“Those activities at which you excel with no effort at all—those are the ones you ought to pursue to the detriment of others.”

—  Carson Cistulli

A Century of Enthusiasm (2007)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Those activities at which you excel with no effort at all—those are the ones you ought to pursue to the detriment of ot…" by Carson Cistulli?
Carson Cistulli photo
Carson Cistulli 10
American poet and writer 1979

Related quotes

Gore Vidal photo

“Write what you know will always be excellent advice for those who ought not to write at all. Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!”

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer

"Thomas Love Peacock: The Novel of Ideas" (1980)
1980s, The Second American Revolution (1983)
Variant: In any case, write what you know will always be excellent advice to those who ought not to write at all.
Source: The Essential Gore Vidal

Dallas Willard photo

“Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude. You have never seen people more active than those who have been set on fire by the grace of God.”

Dallas Willard (1935–2013) American philosopher

Life Life to the Full, Christian Herald (UK), 14 April 2001
Source: The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship

Frances Wright photo

“There is, in the institutions of this country, one principle, which, had they no other excellence, would secure to them the preference over those of all other countries. I mean — and some devout patriots will start — I mean the principle of change.”

Frances Wright (1795–1852) American activist

Independence Day speech (1828)
Context: There is, in the institutions of this country, one principle, which, had they no other excellence, would secure to them the preference over those of all other countries. I mean — and some devout patriots will start — I mean the principle of change.
I have used a word to which is attached an obnoxious meaning. Speak of change, and the world is in alarm. And yet where do we not see change? What is there in the physical world but change? And what would there be in the moral world without change?

John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby photo

“Of all those arts in which the wise excel,
Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.”

John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1648–1721) English poet and notable Tory politician of the late Stuart period

Essay on Poetry (published 1723).

Svetlana Alliluyeva photo

“You are one of those obsessed demoniacal creatures who ought to be avoided at all costs; they bring misfortune into the lives of others; they ruin the lives of others. The real good people are humble and silent (like your Kitty is). But beware, God sees all vanity and pride and you cannot fool him.”

Svetlana Alliluyeva (1926–2011) daughter of Joseph Stalin

Said to Malcolm Muggeridge, as quoted in Richard Ingrams (1996), Muggeridge: The Biography, p. 233

“If politics is like show business, then the idea is not to pursue excellence, clarity or honesty but to appear as if you are, which is another matter altogether.”

Neil Postman (1931–2003) American writer and academic

Source: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

John Dryden photo

“What precious drops are those
Which silently each other's track pursue,
Bright as young diamonds in their infant dew?”

John Dryden The Conquest of Granada

Part 2, Act III, scene i.
The Conquest of Granada (1669-1670)

Giovanni della Casa photo

“You ought to regulate your manner of behaviour towards others, not according to your own humour, but agreeably to the pleasure and inclination of those with whom you converse.”

Giovanni della Casa (1503–1556) Roman Catholic archbishop

Source: Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners, p. 6

Steven D. Levitt photo

“I don’t expect perfection, I expect excellence.” I expect 100 percent effort in all you do.”

Steven D. Levitt (1967) American economist

When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants

Related topics