--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Success is relative. It is what we can…" description: "\"Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.\" — TS Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/ts-eliot-34425_success_success-is-relative-it-is-what-we-can-ma_2050055.jpg" --- # Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we… ![“Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.” quote by TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/ts-eliot-34425_success_success-is-relative-it-is-what-we-can-ma_2050055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/ts-eliot-34425_success_success-is-relative-it-is-what-we-can-ma_2050055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/ts-eliot-34425_success_success-is-relative-it-is-what-we-can-ma_2050055.jpg) > “Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.” [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success is defined by one's ability to navigate and improve chaotic circumstances. **In simple terms:** Success means making the best of messes. Key Takeaway Focus on improving messy situations. Themes resilience self‑assessment growth Mood contemplative motivational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - life coaching - project recovery - organizational change Key Concepts existentialism modernism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What messes are you willing to transform? - How do you measure personal success? A Different Perspective Success is subjective, not absolute. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) [Mess Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess-things-422169/) [Relative Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relative-make-2599173/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-relative-372720/) ## Related quotes > [Success is relative. It is what we make of the mess we have made of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-relative-it-is-what-we-make-of-the-mess-we-have-made-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-4/it-is-what-we-can-make-of-the-mess-we-have-made-of-things/) [T.S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-4/) > [“Lord, I think I made a mess of things. So I am placing the whole situation in your hands. Do with it what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-brownback/lord-i-think-i-made-a-mess-of-things-so-i-am-placing-the-whole/) [Lydia Brownback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-brownback/) > [I think success is a relative term. If you're a caveman, success is capturing an elephant. Success is achieving better than the norm. Success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-taffer/i-think-success-is-a-relative-term-if-you-re-a-caveman-success-is/) [Jon Taffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-taffer/) > [Of course, success is a relative term. It can be something completely different from winning the German championship eight times or making millions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-kahn/of-course-success-is-a-relative-term-it-can-be-something-completely/) [Oliver Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-kahn/) > [“Success is a relative thing―and the victory of a boy at marbles is equal to the victory of an Octavius at Actium when measured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/success-is-a-relative-thing-and-the-victory-of-a-boy-at-marbles-is/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [“Relativity, in our case, means that success is relative to the time frame you choose to measure it with. An hour? A month? A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-east/relativity-in-our-case-means-that-success-is-relative-to-the-time/) [Cate East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-east/) > [When I am told that I am a huge star, I accept it, knowing that success is relative - the films I do have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/when-i-am-told-that-i-am-a-huge-star-i-accept-it-knowing-that-success/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) > [Success is such a relative thing for me. I'm fundamentally a Christian which means that ultimately all of the penultimate titles and things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/success-is-such-a-relative-thing-for-me-i-m-fundamentally-a-christian/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/success-is-a-relative-term-it-brings-so-many-relatives/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [People will come into your life and make a mess of things, but YOU'RE the one that has to clean up the mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/people-will-come-into-your-life-and-make-a-mess-of-things-but-you-re/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“Well, you really made a mess of things,' he says. 'I'm not even done,' I tell him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/well-you-really-made-a-mess-of-things-he-says-i-m-not-even-done-i/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [It take them one and only friends that you care bout to mess up things but the ones you forgot bout are going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khadedrar/it-take-them-one-and-only-friends-that-you-care-bout-to-mess-up/) [Khadedrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khadedrar/) > [Success is relative and individual and personal. It is your answer to the problem of making your minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/success-is-relative-and-individual-and-personal-it-is-your-answer-to/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [The Art of Success . . . Success is ninety-nine percent mental attitude. It calls for love, joy, optimism, confidence, serenity, poise, faith, courage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/the-art-of-success-success-is-ninety-nine-percent-mental-attitude-it/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) ## More by TS Eliot > [My own experience and development deepen everyday my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/my-own-experience-and-development-deepen-everyday-my-conviction-that/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [And upside down in air were towers Tolling reminiscent bells, thatkept the hours And voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/and-upside-down-in-air-were-towers-tolling-reminiscent-bells-thatkept/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [In this brief transit where the dreams cross The dream-crossed twilight between birth and dying Ash Wednesday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/in-this-brief-transit-where-the-dreams-cross-the-dream-crossed/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [For last years words belong to last years language and next years words await another voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/for-last-years-words-belong-to-last-years-language-and-next-years/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, Had a bad cold, nevertheless Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe, With a wicked pack of cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/madame-sosostris-famous-clairvoyante-had-a-bad-cold-nevertheless-is/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [Hell is oneself, Hell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/hell-is-oneself-hell-is-alone-the-other-figures-in-it-merely/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [Where is the Life we have lost in living?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/where-is-the-life-we-have-lost-in-living/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [Fear is the tax which conscience pays to guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/fear-is-the-tax-which-conscience-pays-to-guilt/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [The awful daring of a moment's surrender which an age of prudence can never retract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/the-awful-daring-of-a-moment-s-surrender-which-an-age-of-prudence-can-2/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/where-is-the-wisdom-we-have-lost-in-knowledge-where-is-the-knowledge/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [“Between the idea and the reality falls the shadow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/between-the-idea-and-the-reality-falls-the-shadow/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/radio-is-a-medium-of-entertainment-which-permits-millions-of-people/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) > [After such knowledge, what forgiveness? Think now History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors And issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-eliot/after-such-knowledge-what-forgiveness-think-now-history-has-many-3/) [TS Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) [Explore all 14 TS Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ts-eliot/) ## More Mess quotes > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Have God make a message out of your mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/have-god-make-a-message-out-of-your-mess/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Kennedy had made a mess in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. He had to do something to look good. The Apollo program of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-schirra/kennedy-had-made-a-mess-in-cuba-at-the-bay-of-pigs-he-had-to-do/) [Wally Schirra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-schirra/) > [Tell me what it's like. The race." "What it's like is a battle. A mess of horses and men and blood. The fastest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/tell-me-what-it-s-like-the-race-what-it-s-like-is-a-battle-a-mess-of/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I look back at pictures of myself and I remember thinking, "I was so fat when I was growing up. I was 165 pounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-look-back-at-pictures-of-myself-and-i-remember-thinking-i-was-so/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [And this mess is so big And so deep and so tall, We cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/and-this-mess-is-so-big-and-so-deep-and-so-tall-we-cannot-pick-it-up/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [It’s as easy as we choose to make it,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine. “At least, this decision is. Nothing’s truly easy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/it-s-as-easy-as-we-choose-to-make-it-he-murmured-pressing-his/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Well this is just a fist. But when I start throwing it around I can leave one hell of a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/well-this-is-just-a-fist-but-when-i-start-throwing-it-around-i-can/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [In 1966, NASA took over in space, and it has been a bureaucratic mess ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-yeager/in-1966-nasa-took-over-in-space-and-it-has-been-a-bureaucratic-mess/) [Chuck Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-yeager/) > [“It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-4/it-is-what-we-can-make-of-the-mess-we-have-made-of-things/) [T.S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-4/) > [To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) [Browse all 2,130 Mess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Success is relative. 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