--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the absence of a great dream…" description: "\"In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.\" — Robert Fritz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg" --- # In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails. ![“In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.” quote by Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg) > “In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.” [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without a compelling dream, trivial concerns dominate. **In simple terms:** Dreams prevent pettiness. Key Takeaway Cultivate a grand vision. Themes ambition dreams focus Mood inspired determined Type motivational strategic When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - leadership training Key Concepts goal setting psychology Questions to Reflect On - What dream drives you? - How do you balance big dreams with daily tasks? A Different Perspective Dreams may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Learning organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-organization/) [Pettiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pettiness/) [Prevails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevails/) ## Related quotes > [“In the presence of greatness, pettiness disappears. In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-m-senge/in-the-presence-of-greatness-pettiness-disappears-in-the-absence-of-a/) [Peter M. Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-m-senge/) > [In the absence of a great dream pettiness prevails. Shred visions foster risk taking, courage and innovation. Keeping the end in mind creates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettiness-prevails-shred-visions/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [I believe absence is a great element of charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-believe-absence-is-a-great-element-of-charm/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I just want to make a point that it's not just great teachers that sometimes shape your life. Sometimes it's the absence of great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/i-just-want-to-make-a-point-that-it-s-not-just-great-teachers-that/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [“This is the first letter I have ever written. That a few marks on this piece of paper can bring you my heart in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-griffith/this-is-the-first-letter-i-have-ever-written-that-a-few-marks-on-this/) [Clay Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-griffith/) > [“My life is diminished for the absence of great things. Yet they are in reality not absent at all. Rather I am too absent-minded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/my-life-is-diminished-for-the-absence-of-great-things-yet-they-are-in/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A goal of education is. to assist growth toward greater complexity and integration and to assist in the process of self-organization - to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-feuerstein/a-goal-of-education-is-to-assist-growth-toward-greater-complexity-and/) Reuven Feuerstein > [Learning organizations organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/learning-organizations-organizations-where-people-continually-expand/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [Many organizations are now trying to walk under the banner of The Learning Organization, realizing that knowledge is our most important product ... But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wriston/many-organizations-are-now-trying-to-walk-under-the-banner-of-the/) [Walter Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wriston/) > [“Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-m-senge/personal-mastery-is-the-discipline-of-continually-clarifying-and/) [Peter M. Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-m-senge/) > [Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we were never able to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/through-learning-we-re-create-ourselves-through-learning-we-become/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [Art isn't about drawing; it's about learning to see. What organization doesn't need this ability?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/art-isn-t-about-drawing-it-s-about-learning-to-see-what-organization/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > [To be successful in a knowledge economy firms need to create learning organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-tapscott/to-be-successful-in-a-knowledge-economy-firms-need-to-create-learning/) [Don Tapscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-tapscott/) > [In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/in-a-learning-organization-leaders-are-designers-stewards-and/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [“A learning organization starts with a recognition that all of us want to grow and to help others grow. Yet in many organizations, employees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-bock/a-learning-organization-starts-with-a-recognition-that-all-of-us-want/) [Laszlo Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-bock/) ## More by Robert Fritz > [The human spirit will not invest itself in a compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/the-human-spirit-will-not-invest-itself-in-a-compromise/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [Creating is no problem - problem solving is not creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/creating-is-no-problem-problem-solving-is-not-creating/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [“Hector Berlioz’s witty comment, “Time is the great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all of its students.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/hector-berlioz-s-witty-comment-time-is-the-great-teacher-but/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [Efforts to reform are often met with resistance because the system always tries to fall back to the status quo and what is comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/efforts-to-reform-are-often-met-with-resistance-because-the-system/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [It is not common for people to think of their own lives as creations. You are not encouraged to have with your own life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/it-is-not-common-for-people-to-think-of-their-own-lives-as-creations/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [Creators start at the end. First they have an idea of what they want to create. Sometimes this is idea is general, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/creators-start-at-the-end-first-they-have-an-idea-of-what-they-want/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/if-you-limit-your-choices-only-to-what-seems-possible-or-reasonable/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [Reality is an acquired taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/reality-is-an-acquired-taste/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [“Once a structure exists, energy moves through that structure by the path of least resistance. 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From the spider web to the human body, from the formation of galaxies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/one-basic-principle-found-throughout-nature-is-this-tension-seeks/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [You cannot create what you want by moving away from what you don't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/you-cannot-create-what-you-want-by-moving-away-from-what-you-don-t/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [“You got to where you are in your life right now by moving along the path of least resistance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/you-got-to-where-you-are-in-your-life-right-now-by-moving-along-the/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [“Even Mozart, perhaps the most gifted composer in history, developed and grew in his art. The music he wrote in his thirties was far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/even-mozart-perhaps-the-most-gifted-composer-in-history-developed-and/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [Creators understand that their emotions are not necessarily a sign of the circumstances. They understand that in desperate circumstances they may experience joy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/creators-understand-that-their-emotions-are-not-necessarily-a-sign-of/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) [Explore all 35 Robert Fritz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. 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The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Fritz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettiness-prevails/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettiness-prevails/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/robert-fritz-18231_absence_in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettines_1765236.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.” — Robert Fritz", "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 Fritz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the absence of a great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettiness-prevails/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/in-the-absence-of-a-great-dream-pettiness-prevails/#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 } } ] } ```