--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not merely think that you are great…" description: "\"Do not merely think that you are great; think that you are great now. Do not think that you will begin to act in a great way at some future time; begin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/wallace-d-wattles-1465_future-time_do-not-merely-think-that-you-are-great-t_585413.jpg" --- # Do not merely think that you are great; think that you are… ![“Do not merely think that you are great; think that you are great now. Do not think that you will begin to act in a great way at some future time; begin now.” quote by Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/wallace-d-wattles-1465_future-time_do-not-merely-think-that-you-are-great-t_585413.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/wallace-d-wattles-1465_future-time_do-not-merely-think-that-you-are-great-t_585413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/wallace-d-wattles-1465_future-time_do-not-merely-think-that-you-are-great-t_585413.jpg) > “Do not merely think that you are great; think that you are great now. Do not think that you will begin to act in a great way at some future time; begin now.” [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness is achieved by acting now, not by waiting for a future self‑image; present action creates immediate impact. **In simple terms:** Act now, not later. Key Takeaway Start immediately. Themes motivation action self‑efficacy personal development Mood determined energetic Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - skill learning - entrepreneurship - health habits Key Concepts Immediate action self‑belief goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take today toward greatness? - How does delaying action affect your confidence? A Different Perspective Immediate action may lack planning, leading to missteps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-great-1756394/) [Future time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-time/) [Great Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-think-1212553/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Merely Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-think-4803000/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-great/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [It's hard loving those who don't much like themselves: "If you're so great, why would you think I'm so great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-hard-loving-those-who-don-t-much-like-themselves-if-you-re-so/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“if you feel great, do not think you're great, because you are not great at all”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eko-johanes-andre-s-pesik/if-you-feel-great-do-not-think-you-re-great-because-you-are-not-great/) [Eko Johanes Andre's Pesik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eko-johanes-andre-s-pesik/) > [Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/ordinary-people-merely-think-how-they-shall-spend-their-time-a-man-of/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“The good must be clearly good but not wholly clear. If it is wholly clear it is too easy to reject. What is wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kaufmann/the-good-must-be-clearly-good-but-not-wholly-clear-if-it-is-wholly/) [Walter Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kaufmann/) > [When you logically think about it, what the BCS people have done, which obviously we're all part of it, I think it was great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/when-you-logically-think-about-it-what-the-bcs-people-have-done-which/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/of-course-to-have-money-is-just-great-because-you-can-do-what-you/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I think this Occupy Wall Street thing is great. I think that is a good thing and that people need to stand up, voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baker/i-think-this-occupy-wall-street-thing-is-great-i-think-that-is-a-good/) [Simon Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baker/) > [It is noble to be shy, illustrious not to know how to act, great not to have a gift for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/it-is-noble-to-be-shy-illustrious-not-to-know-how-to-act-great-not-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [If we all knew how to make that jump from good to great then I think every song would be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomston/if-we-all-knew-how-to-make-that-jump-from-good-to-great-then-i-think/) [Thomston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomston/) > [Great minds may thing alike, but theres only one mind that's more amazing and great that no one else will think like and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-noland/great-minds-may-thing-alike-but-theres-only-one-mind-that-s-more/) [K Noland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-noland/) > [Arrogance is the act of the great; presumption that of the little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/arrogance-is-the-act-of-the-great-presumption-that-of-the-little/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [I think female drummers are great. I think there should more of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-kinney/i-think-female-drummers-are-great-i-think-there-should-more-of-them/) [Sean Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-kinney/) > [I really want to act and act in great roles, which have scope of performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritika-singh/i-really-want-to-act-and-act-in-great-roles-which-have-scope-of/) [Ritika Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritika-singh/) > [Hundreds and thousands of young people around the world can break through and can make this a better world for all living things. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/hundreds-and-thousands-of-young-people-around-the-world-can-break/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“No matter how great you ‘think’ you are or how successful you've become. Never forget those who have lifted you up. Never forget life's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/no-matter-how-great-you-think-you-are-or-how-successful-you-ve-become/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) ## More by Wallace D. Wattles > [Get rid of the idea that God wants you to sacrifice yourself for others, and that you can secure his favor by doing so;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/get-rid-of-the-idea-that-god-wants-you-to-sacrifice-yourself-for/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [You already have within you everything you need to turn your dreams into reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/you-already-have-within-you-everything-you-need-to-turn-your-dreams/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/nothing-was-ever-in-any-man-that-is-not-in-you-no-man-ever-had-more/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [You can never become a great man or woman until you have overcome anxiety, worry, and fear. It is impossible for an anxious person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/you-can-never-become-a-great-man-or-woman-until-you-have-overcome/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/it-is-essential-to-have-good-tools-but-it-is-also-essential-that-the/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more good things we will receive, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/the-more-gratefully-we-fix-our-minds-on-the-supreme-when-good-things/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [You are not kept poor by lack in the supply of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/you-are-not-kept-poor-by-lack-in-the-supply-of-riches/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Remember that poise and power are inseparably associated. The calm and balanced mind is the strong and great mind; the hurried and agitated mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/remember-that-poise-and-power-are-inseparably-associated-the-calm-and/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [It is within the power of every man to become great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/it-is-within-the-power-of-every-man-to-become-great/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Do not wait for an opportunity to be all that you want to be; when an opportunity to be more than you are now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/do-not-wait-for-an-opportunity-to-be-all-that-you-want-to-be-when-an/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [You want to get rich in order that you may surround yourself with beautiful things, see distant lands, feed your mind, and develop your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/you-want-to-get-rich-in-order-that-you-may-surround-yourself-with/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Wisdom is the essential basis of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/wisdom-is-the-essential-basis-of-greatness/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [The human being lives, moves, and has his being in a limitless ocean of health-power, and he uses this power according to his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/the-human-being-lives-moves-and-has-his-being-in-a-limitless-ocean-of/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, and fills the inter spaces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/there-is-a-thinking-stuff-from-which-all-things-are-made-and-which-in/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [I will trust and not be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/i-will-trust-and-not-be-afraid/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) [Explore all 224 Wallace D. Wattles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) ## More Future time quotes > [To converse at the distance of the Indes by means of sympathetic contrivances may be as natural to future times as to us is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-glanvill/to-converse-at-the-distance-of-the-indes-by-means-of-sympathetic/) [Joseph Glanvill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-glanvill/) > [To me... it appears that there have been differences of opinion and party differences, from the first establishment of government to the present day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-me-it-appears-that-there-have-been-differences-of-opinion-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Arriving someplace more desirable at some future time is an illusion. This is it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/arriving-someplace-more-desirable-at-some-future-time-is-an-illusion/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [You may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/you-may-forget-but-let-me-tell-you-this-someone-in-some-future-time/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [“I glimpse in the distance certain roads, clearings silent in the morning after the night's demonds have fled: the future, the ageless future, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sachs/i-glimpse-in-the-distance-certain-roads-clearings-silent-in-the/) [Maurice Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sachs/) > [But to understand the future, we have to go back in time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/men-in-black/but-to-understand-the-future-we-have-to-go-back-in-time/) [Men In Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/men-in-black/) > [The future is that time when you will wish you had done what you are not doing now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-future-is-that-time-when-you-will-wish-you-had-done-what-you-are/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Peace will come soon to stay, and so come as to be worth keeping in all future time. It will then have proved that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/peace-will-come-soon-to-stay-and-so-come-as-to-be-worth-keeping-in/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Today can be tomorrow with the possibility of changing the past or the future, if time stood still. Always be momentous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-heron/today-can-be-tomorrow-with-the-possibility-of-changing-the-past-or/) [Matthew Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-heron/) > [“I glimpse in the distance certain roads, clearings slient in the morning after the night's demons have fled:the future, the ageless future, where there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sachs/i-glimpse-in-the-distance-certain-roads-clearings-slient-in-the/) [Maurice Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sachs/) > [I traveled into the future to get back in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-traveled-into-the-future-to-get-back-in-time/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [What seems to us serious, significant and important will, in future times, be forgotten or won't seem important at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/what-seems-to-us-serious-significant-and-important-will-in-future/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Asa had a sharp understanding of the future--that is, a time when this would be past. Time was rushing through and around him, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/asa-had-a-sharp-understanding-of-the-future-that-is-a-time-when-this/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [Mysterious power, whence hope ethereal springs! Sweet heavenly relic of eternal things! Inspiring oft deep thoughts of things divine: The past, the present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parley-p-pratt/mysterious-power-whence-hope-ethereal-springs-sweet-heavenly-relic-of/) [Parley P. 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