--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do it because it's in your heart. Not…" description: "\"Do it because it's in your heart. Not because you want something in return. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/socrates-405_gains_do-it-because-it-s-in-your-heart-not-bec_2187200.jpg" --- # Do it because it's in your heart. Not because you want… ![“Do it because it's in your heart. Not because you want something in return. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/socrates-405_gains_do-it-because-it-s-in-your-heart-not-bec_2187200.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/socrates-405_gains_do-it-because-it-s-in-your-heart-not-bec_2187200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/socrates-405_gains_do-it-because-it-s-in-your-heart-not-bec_2187200.jpg) > “Do it because it's in your heart. Not because you want something in return. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Act from genuine desire, not for reward; learn from others to accelerate personal growth. **In simple terms:** Do things for love, not for gain; study others to improve yourself. Key Takeaway Pursue heartfelt actions and study wisely. Themes virtue self‑improvement wisdom Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - education - creative pursuits - career advancement Key Concepts intrinsic motivation learning from masters personal development Questions to Reflect On - What drives your actions? - Whose writings have shaped you most? A Different Perspective Relying solely on others' work may hinder originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gain Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain-easily-3527072/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-want/) [Improving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving/) [Improving Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving-men-2079620/) [Improving yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving-yourself/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Writings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-writings-1673339/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-something/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/employ-your-time-in-improving-yourself-by-other-men-s-writings-so/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/employ-your-time-in-improving-yourself-by-other-men-s-writings-so-2/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Improve yourself by other men's writings thus attaining effortlessly what they acquired through great difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/improve-yourself-by-other-men-s-writings-thus-attaining-effortlessly/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Every life has its own destiny Few are tough to reach & few gain I easily! Never Give Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/every-life-has-its-own-destiny-few-are-tough-to-reach-few-gain-i/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Every man, however obscure, however far removed from the general recognition, is one of a group of men impressible for good, and impressible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/every-man-however-obscure-however-far-removed-from-the-general/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Those men that in their writings are most wise Own nothing but their blind, stupefied hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/those-men-that-in-their-writings-are-most-wise-own-nothing-but-their/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Instead of putting others down, try improving yourself instead. The only person you have a right to compete with is you. In the meantime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-strauss/instead-of-putting-others-down-try-improving-yourself-instead-the/) [Neil Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-strauss/) > [How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/how-noble-and-good-everyone-could-be-if-every-evening-before-falling/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [The divine within you is stronger than anything that is without you. Therefore, be not afraid of anything. Rely on your own Inner Self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/the-divine-within-you-is-stronger-than-anything-that-is-without-you/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [People who blame others for their failures never overcome them. They simply move from problem to problem. 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Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Making a company is a great way to improve the world while improving yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/making-a-company-is-a-great-way-to-improve-the-world-while-improving/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [“Success can’t be achieved without personal development and constantly improving yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/success-can-t-be-achieved-without-personal-development-and-constantly/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) > [If you're thinking of letting go of someone you love just because you think can't make him happy, try improving yourself first dummy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-thinking-of-letting-go-of-someone-you-love-just-because-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Know yourself to improve yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/know-yourself-to-improve-yourself/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-do-you-become-better-tomorrow-by-improving-yourself-the-world-is/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... 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Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/marry-a-good-woman-and-be-happy-the-rest-of-your-life-or-marry-a-bad/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/for-the-fear-of-death-is-indeed-the-pretense-of-wisdom-and-not-real/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/there-is-no-difference-between-knowledge-and-temperance-for-he-who/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/besides-it-is-a-shame-to-let-yourself-grow-old-through-neglect-before/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-greatest-blessing-granted-to-mankind-come-by-way-of-madness-which/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-desire-only-to-know-the-truth-and-to-live-as-well-as-i-can-and-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/so-you-would-rather-suffer-an-injustice-than-do-an-injustice/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-end-of-life-is-to-be-like-unto-god-and-the-soul-following-god/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) [Explore all 579 Socrates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## More Gains quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. 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Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [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/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [The poet reminds men of their uniqueness and it is not necessary to possess the ultimate definition of this uniqueness. Even to speculate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-poet-reminds-men-of-their-uniqueness-and-it-is-not-necessary-to/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/change-your-attitude-and-gain-some-altitude-believe-me-you-ll-love-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-lose-yet-gain-others-gain-and-yet-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people enjoy taking a light stroll in the morning and that gives them relief and that sort of feeling. That is what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ichiro-suzuki/some-people-enjoy-taking-a-light-stroll-in-the-morning-and-that-gives/) [Ichiro Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ichiro-suzuki/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [Professional politicians like to talk about the value of experience in government. Nuts! The only experience you gain in politics is how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/professional-politicians-like-to-talk-about-the-value-of-experience/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [How you educate the people around you, what steps you take toward making it better, what sacrifices you make. 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