--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is essential, gregariousness is…" description: "\"“Love is essential, gregariousness is optional...The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it's a Broadway spotlight; for o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/susan-cain-647_life_love-is-essential-gregariousness-is-opti_659875.jpg" --- # Love is essential, gregariousness is optional...The secret… ![“Love is essential, gregariousness is optional...The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers - of persistence, concentration, insight, and sensitivity - to do work you love and work that matters.” quote by Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/susan-cain-647_life_love-is-essential-gregariousness-is-opti_659875.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/susan-cain-647_life_love-is-essential-gregariousness-is-opti_659875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/susan-cain-647_life_love-is-essential-gregariousness-is-opti_659875.jpg) > ““Love is essential, gregariousness is optional...The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers - of persistence, concentration, insight, and sensitivity - to do work you love and work that matters.”” [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leveraging personal strengths like persistence and insight in a suitable environment leads to meaningful work. **In simple terms:** Use your strengths in the right setting. Key Takeaway Align work with personal strengths and environment. Themes strengths environment meaningful work introversion Mood encouraging optimistic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career choice - creative projects - personal development - team dynamics Key Concepts self‑actualization focus creativity Questions to Reflect On - What environment brings out your best work? - How can you shape your workspace to fit your strengths? A Different Perspective Introverts may struggle to find ideal lighting without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love And Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-work/) ## Related quotes > [Love is essential, gregariousness is optional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/love-is-essential-gregariousness-is-optional/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/the-secret-to-life-is-to-put-yourself-in-the-right-lighting-for-some-3/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/the-secret-to-life-is-to-put-yourself-in-the-right-lighting-for-some/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Use your natural powers—of persistence, concentration, insight, and sensitivity—to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems, make art, think deeply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/use-your-natural-powers-of-persistence-concentration-insight-and/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Love and work, work and love...that's all there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/love-and-work-work-and-love-that-s-all-there-is/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Love and work. Work and love. Whatever it is we do, whoever it is we love, hopefully we make something better with it all--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/love-and-work-work-and-love-whatever-it-is-we-do-whoever-it-is-we/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [Love and build, love and work, love and fight. Always love first. Anything placed before love will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-souljah/love-and-build-love-and-work-love-and-fight-always-love-first/) [Sister Souljah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-souljah/) > [“Love is better and stronger and more real than all else. Marry the man whom you love and who loves you. If he only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-souljah/love-is-better-and-stronger-and-more-real-than-all-else-marry-the-man/) [Sister Souljah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-souljah/) > [“Love seems to be as Essential as Sunlight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/love-seems-to-be-as-essential-as-sunlight/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“Love is essential to the survival of human beings; it is the greatest spur there is to that driving impulse of every living creature:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-cohen-praver/love-is-essential-to-the-survival-of-human-beings-it-is-the-greatest/) Fran Cohen Praver > [“I am a listener; I can hear love and that is essential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/i-am-a-listener-i-can-hear-love-and-that-is-essential/) sir kristian goldmund aumann > [“How could he claim to love her, when he did not love what was essential in her?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-grant/how-could-he-claim-to-love-her-when-he-did-not-love-what-was/) [Cecilia Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-grant/) > [To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leonard/to-love-the-plateau-is-to-love-what-is-most-essential-and-enduring-in/) [George Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leonard/) > [“I decided love was essential. The problem was the timing. Human beings hesitate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-decided-love-was-essential-the-problem-was-the-timing-human-beings/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More by Susan Cain > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Our place on this continuum influences our choice of friends and mates, and how we make conversation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/where-we-fall-on-the-introvert-extrovert-spectrum-our-place-on-this/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/i-worry-that-there-are-people-who-are-put-in-positions-of-authority/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“He believes, as most of us do, that venting anger lets off steam. The “catharsis hypothesis”—that aggression builds up inside us until it’s healthily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/he-believes-as-most-of-us-do-that-venting-anger-lets-off-steam-the/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Soft power is not limited to moral exemplars like Mahatma Gandhi. 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The most recent version of the Diagnostic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/social-anxiety-disorder-which-essentially-means-pathological-shyness/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Potential clients would walk out of Charlie’s office scared”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/potential-clients-would-walk-out-of-charlie-s-office-scared/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“So when introverts assume the observer role, as when they write novels, or contemplate unified field theory- or fall quiet at dinner parties- they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/so-when-introverts-assume-the-observer-role-as-when-they-write-novels/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Osborn’s theory had great impact, and company leaders took up brainstorming with enthusiasm. To this day, it’s common for anyone who spends time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/osborn-s-theory-had-great-impact-and-company-leaders-took-up/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/extroversion-is-an-enormously-appealing-personality-style-but-we-ve/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“But as the word satyagraha implies, Gandhi’s passivity was not weakness at all. It meant focusing on an ultimate goal and refusing to divert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/but-as-the-word-satyagraha-implies-gandhi-s-passivity-was-not/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“The Extrovert Ideal has been documented in many studies, though this research has never been grouped under a single name. Talkative people, for example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/the-extrovert-ideal-has-been-documented-in-many-studies-though-this/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“introverts prefer to work independently, and solitude can be a catalyst to innovation. As the influential psychologist Hans Eysenck once observed, introversion “concentrates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/introverts-prefer-to-work-independently-and-solitude-can-be-a/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [ “People who tend to \[suppress their negative emotions\] regularly,” concludes Grob, “might start to see the world in a more negative light.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/people-who-tend-to-suppress-their-negative-emotions-regularly/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) [Explore all 428 Susan Cain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. 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When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Love is essential, gregariousness is optional...The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. 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