--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An earnest purpose finds time, or makes…" description: "\"An earnest purpose finds time, or makes it. It seizes on spare moments, and turns fragments to golden account.\" — William Ellery Channing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/william-ellery-channing-3428_accounts_an-earnest-purpose-finds-time-or-makes-i_1727113.jpg" --- # An earnest purpose finds time, or makes it. It seizes on… ![“An earnest purpose finds time, or makes it. It seizes on spare moments, and turns fragments to golden account.” quote by William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/william-ellery-channing-3428_accounts_an-earnest-purpose-finds-time-or-makes-i_1727113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/william-ellery-channing-3428_accounts_an-earnest-purpose-finds-time-or-makes-i_1727113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/578/william-ellery-channing-3428_accounts_an-earnest-purpose-finds-time-or-makes-i_1727113.jpg) > “An earnest purpose finds time, or makes it. It seizes on spare moments, and turns fragments to golden account.” [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Purposeful intent creates time; by focusing on goals, one transforms idle moments into valuable achievements. **In simple terms:** Purpose turns spare time into productive work. Key Takeaway Align actions with clear purpose to maximize time. Themes purpose productivity mindset Mood inspirational thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - creative projects - career planning - daily routines Key Concepts intentionality time management goal setting efficiency Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate purpose in routine tasks? - What habits help convert idle moments into progress? A Different Perspective Even with purpose, external constraints may limit time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Guard your own spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/guard-your-own-spare-moments-they-are-like-uncut-diamonds/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Improve your spare moments and they will become the brightest gems in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/improve-your-spare-moments-and-they-will-become-the-brightest-gems-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every character is asking: Whats my place? Why am I here? I dont want the answer to be Just because. You find your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/every-character-is-asking-whats-my-place-why-am-i-here-i-dont-want/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [The chief want, in every state that I have been into, was a high and earnest purpose in its inhabitants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-chief-want-in-every-state-that-i-have-been-into-was-a-high-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The fortunate is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. Why, even Death stands still,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wilcox-wheeler/the-fortunate-is-he-whose-earnest-purpose-never-swerves-whose/) Ella Wilcox Wheeler > [No one finds time for prayer. You either take time for it or you don't get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/no-one-finds-time-for-prayer-you-either-take-time-for-it-or-you-don-t/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [One always finds time for what one likes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-french-hector/one-always-finds-time-for-what-one-likes/) Annie French Hector > [There is no time, No time to spare, These are the moments, In which we share, There is no time, Forget the past, For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-time-no-time-to-spare-these-are-the-moments-in-which-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who is too busy doing good finds no time to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/he-who-is-too-busy-doing-good-finds-no-time-to-be-good/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Beware of wasting the present,Instead of killing time,redeem your spare moments today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/beware-of-wasting-the-present-instead-of-killing-time-redeem-your/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [“The friend that always finds time to spend with you without consulting his or her calendar is a true friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/the-friend-that-always-finds-time-to-spend-with-you-without/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [At spare moments in the day, make it a point to contemplate the loss of whatever you value in life. It can make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-braxton-irvine/at-spare-moments-in-the-day-make-it-a-point-to-contemplate-the-loss/) [William Braxton Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-braxton-irvine/) > [“Everyone finds the time to do the things the want to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bradford/everyone-finds-the-time-to-do-the-things-the-want-to-do/) [Mark Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bradford/) > [Time makes a bigger difference: just making a game, shipping it, looking at what you did, how you did it, what you did well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-howard/time-makes-a-bigger-difference-just-making-a-game-shipping-it-looking/) [Todd Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-howard/) > [“It is said that Time soothes mourning – No, Time makes nothing happen; it merely makes the emotivity of mourning pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/it-is-said-that-time-soothes-mourning-no-time-makes-nothing-happen-it/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## More by William Ellery Channing > [The reveries of youth, in which so much energy is wasted, are the yearnings of a Spirit made for what it has not found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/the-reveries-of-youth-in-which-so-much-energy-is-wasted-are-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [A man may quarrel with himself alone; that is, by controverting his better instincts and knowledge when brought face to face with temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/a-man-may-quarrel-with-himself-alone-that-is-by-controverting-his/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Science and art may invent splendid modes of illuminating the apartments of the opulent; but these are all poor and worthless compared with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/science-and-art-may-invent-splendid-modes-of-illuminating-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Men are never very wise and select in the exercise of a new power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/men-are-never-very-wise-and-select-in-the-exercise-of-a-new-power/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [All virtue lies in individual action, in inward energy, in self determination. There is no moral worth in being swept away by a crowd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/all-virtue-lies-in-individual-action-in-inward-energy-in-self/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [To give a generous hope to a man of his own nature, is to enrich him immeasurably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/to-give-a-generous-hope-to-a-man-of-his-own-nature-is-to-enrich-him/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [No man receives the full culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; and there is no condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/no-man-receives-the-full-culture-of-a-man-in-whom-the-sensibility-to/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I call that mind free which jealously guards its intellectual rights and powers, which calls no man master, which does not content itself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/i-call-that-mind-free-which-jealously-guards-its-intellectual-rights/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Error is discipline through which we advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/error-is-discipline-through-which-we-advance/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Ideas are the mightiest influence on earth. One great thought breathed into a man may regenerate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/ideas-are-the-mightiest-influence-on-earth-one-great-thought-breathed/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/to-live-content-with-small-means-to-seek-elegance-rather-than-luxury/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [“god be thanked for books. they are the voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/god-be-thanked-for-books-they-are-the-voices-of-the-distant-and-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Perhaps in our presence, the most heroic deed on earth is done in some silent spirit, the loftiest purpose cherished, the most generous sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/perhaps-in-our-presence-the-most-heroic-deed-on-earth-is-done-in-some/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/each-of-us-is-meant-to-have-a-character-all-our-own-to-be-what-no/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) [Explore all 130 William Ellery Channing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. 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