“One does what one is; one becomes what one does.”

“What one does in one's art, that is the breath of one's being. What one does in one's life, that is a bagatelle for the outsiders to fuss about.”

D.H. Lawrence book Women in Love

“Not by birth does one become an outcaste, not by birth does one become a brahman. By one's action one becomes an outcaste, by one's action one becomes a brahman.”

Gautama Buddha (-563–-483 BC) philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism

“What else does one obtain by realization of God? Does one grow two horns? No, the mind becomes pure, and through a pure mind one attains knowledge and awakening.”

Sarada Devi (1853–1920) Hindu religious figure, spiritual consort of Ramakrishna

“You see? In the fairy tales one does as one wants, and in reality one does what one can.”

Elena Ferrante (1943) Italian writer

“One can be the master of what one does, but never of what one feels.”

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer (1821–1880)

“One does simply what one can in order to apply what one knows.”

Ferdinand Foch (1851–1929) French soldier and military theorist

“Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.”

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian lawyer, statesman, and writer, first Prime Minister of India

“What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.”

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer

“What matters in politics above all, is not what one says, but what one does.”

Francis Parker Yockey (1917–1960) American writer