--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What ever happened to the passion we all…" description: "\"“What ever happened to the passion we all had to improve ourselves, live up to our potential, leave a mark on the world? Our hottest arguments were alw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/wallace-stegner-1352_accomplishments_what-ever-happened-to-the-passion-we-all_2925906.png" --- # What ever happened to the passion we all had to improve… ![“What ever happened to the passion we all had to improve ourselves, live up to our potential, leave a mark on the world? Our hottest arguments were always about how we could contribute. We did not care about the rewards. We were young and earnest.” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/wallace-stegner-1352_accomplishments_what-ever-happened-to-the-passion-we-all_2925906.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/wallace-stegner-1352_accomplishments_what-ever-happened-to-the-passion-we-all_2925906.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/wallace-stegner-1352_accomplishments_what-ever-happened-to-the-passion-we-all_2925906.png) > ““What ever happened to the passion we all had to improve ourselves, live up to our potential, leave a mark on the world? Our hottest arguments were always about how we could contribute. We did not care about the rewards. We were young and earnest.”” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He laments the loss of youthful idealism and the drive to contribute beyond personal gain. **In simple terms:** He misses the passion for self‑improvement and contribution. Key Takeaway Reignite purpose beyond material rewards. Themes idealism growth legacy Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Career development - community service - personal reflection Key Concepts Existential purpose generational change Questions to Reflect On - What drives your current sense of purpose? - How can you foster contribution today? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can romanticize the past, ignoring present complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishments/) [Contributions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contributions/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [And among the other honours and rewards our young men can win for distinguished service in war and in other activities, will be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-among-the-other-honours-and-rewards-our-young-men-can-win-for/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Now Borluut tried to work out how this had happened to him. Passion flows like a river and it is very difficult to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/now-borluut-tried-to-work-out-how-this-had-happened-to-him-passion/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [I don't measure success in numbers, but I consider my contributions of more than $1.3 billion to various causes over the years to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/i-don-t-measure-success-in-numbers-but-i-consider-my-contributions-of/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“Though I have been busy, perhaps overbusy, all my life, it seems to me now that I have accomplished little that matters, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/though-i-have-been-busy-perhaps-overbusy-all-my-life-it-seems-to-me/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [If everyone in America agreed that 80 percent of their contributions for House, Senate, and president could only come from people making contributions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-williams/if-everyone-in-america-agreed-that-80-percent-of-their-contributions/) [Brian Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-williams/) > [I just think the most important aspect in being able to have a productive relationship between the teachers' unions and the districts and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-just-think-the-most-important-aspect-in-being-able-to-have-a/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I'm just honored that some of my little contributions I've written with my daughter are doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-m-just-honored-that-some-of-my-little-contributions-i-ve-written/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [I do normal kind of contributions, particularly for people who are going over to Africa and help highlighting global health, and that's tended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-do-normal-kind-of-contributions-particularly-for-people-who-are/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I take pride in the fact that you are able to make some good contributions to the sport at certain times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/i-take-pride-in-the-fact-that-you-are-able-to-make-some-good/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-must-admit-that-i-personally-measure-success-in-terms-of-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We all want a simpler code, but tax reform is about much more. It is about ensuring that everyone pays their fair share. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/we-all-want-a-simpler-code-but-tax-reform-is-about-much-more-it-is/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [I guess I want very much to be recognized for my abilities, for the work I put in, and yet it's still always there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-guess-i-want-very-much-to-be-recognized-for-my-abilities-for-the/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [I am always touched when friends make contributions to my foundation on my behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/i-am-always-touched-when-friends-make-contributions-to-my-foundation/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [I hope that each of you girls will become an individual of significant worth and a person of virtue so that your contributions are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/i-hope-that-each-of-you-girls-will-become-an-individual-of/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [The contributions being made by Latinos are extraordinary, and we need to talk about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/the-contributions-being-made-by-latinos-are-extraordinary-and-we-need/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/towns-are-like-people-old-ones-often-have-character-the-new-ones-are/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The creative writer is compulsively concrete . . . . His fictional house should be haunted by ideas, not inhabited by them; they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/the-creative-writer-is-compulsively-concrete-his-fictional-house/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Hard writing makes easy reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/hard-writing-makes-easy-reading/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [You married me...but you didn't marry what you could make out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/you-married-me-but-you-didn-t-marry-what-you-could-make-out-of-me/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Wisdom. . .is knowing what you have to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/wisdom-is-knowing-what-you-have-to-accept/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-gave-my-heart-to-the-mountains-the-minute-i-stood-beside-this-river/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Poetry ought to be a by-product of living, and you can't have a by-product unless you've got a product first .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/poetry-ought-to-be-a-by-product-of-living-and-you-can-t-have-a-by/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Some people, I am told, have memories like computers, nothing to do but punch the button and wait for the print-out. Mine is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/some-people-i-am-told-have-memories-like-computers-nothing-to-do-but/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Explore all 251 Wallace Stegner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More Accomplishments quotes > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-most-important-rules-for-success-is-this-every-great/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [“Each day I will accomplish one thing on my to list.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/each-day-i-will-accomplish-one-thing-on-my-to-list/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I come from a world where accountability and accomplishments matter, and where titles and rhetoric take a back seat to results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-come-from-a-world-where-accountability-and-accomplishments-matter/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [“Don't die without fulfilling your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-die-without-fulfilling-your-purpose/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Eschew evil and it's machinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/eschew-evil-and-it-s-machinations/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-ve-come-to-think-that-flourishing-consists-of-putting-yourself-in/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“Don’t simply exist in this world, but grasp life’s potential by the jacket. Dare it to be all it can. Make life historical—a gripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-goodrich/don-t-simply-exist-in-this-world-but-grasp-life-s-potential-by-the/) [Richelle Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-goodrich/) > [“Don't let any situation intimidate you anymore, don't accept defeat anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-let-any-situation-intimidate-you-anymore-don-t-accept-defeat/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“It is never late, you can start the movement now, the provisions have been made, the price has been paid and the gifts have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/it-is-never-late-you-can-start-the-movement-now-the-provisions-have/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“You may not attain the highest height with one leap but my dear; you will reach your destination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/you-may-not-attain-the-highest-height-with-one-leap-but-my-dear-you/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [To me, I feel like your accomplishments have been recognized when you make the cover of a videogame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-ovechkin/to-me-i-feel-like-your-accomplishments-have-been-recognized-when-you/) [Alexander Ovechkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-ovechkin/) > [I'm happy and satisfied with my accomplishments. I sleep well at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/royce-gracie/i-m-happy-and-satisfied-with-my-accomplishments-i-sleep-well-at-night/) [Royce Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/royce-gracie/) [Browse all 489 Accomplishments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What ever happened to the passion we all had to improve ourselves, live up to our potential, leave a mark on the world? Our hottest arguments were always about how we could contribute. We did not care about the rewards. 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