---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you only care enough for a result, you…"
description: "\"If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png"
---

#  If you only care enough for a result, you will almost…

![“If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png)

> “If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.”

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

## About This Quote

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

Success depends on focused, exclusive desire; spreading wishes dilutes effectiveness.

**In simple terms:** Focused desire leads to success.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate single‑minded goals.

Themes

focus desire achievement

Mood

determined optimistic

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- career planning
- personal projects
- relationship goals
- financial planning

Key Concepts

psychology willpower goal setting

Questions to Reflect On

- What single goal will you prioritize?
- How can you eliminate competing desires?

A Different Perspective

Multiple simultaneous goals can cause conflict and burnout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Attain Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attain-really-1130002/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Certainly Attain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainly-attain-3469347/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Exclusively Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusively-wish-3469346/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Strangest secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangest-secret/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Exclusively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-exclusively-3469345/) [Wish Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-things/)

## Related quotes

> [If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-care-enough-for-a-result-you-will-most-certainly-attain-it/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Anything you really want, you can attain, if you really go after it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/anything-you-really-want-you-can-attain-if-you-really-go-after-it/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [We need only in cold blood to act as if the thing in question were real and it will infallibly end by growing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-need-only-in-cold-blood-to-act-as-if-the-thing-in-question-were/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Don't concern yourself too much with how you are going to achieve your goal - leave that completely to a power greater than yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/don-t-concern-yourself-too-much-with-how-you-are-going-to-achieve/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/throughout-all-history-the-great-wise-men-and-teachers-philosophers/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/people-are-always-blaming-their-circumstances-for-what-they-are-i-don/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Everything that's really worthwhile in life came to us free - our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/everything-that-s-really-worthwhile-in-life-came-to-us-free-our-minds/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [We become what we think about most of the time, and that's the strangest secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-become-what-we-think-about-most-of-the-time-and-that-s-the/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [If thou canst believe, all things are possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/if-thou-canst-believe-all-things-are-possible/)

[Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/)

> [Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/learn-to-enjoy-every-minute-of-your-life-be-happy-now/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [The only person who succeeds is the person who is progressively realizing a worthy ideal. That's the person who says, 'I'm going to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-only-person-who-succeeds-is-the-person-who-is-progressively/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-to-believe-that-you-are/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [We become what we think about most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-vandenberg/we-become-what-we-think-about-most/)

[John H. Vandenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-vandenberg/)

## More by William James

> [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

## More Care quotes

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/)

[Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/)

[Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/)

[Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/)

[James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/)

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/)

[Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/)

> [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

> [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/)

[John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/)

[Browse all 19,019 Care quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William James"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you-will-almost-certainly-attain/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Care"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you-will-almost-certainly-attain/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/william-james-228_care_if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you_2803880.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. Only you must, then, really wish…” — William James",
                "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": "William James",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you only care enough for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you-will-almost-certainly-attain/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-only-care-enough-for-a-result-you-will-almost-certainly-attain/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
