---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It reinforced my sense of what was…"
description: "\"“It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of huma..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png"
---

#  It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating…

![“It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png)

> ““It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.””

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Prioritizing meaningful contributions over profit leads to lasting impact on culture and consciousness.

**In simple terms:** Create value, not just money.

Key Takeaway

Focus on lasting impact.

Themes

legacy creativity purpose

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- entrepreneurship
- artistic projects
- philanthropy
- research initiatives

Key Concepts

humanism historical influence

Questions to Reflect On

- What legacy do you want to leave?
- How can you balance profit and purpose?

A Different Perspective

Financial pressures can force compromises; not everyone can afford such idealism.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-consciousness/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/)

## Related quotes

> [LSD...reinforc ed my sense of what was important-creat ing great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/lsd-reinforc-ed-my-sense-of-what-was-important-creat-ing-great-things/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [Art brings to life things that can seemingly be dead, and can put a fresh perspective on things that are living. It's so important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foster/art-brings-to-life-things-that-can-seemingly-be-dead-and-can-put-a/)

[Mark Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foster/)

> [That's really important to me - creating moments that last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/that-s-really-important-to-me-creating-moments-that-last-forever/)

[Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/)

> [“Master Stanley used to tell me that what I was doing was nowhere near as important as the place within myself from where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/master-stanley-used-to-tell-me-that-what-i-was-doing-was-nowhere-near/)

[Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/)

> [“A very important part of creating a new life was independence. She did not want to be accountable to anyone but herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/a-very-important-part-of-creating-a-new-life-was-independence-she-did/)

[Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/)

> [My focus on the budget, though, has played second fiddle to what I believe is even more important - creating jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-markell/my-focus-on-the-budget-though-has-played-second-fiddle-to-what-i/)

[Jack Markell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-markell/)

> [It's nice to see different dimensions of a character. A love interest and family life are always, I think, important in creating layers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazanin-boniadi/it-s-nice-to-see-different-dimensions-of-a-character-a-love-interest/)

[Nazanin Boniadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazanin-boniadi/)

> [I think the most important part of anyone creating videos or creating anything is just being genuine and having it be true to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dobrik/i-think-the-most-important-part-of-anyone-creating-videos-or-creating/)

[David Dobrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dobrik/)

> [“Common sense is important not just because your mom taught you so, but because computers don’t have it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/common-sense-is-important-not-just-because-your-mom-taught-you-so-but/)

[Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/)

> [“The existence of guilty sense is so important in education and religion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-existence-of-guilty-sense-is-so-important-in-education-and/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life - what people are interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-rascoe/a-news-sense-is-really-a-sense-of-what-is-important-what-is-vital/)

[Burton Rascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-rascoe/)

> [Having success at an early age gave me more of a sense of what's important in life rather than always driving to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-lauren/having-success-at-an-early-age-gave-me-more-of-a-sense-of-what-s/)

[Ralph Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-lauren/)

> [If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/if-you-could-only-sense-how-important-you-are-to-the-lives-of-those/)

[Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/)

> [I've always suffered from a complete inability to sense who's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-ve-always-suffered-from-a-complete-inability-to-sense-who-s/)

[Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/)

> [He could sense that something important has been very easy to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/he-could-sense-that-something-important-has-been-very-easy-to-find/)

Mak\_786

## More by Walter Isaacson

> [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/if-you-want-to-live-your-life-in-a-creative-way-as-an-artist-you-have/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“There was a key lesson for innovation: Understand which industries are symbiotic so that you can capitalize on how they will spur each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-a-key-lesson-for-innovation-understand-which-industries-are/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison may have been baffled when Jobs insisted that he was not motivated by money, but it was partly true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/ceo-gil-amelio-stumbled-ellison-may-have-been-baffled-when-jobs/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“Once a year Jobs took his most valuable employees on a retreat, which he called " The Top 100." They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

> [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/)

[Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

[Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/)

## More History quotes

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/)

[Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/)

> [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/)

[Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/)

[David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/)

> [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/)

[Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/)

> [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/)

[Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/)

> [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/)

[Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/)

> [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/)

C-DASH

> [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/)

[Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/)

> [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

[Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Walter Isaacson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-important-creating-great-things/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "History"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-important-creating-great-things/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/walter-isaacson-384_history_it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-impor_2015795.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things…” — Walter Isaacson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Walter Isaacson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It reinforced my sense of what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-important-creating-great-things/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/it-reinforced-my-sense-of-what-was-important-creating-great-things/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
