---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very few people are capable of sustained…"
description: "\"Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that's the reason why we have comparatively few outstanding successes.\" — Roger McDonald"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg"
---

#  Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and…

![“Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that's the reason why we have comparatively few outstanding successes.” quote by Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg)

> “Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that's the reason why we have comparatively few outstanding successes.”

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Sustained effort is rare, so extraordinary achievements are also rare.

**In simple terms:** Hard work is rare, so great results are rare.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate persistence for greater success.

Themes

effort rarity achievement

Mood

motivational realistic

Type

inspirational practical

When to use this quote

- career building
- skill development
- entrepreneurship
- sports training

Key Concepts

psychology motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits sustain long‑term effort?
- Can effort be taught?

A Different Perspective

Not all effort leads to success; external factors matter.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [One observer commenting on security analysts over forty stated: "They know too many things that are no longer true." As long as I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/one-observer-commenting-on-security-analysts-over-forty-stated-they/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-share-this-world-for-but-a-brief-moment-in-time-the/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [“He found that people who had self-concordant goals were the most likely to make steady progress because they were more likely than others to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-that-people-who-had-self-concordant-goals-were-the-most/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“It takes being dynamic and diligent to build a sustained effort that induces faith and produces striking results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/it-takes-being-dynamic-and-diligent-to-build-a-sustained-effort-that/)

Anyaele Sam Chiyson

> [Quickness comes from long sustained effort after rightness, and comes unsought. It never comes from effort after quickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quickness-comes-from-long-sustained-effort-after-rightness-and-comes/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Construct your determination with sustained effort, controlled attention, and concentrated energy. Opportunities never come to those who wait ... they are captured by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-meyer/construct-your-determination-with-sustained-effort-controlled/)

[Paul J. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-meyer/)

> [In my case it was a sustained effort. I was fortunate to have the backing of my parents to start off with and towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-bindra/in-my-case-it-was-a-sustained-effort-i-was-fortunate-to-have-the/)

[Abhinav Bindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-bindra/)

> [“Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. And it is well-directed, decisive, and sustained effort that is the key to the keys of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/grace-is-opposed-to-earning-not-to-effort-and-it-is-well-directed/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [We have to make a sustained effort, again and again, to cultivate the positive aspects within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-have-to-make-a-sustained-effort-again-and-again-to-cultivate-the/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Good people were also capable of doing very bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chandler/good-people-were-also-capable-of-doing-very-bad-things/)

[Elizabeth Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chandler/)

> [“Sometimes we expect more that people are capable of giving at the moment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/sometimes-we-expect-more-that-people-are-capable-of-giving-at-the/)

[Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/)

> [The only limit to the oppression of government is the power with which the people show themselves capable of opposing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/the-only-limit-to-the-oppression-of-government-is-the-power-with/)

[Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/)

> [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [I'm endlessly amazed by what people are capable of, and incapable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/i-m-endlessly-amazed-by-what-people-are-capable-of-and-incapable-of/)

[Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

## More by Roger McDonald

> [As electricity is a great power in the world, so the inner mind is the greatest power available to you. Neither operates independently; both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/as-electricity-is-a-great-power-in-the-world-so-the-inner-mind-is-the/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [So you can see that if you direct that force at several objectives, it becomes divided, and each objective receives a fairly weak stimulus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/so-you-can-see-that-if-you-direct-that-force-at-several-objectives-it/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [I operate according to a definite, unerring law...I know the outcome before I start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/i-operate-according-to-a-definite-unerring-law-i-know-the-outcome/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [I have no patience for those who say that poverty is a blessing. Poverty is the greatest curse on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/i-have-no-patience-for-those-who-say-that-poverty-is-a-blessing/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [I am master of my own destiny, and I can make my life anything that I wish it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/i-am-master-of-my-own-destiny-and-i-can-make-my-life-anything-that-i/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [A hundred things may come up to distract him and attempt to drive him away, but his picture is of paramount importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/a-hundred-things-may-come-up-to-distract-him-and-attempt-to-drive-him/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [Your progress depends upon your degree of sustained intensity in a given direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/your-progress-depends-upon-your-degree-of-sustained-intensity-in-a/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [There are no limits to your possibilities! Your successes will multiply and increase in proportion to your mastery of the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/there-are-no-limits-to-your-possibilities-your-successes-will/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [With each success your faith in the law will grow stronger, until you reach the point of total conviction. Then you will be invincible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/with-each-success-your-faith-in-the-law-will-grow-stronger-until-you/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [When you work in the inner mind, you invoke and receive the help of the impersonal, unlimited resources of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/when-you-work-in-the-inner-mind-you-invoke-and-receive-the-help-of/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [You cannot attain # mastery by patterning yourself after another or by following custom or tradition. Sheep do that. Masters and leaders never do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/you-cannot-attain-mastery-by-patterning-yourself-after-another-or-by/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [Those who take up any subject with an open mind, willing to learn anything that will contribute to their advancement, comfort and happiness, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/those-who-take-up-any-subject-with-an-open-mind-willing-to-learn/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [Anything you undertake will be possible to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/anything-you-undertake-will-be-possible-to-accomplish/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [Any picture firmly held in any mind, in any form, is bound to come forth. That is the great, unchanging universal law that, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/any-picture-firmly-held-in-any-mind-in-any-form-is-bound-to-come/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

> [Believe me, you can have anything you want-and in abundance-when you learn to tune into the power within, an infinitely greater power than electricity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/believe-me-you-can-have-anything-you-want-and-in-abundance-when-you/)

[Roger McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

[Explore all 19 Roger McDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/)

## More Capable quotes

> [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/)

[Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/)

> [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/)

[Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/)

[Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/)

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/)

[Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/)

> [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/)

[August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/)

> [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/)

[Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/)

> [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/)

[Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/)

> [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/)

Sopharat

> [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/)

[Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/)

> [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/)

[John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/)

> [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/)

[John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/)

> [How difficult the task to quench the fire and the pride of private ambition, and to sacrifice ourselves and all our hopes and expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-adams/how-difficult-the-task-to-quench-the-fire-and-the-pride-of-private/)

[Abigail Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-adams/)

Browse all 3,861 Capable quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that's the reason why we have comparatively few outstanding successes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Roger McDonald"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained-effort-and-that-s-the-reason/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Capable"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained-effort-and-that-s-the-reason/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/roger-mcdonald-28392_capable_very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained_1452487.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Very few people are capable of sustained effort, and that's the reason why we have comparatively few…” — Roger McDonald",
                "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": "Roger McDonald",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcdonald/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Very few people are capable of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained-effort-and-that-s-the-reason/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcdonald/very-few-people-are-capable-of-sustained-effort-and-that-s-the-reason/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
