--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first essentials, of course, is to…" description: "\"The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want.\" — Robert Collier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png" --- # The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want. ![“The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want.” quote by Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png) > “The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want.” [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding personal desires is the foundation for effective goal setting and achievement. **In simple terms:** Know what you want first. Key Takeaway Clarify your goals before acting. Themes self-awareness goal-setting motivation Mood reflective determined Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal finance - relationship goals - creative projects Key Concepts psychology intentionality Questions to Reflect On - What truly matters to you now? - How can you test if a desire is authentic? A Different Perspective Desires may be unclear or changing, making planning difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Course Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course-know-950012/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Essentials Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials-course-3296848/) [Know Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-want/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [I've been in football since I was eight. Of course I know what I'm talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-scott/i-ve-been-in-football-since-i-was-eight-of-course-i-know-what-i-m/) [Alex Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-scott/) > [“You know when you’re on a course that you know is the right one. You can’t explain it, you can’t define it, you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/you-know-when-you-re-on-a-course-that-you-know-is-the-right-one-you/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [Of course I know everything. Im 21.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-i-know-everything-im-21/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Of course I know what works for me and what kind of tone I want my films to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/of-course-i-know-what-works-for-me-and-what-kind-of-tone-i-want-my/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“Of course you know, this means war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-adamson/of-course-you-know-this-means-war/) [Joe Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-adamson/) > [“What the hell, Tylar, of course I know you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-smith/what-the-hell-tylar-of-course-i-know-you/) [Andrea Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-smith/) > [“Yes of course I know it's all a dream. Isn't everything?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/yes-of-course-i-know-it-s-all-a-dream-isn-t-everything/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Of course I know how to roll a joint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/of-course-i-know-how-to-roll-a-joint/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. 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That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [“life is our battlefield. We must do what we know to do, not what we want to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/life-is-our-battlefield-we-must-do-what-we-know-to-do-not-what-we/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) ## More by Robert Collier > [All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/all-of-us-have-bad-luck-and-good-luck-the-man-who-persists-through/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [It is only when you despair of all ordinary means, it is only when you convince it that it must help you or you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/it-is-only-when-you-despair-of-all-ordinary-means-it-is-only-when-you/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Your belief that you can do the thing gives your thought forces their power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/your-belief-that-you-can-do-the-thing-gives-your-thought-forces-their/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [It is your work to clear away the mass of encumbering material of thoughts, so that you may bring into plain view the precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/it-is-your-work-to-clear-away-the-mass-of-encumbering-material-of/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Supply always comes on the heels of demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/supply-always-comes-on-the-heels-of-demand/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Make every thought, every fact, that comes into your mind pay you a profit. Make it work and produce for you. Think of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/make-every-thought-every-fact-that-comes-into-your-mind-pay-you-a/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [See the things you want as already yours. Think of them as yours, as belonging to you, as already in your possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/see-the-things-you-want-as-already-yours-think-of-them-as-yours-as/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/your-chances-of-success-in-any-undertaking-can-always-be-measured-by/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Mind is all that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/mind-is-all-that-counts/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [People blame their environment. There is only one person to blame - and only one - themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/people-blame-their-environment-there-is-only-one-person-to-blame-and/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [All riches have their origin in mind. Wealth is in ideas - not money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/all-riches-have-their-origin-in-mind-wealth-is-in-ideas-not-money/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [The great thing is the start - to see an opportunity for service, and to start doing it, even though in the beginning you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/the-great-thing-is-the-start-to-see-an-opportunity-for-service-and-to/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Everything in God's store is on the bottom shelf...you have to get on your knees to get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/everything-in-god-s-store-is-on-the-bottom-shelf-you-have-to-get-on/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Decide the effect you want to produce in your reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/decide-the-effect-you-want-to-produce-in-your-reader/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Make your mold. The best flux in the world will not make a usable shape unless you have a mold to pour it in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/make-your-mold-the-best-flux-in-the-world-will-not-make-a-usable/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) [Explore all 91 Robert Collier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) ## More Essentials quotes > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [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/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [Intellectual methods-study and reason-are essential to our progress toward eternal life, but they are not sufficient. They can prepare the way. They can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/intellectual-methods-study-and-reason-are-essential-to-our-progress/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [It is essential for world peace that the world religions make peace with each other. If they don't, we can hardly expect the nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/it-is-essential-for-world-peace-that-the-world-religions-make-peace/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [ I don't think anybody can be a success who doesn't like what they do. \[But it's\] no job if it has no challenge; there's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/i-don-t-think-anybody-can-be-a-success-who-doesn-t-like-what-they-do/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I believe it is essential for our planetary future to develop tools that can change the consciousness which has created the crisis that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/i-believe-it-is-essential-for-our-planetary-future-to-develop-tools/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [It's essential that we learn how to defend the Bible and the Christian faith for our sake and our children's. If we don't, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/it-s-essential-that-we-learn-how-to-defend-the-bible-and-the/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) [Browse all 3,407 Essentials quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Collier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-know-what-you-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Essentials" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-know-what-you-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-collier-7407_essentials_the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-kno_1157126.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first essentials, of course, is to know what you want.” — Robert Collier", "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": "Robert Collier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The first essentials, of course, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-know-what-you-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/the-first-essentials-of-course-is-to-know-what-you-want/#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 } } ] } ```