststroke is an athletic event; butterfly is a political statement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/breaststroke-is-an-athletic-event-butterfly-is-a-political-statement/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Thinking in generations also means enabling our young to have a decent standard of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/thinking-in-generations-also-means-enabling-our-young-to-have-a/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [This land, this water, this air, this planet - this is our legacy to our young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/this-land-this-water-this-air-this-planet-this-is-our-legacy-to-our/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [You can't have employment and despise employers ... No goose, no golden eggs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-can-t-have-employment-and-despise-employers-no-goose-no-golden/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [It was a myth that's often perpetuated at commencement that holds that only hope and promise lie beyond the halls of academe. Don't worry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/it-was-a-myth-that-s-often-perpetuated-at-commencement-that-holds/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Journey with me to a true commitment to our environment. Journey with me to the serenity of leaving to our children a planet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/journey-with-me-to-a-true-commitment-to-our-environment-journey-with/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Let's try winning and see what it feels like. If we don't like it, we can go back to our traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/let-s-try-winning-and-see-what-it-feels-like-if-we-don-t-like-it-we/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [In this era of the global village, the tide of democracy is running. And it will not cease, not in China, not in South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/in-this-era-of-the-global-village-the-tide-of-democracy-is-running/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [I wish I had spent more time at the office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/i-wish-i-had-spent-more-time-at-the-office/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [I am an American. I love this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/i-am-an-american-i-love-this-country/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [When George Bush used the Willie Horton ad, he knew what he was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/when-george-bush-used-the-willie-horton-ad-he-knew-what-he-was-doing/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [Two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers gave us a democracy. It was based upon the simple, yet noble, idea that government derives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/two-hundred-years-ago-our-founding-fathers-gave-us-a-democracy-it-was/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/america-is-hope-it-is-compassion-it-is-excellence-it-is-valor/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [No one on his deathbed ever said, "I wish I had spent more time on my business."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/no-one-on-his-deathbed-ever-said-i-wish-i-had-spent-more-time-on-my/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Explore all 37 Paul Tsongas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Tsongas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-return-to-its-fulfillment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-return-to-its-fulfillment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/paul-tsongas-17433_destiny_our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-ret_437580.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our destiny is greatness and we must return to its fulfillment.” — Paul Tsongas", "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": "Paul Tsongas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our destiny is greatness and we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-return-to-its-fulfillment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/our-destiny-is-greatness-and-we-must-return-to-its-fulfillment/#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 } } ] } ```