--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man complained that on his way home to…" description: "\"A man complained that on his way home to dinner he had every day to pass through that long field of his neighbor's. I advised him to buy it, and it wou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_dinner_a-man-complained-that-on-his-way-home-to_2389030.png" --- # A man complained that on his way home to dinner he had… ![“A man complained that on his way home to dinner he had every day to pass through that long field of his neighbor's. I advised him to buy it, and it would never seem long again.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_dinner_a-man-complained-that-on-his-way-home-to_2389030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_dinner_a-man-complained-that-on-his-way-home-to_2389030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_dinner_a-man-complained-that-on-his-way-home-to_2389030.png) > “A man complained that on his way home to dinner he had every day to pass through that long field of his neighbor's. I advised him to buy it, and it would never seem long again.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing a long, tedious path as a personal obstacle can be transformed by claiming ownership, turning it into a short, familiar route. **In simple terms:** Own the journey to make it feel shorter. Key Takeaway Take control of your obstacles. Themes perseverance mindset ownership Mood motivational philosophical Type self-help inspirational When to use this quote - daily commute - project deadlines - habit formation - personal challenges Key Concepts psychology self-determination perception Questions to Reflect On - What can you claim ownership of today? - How does mindset shift affect perceived difficulty? A Different Perspective Ownership may not change external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-long-3131020/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Field Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/field-neighbor-4913778/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Investing in real estate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing-in-real-estate/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Man Complained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-complained-2650829/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Neighbor Advised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor-advised-5943280/) [Real estate investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-estate-investing/) [Real estate motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-estate-motivational-154833/) [Realtors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realtors/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-home/) ## Related quotes > [The major fortunes in America have been made in land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/the-major-fortunes-in-america-have-been-made-in-land/) [John D. 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Lol!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-vincent/there-once-was-a-man-who-complained-about-not-having-shoes-he-was/) [Billy Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-vincent/) > [“nothing” the unjust man complained “is just” (“or un-“ the just rejoined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/nothing-the-unjust-man-complained-is-just-or-un-the-just-rejoined/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-bushnell/a-lot-of-people-have-ideas-but-there-are-few-who-decide-to-do/) [Nolan Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-bushnell/) > [Let others lead small lives, but not you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/let-others-lead-small-lives-but-not-you/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/triumph-often-is-nearest-when-defeat-seems-inescapable/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Land monopoly is not only monopoly, but it is by far the greatest of monopolies; it is a perpetual monopoly, and it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/land-monopoly-is-not-only-monopoly-but-it-is-by-far-the-greatest-of/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Don't wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-allen/don-t-wait-to-buy-real-estate-buy-real-estate-and-wait/) [Robert G. Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-allen/) > [Energy efficiency should be on the priority list for all home improvement work these days. Canny builders will be able to provide homeowners with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beeny/energy-efficiency-should-be-on-the-priority-list-for-all-home/) [Sarah Beeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beeny/) > [Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/ninety-percent-of-all-millionaires-become-so-through-owning-real/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Every person who invests in well-selected real estate in a growing section of a prosperous community adopts the surest and safest method of becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/every-person-who-invests-in-well-selected-real-estate-in-a-growing/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. 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When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . A public banquet, if eaten with thought and care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/my-dinners-have-never-interfered-with-my-business-they-have-been-my/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [“We just went out for dinner. We didn't participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dahl/we-just-went-out-for-dinner-we-didn-t-participate-in-a-roman-orgy-i/) [Victoria Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dahl/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man complained that on his way home to dinner he had every day to pass through that long field of his neighbor's. 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