--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing worth doing can be accomplished…" description: "\"Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.\" — Reinhold Niebuhr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png" --- # Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single… ![“Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.” quote by Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png) > “Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.” [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Significant achievements require time beyond a single lifespan, urging long-term vision. **In simple terms:** Great work spans generations. Key Takeaway Think beyond your life. Themes legacy time vision Mood hopeful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - philanthropy - research Key Concepts Intergenerational impact patience Questions to Reflect On - What legacy will you leave? - How do you sustain long-term goals? A Different Perspective Patience may be tested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single/) [Single life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-life/) [Single Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-lifetime-559139/) [Worth Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-doing-233714/) ## Related quotes > [We must all face the fact that in a single lifetime we lead several simultaneous lives; our intention should be to make them reinforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gill/we-must-all-face-the-fact-that-in-a-single-lifetime-we-lead-several/) [Brendan Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-gill/) > [An now the silences come in a single lifetime, in a single year... when species die, leaving a silent space in the world song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/an-now-the-silences-come-in-a-single-lifetime-in-a-single-year-when/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you are a wise man, Van Helsing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-fort/for-one-who-has-not-lived-even-a-single-lifetime-you-are-a-wise-man/) [Garrett Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-fort/) > [Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achieved-in-our-lifetime-therefore/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/there-are-too-many-books-in-the-world-to-read-in-a-single-lifetime/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [The very worst impulses of humankind can survive generations, centuries, even millennia. And the best of our individual efforts can die with us at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/the-very-worst-impulses-of-humankind-can-survive-generations/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [One great love in a single lifetime was enough for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-waller/one-great-love-in-a-single-lifetime-was-enough-for-anyone/) [Robert James Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-waller/) > [Adversity, if a man is set down to it by degrees, is more supportable with equanimity by most people than any great prosperity arrived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/adversity-if-a-man-is-set-down-to-it-by-degrees-is-more-supportable/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Being single entitles you to not ask someone's opinion before you do something to mess up your own room, your credit report or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayali-patil/being-single-entitles-you-to-not-ask-someone-s-opinion-before-you-do/) [Sayali Patil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayali-patil/) > [When girls complain about being single...I tell them to just be plural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-girls-complain-about-being-single-i-tell-them-to-just-be-plural/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being single doesn't mean your open to any dumb ass that comes your way. It means TIME TO PUT YOUR LIFE TOGETHER AND TRIUMPH…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osvaldo-m/being-single-doesn-t-mean-your-open-to-any-dumb-ass-that-comes-your/) [Osvaldo M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osvaldo-m/) > [“Friends know the patterns of our souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-buchanan/friends-know-the-patterns-of-our-souls/) [Ruth Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-buchanan/) > [If you aren't happy being single you're not going to be happy in a relationship.Find your own happiness first..then share it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-favorite-qoutes/if-you-aren-t-happy-being-single-you-re-not-going-to-be-happy-in-a/) [My Favorite Qoutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-favorite-qoutes/) > [Single? No! We were never single. Were always taken. Remember? God said: You are mine- Isaiah 43:1.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeferson-bregano/single-no-we-were-never-single-were-always-taken-remember-god-said/) [Jeferson Bregano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeferson-bregano/) > [Single as a dollar and not looking for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/single-as-a-dollar-and-not-looking-for-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Reinhold Niebuhr > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attributed to a defect in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-essence-of-man-is-his-freedom-sin-is-committed-in-that-freedom/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/human-beings-are-endowed-by-nature-with-both-selfish-and-unselfish/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-historic-situations-in-which-refusal-to-defend-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-grant-me-the-serenity-to-accept-the-things-i-cannot-change/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Freedom is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary for the individual, because the individual, no matter how good the society is, every individual has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/freedom-is-necessary-for-two-reasons-it-s-necessary-for-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The pretensions of final truth are always partlyan effort to obscure a darkly felt consciousness of the limits of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-pretensions-of-final-truth-are-always-partlyan-effort-to-obscure/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/all-social-cooperation-on-a-larger-scale-than-the-most-intimate/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Man is always worse than most people suspect, but also generally better than most people dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-is-always-worse-than-most-people-suspect-but-also-generally/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [When a church reaches up beyond its group and tries to enforce its standards upon a society that doesn't accept these standards, and perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/when-a-church-reaches-up-beyond-its-group-and-tries-to-enforce-its/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [...(I)ndividual selfhood is expressed in the self's capacity for self-transcendence and not in its rational capacity for conceptual and analytic procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/i-ndividual-selfhood-is-expressed-in-the-self-s-capacity-for-self/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-whole-art-of-politics-consists-in-directing-rationally-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/religion-is-so-frequently-a-source-of-confusion-in-political-life-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) [Explore all 200 Reinhold Niebuhr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reinhold Niebuhr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished-in-a-single-lifetime/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accomplished" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished-in-a-single-lifetime/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_accomplished_nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished_2330188.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing worth doing can be accomplished in a single lifetime.” — Reinhold Niebuhr", "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": "Reinhold Niebuhr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing worth doing can be accomplished...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished-in-a-single-lifetime/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-worth-doing-can-be-accomplished-in-a-single-lifetime/#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 } } ] } ```