--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not eminent talent that is required…" description: "\"It is not eminent talent that is required to ensure success in any pursuit, so much as purpose-not merely the power to achieve, but the will to labour ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30f/samuel-smiles-2037_achieve_it-is-not-eminent-talent-that-is-require_2597219.jpg" --- # It is not eminent talent that is required to ensure… ![“It is not eminent talent that is required to ensure success in any pursuit, so much as purpose-not merely the power to achieve, but the will to labour energetically and perseveringly. Hence energy of will may be defined to be the very central power of character in a man-in a word, it is the Man…” quote by Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30f/samuel-smiles-2037_achieve_it-is-not-eminent-talent-that-is-require_2597219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30f/samuel-smiles-2037_achieve_it-is-not-eminent-talent-that-is-require_2597219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30f/samuel-smiles-2037_achieve_it-is-not-eminent-talent-that-is-require_2597219.jpg) > “It is not eminent talent that is required to ensure success in any pursuit, so much as purpose-not merely the power to achieve, but the will to labour energetically and perseveringly. Hence energy of will may be defined to be the very central power of character in a man-in a word, it is the Man himself.” [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success depends more on determined purpose and persistent effort than on innate talent. **In simple terms:** Purpose and effort drive success. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong willpower. Themes purpose effort character success Mood motivational determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career advancement - academic pursuits - entrepreneurial ventures - fitness goals Key Concepts motivation psychology personal development Questions to Reflect On - What purpose fuels your current goals? - How can you sustain energetic effort over time? A Different Perspective Talent still contributes; without purpose, effort may lack direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Energetically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energetically-1913655/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Energy Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy-defined-1913656/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Labour Energetically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-energetically-1913654/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Talent Required](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent-required-956388/) ## Related quotes > [Energy of will may be defined to be the very central power of character in a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/energy-of-will-may-be-defined-to-be-the-very-central-power-of/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [I really thrive energetically off of human contact and observing and that energy and that pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-tyler/i-really-thrive-energetically-off-of-human-contact-and-observing-and/) [Liv Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-tyler/) > [First of all a natural talent is required; for when Nature opposes, everything else is in vain; but when Nature leads the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/first-of-all-a-natural-talent-is-required-for-when-nature-opposes/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [A natural talent is required; for, when Nature opposes, everything else is in vain; but when Nature leads the way to what is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/a-natural-talent-is-required-for-when-nature-opposes-everything-else/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Talent is required, but much of writing is a matter of craft, which develops with time, attention, patience and practice, like playing an instrument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/talent-is-required-but-much-of-writing-is-a-matter-of-craft-which/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [I was, if you like, a successful schoolboy in that I had a degree of talent in all the required things that make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/i-was-if-you-like-a-successful-schoolboy-in-that-i-had-a-degree-of/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [The computer age has arrived, and it influences everything: analysis, preparation, information. 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I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. 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Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The women of the poorer classes make sacrifices, and run risks, and bear privations, and exercise patience and kindness to a degree that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-women-of-the-poorer-classes-make-sacrifices-and-run-risks-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-experience-gathered-from-books-though-often-valuable-is-but-of/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-apprenticeship-of-difficulty-is-one-which-the-greatest-of-men/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-spirit-of-self-help-is-the-root-of-all-genuine-growth-in-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-wise-man-if-he-would-live-at-peace-with-others-he-will-bear-and/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [Those who are the most persistent, and work in the true spirit, will invariably be the most successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/those-who-are-the-most-persistent-and-work-in-the-true-spirit-will/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The iron rail proved a magicians' road. It virtually reduced England to a sixth of its size. It brought the country nearer to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-iron-rail-proved-a-magicians-road-it-virtually-reduced-england-to/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. 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