--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone holds his fortune in his own…" description: "\"“Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/robert-greene-498_art_everyone-holds-his-fortune-in-his-own-ha_1613609.jpg" --- # Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a… ![“Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned…” quote by Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/robert-greene-498_art_everyone-holds-his-fortune-in-his-own-ha_1613609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/robert-greene-498_art_everyone-holds-his-fortune-in-his-own-ha_1613609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/robert-greene-498_art_everyone-holds-his-fortune-in-his-own-ha_1613609.jpg) > ““Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated. —JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE”” [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We possess innate potential, but realizing it requires learning, practice, and careful cultivation of skills. **In simple terms:** Potential needs learning and practice. Key Takeaway Cultivate skills to shape your destiny. Themes self‑development skill potential growth Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - artistic creation - personal improvement - entrepreneurship - education Key Concepts humanism self‑actualization craftsmanship Questions to Reflect On - What skills must you develop to achieve your goals? - How can you create a routine for continual improvement? A Different Perspective Innate talent alone is insufficient without disciplined effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goethe/) [Holds Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holds-fortune-782361/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Like Sculptor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sculptor-782360/) [Raw material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raw-material/) [Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/von-goethe-1579048/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. 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It's like a sculptor being forced to take up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/some-directors-were-brilliant-in-the-silent-era-but-never-felt-at/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [Sometimes a name seems our most arbitrary possession, and sometimes it seems like the grain in a rock like a sculptor's hunk of Italian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucia-perillo/sometimes-a-name-seems-our-most-arbitrary-possession-and-sometimes-it/) [Lucia Perillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucia-perillo/) > [I work a little bit like a sculptor. When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-work-a-little-bit-like-a-sculptor-when-i-start-my-first-idea-for-a/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [A designer who is not also a couturier, who hasn't learned the most refined mysteries of physically creating his models, is like a sculptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-saint-laurent/a-designer-who-is-not-also-a-couturier-who-hasn-t-learned-the-most/) [Yves Saint Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-saint-laurent/) > [“Just like a sculptor takes time to mould a sculpture, take your time to hone your skills too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/just-like-a-sculptor-takes-time-to-mould-a-sculpture-take-your-time/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [“I would like to place her on a pedestal, Teddy thought, and run my hands along all of those lovely curves like a sculptor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-l-sullivan/i-would-like-to-place-her-on-a-pedestal-teddy-thought-and-run-my/) [Laura L. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-l-sullivan/) ## More by Robert Greene > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-afraid-i-m-just-too-intense-to-have-soft-ideas-you-know-about/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Let me spell it out: with the psychotic boss, nothing you do is ever quite right. They set traps, asking you to do things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-me-spell-it-out-with-the-psychotic-boss-nothing-you-do-is-ever/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Evil or manipulative people don't need a book, they just do it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/evil-or-manipulative-people-don-t-need-a-book-they-just-do-it-anyway/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Everybody knows what they were kind of drawn towards or what they're gifted at and it's more of courage and looking at yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/everybody-knows-what-they-were-kind-of-drawn-towards-or-what-they-re/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Remember: your bosses prefer to keep you in dependent positions. It is in their interest that you do not become self-reliant, and so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/remember-your-bosses-prefer-to-keep-you-in-dependent-positions-it-is/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I want to be able to write, that's my first love and I don't want to deviate from it even though I probably could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-want-to-be-able-to-write-that-s-my-first-love-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-s-sometimes-hard-to-talk-about-politics-and-art-obviously-i-have/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [If you change and adapt your persona, you are seen as inauthentic; if you stay the angry young man, you fade from attention or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-you-change-and-adapt-your-persona-you-are-seen-as-inauthentic-if/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Your energy, your spirit are important considerations. Feeling petty and frustrated can have reverberating consequences for your ability to think strategically and reach your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/your-energy-your-spirit-are-important-considerations-feeling-petty/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic- as people give into it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/fear-creates-its-own-self-fulfilling-dynamic-as-people-give-into-it/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [What I like about the internet, what I see there is that its much more democratic. I have much more control, and if what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-i-like-about-the-internet-what-i-see-there-is-that-its-much-more/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-is-hard-for-us-to-imagine-now-but-our-earliest-human-ancestors-who/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Let us call this quality the Original Mind. This mind looked at the world more directly—not through words and received ideas. It was flexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-us-call-this-quality-the-original-mind-this-mind-looked-at-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) [Explore all 511 Robert Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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