--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Desire can't be sated, because if it is…" description: "\"Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we've failed, because desire is the state we seek.\" — Seth Godin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png" --- # Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing… ![“Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we've failed, because desire is the state we seek.” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png) > “Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we've failed, because desire is the state we seek.” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire is endless; satisfying it removes the drive that fuels progress, leading to failure. **In simple terms:** Unending desire fuels progress. Key Takeaway Embrace continual aspiration. Themes motivation purpose growth Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - creative projects - entrepreneurship - goal setting Key Concepts psychology human nature drive Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance desire and contentment? - When does desire hinder rather than help? A Different Perspective Desire may become harmful if it leads to endless dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ## Related quotes > [When a daughter loses a mother, the intervals between grief responses lengthen over time, but her longing never disappears. It always hovers at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-edelman/when-a-daughter-loses-a-mother-the-intervals-between-grief-responses/) [Hope Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-edelman/) > [Desire is an appetite, quickly sated. Longing is a wound, an opening in the heart or the spirit. Whatever the cause, whatever the duration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/desire-is-an-appetite-quickly-sated-longing-is-a-wound-an-opening-in/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [To desire a state is to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-goddard/to-desire-a-state-is-to-have-it/) [Neville Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-goddard/) > [Sexual desire is a state not unlike hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/sexual-desire-is-a-state-not-unlike-hunger/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [“There is no right to deny freedom to any object with a mind advanced enough to grasp the concept and desire the state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-is-no-right-to-deny-freedom-to-any-object-with-a-mind-advanced/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Shattered edges of the diamonds rough sets to cut the unsuspecting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/shattered-edges-of-the-diamonds-rough-sets-to-cut-the-unsuspecting/) Truth Devour > [“I will gladly spend the rest of my days learning your secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/i-will-gladly-spend-the-rest-of-my-days-learning-your-secrets/) Truth Devour > [“Even a grain of sand united with an oyster can make a pearl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/even-a-grain-of-sand-united-with-an-oyster-can-make-a-pearl/) Truth Devour > [“I want to feel intoxicated from inhaling the scent of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/i-want-to-feel-intoxicated-from-inhaling-the-scent-of-you/) Truth Devour > [“Forever and always from me to you. My love is pure, my love is true. It is gifted to none other than you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/forever-and-always-from-me-to-you-my-love-is-pure-my-love-is-true-it/) Truth Devour > [“Nothing in her world aligns to the surreality of her dreams. She can feel his presence, his warmth, his depth of intent pressing against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/nothing-in-her-world-aligns-to-the-surreality-of-her-dreams-she-can/) Truth Devour > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [“The measure of space & time creates an echo of haunting distance between us, yet we are close, we are united in the love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/the-measure-of-space-time-creates-an-echo-of-haunting-distance/) Truth Devour > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [To catch you're elusive dreams you must be prepared to track it to the ends of the earth. Let nothing stop you're pursuit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/to-catch-you-re-elusive-dreams-you-must-be-prepared-to-track-it-to/) Truth Devour ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [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/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we've failed, because desire is the state we seek.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Godin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-the-longing-disappears-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-the-longing-disappears-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/seth-godin-152_desire_desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-t_2847974.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Desire can't be sated, because if it is, the longing disappears and then we've failed, because desire is the…” — Seth Godin", "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": "Seth Godin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Desire can't be sated, because if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-the-longing-disappears-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/desire-can-t-be-sated-because-if-it-is-the-longing-disappears-and/#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 } } ] } ```