“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.”

—  Brandon Sanderson

Source: The Alloy of Law

Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones." by Brandon Sanderson?
Brandon Sanderson photo
Brandon Sanderson313
American fantasy writer 1975

Related quotes

Sören Kierkegaard photo

“Knowledge can in part be set aside, and one can then go further in order to collect new; the natural scientist can set aside insects and flowers and then go further, but if the existing person sets aside the decision in existence, it is eo ipso lost, and he is changed.”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

Papers VI B 66, 1845
1840s

Theodore Roosevelt photo

“It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States

Ben Carson photo

“I don't believe in one-person productions. Everyone on the team is important and needs to know that he or she is vital.”

Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon

Source: Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (1990), p. 121

Jim Davis photo

“It's amazing what one can accomplish when one doesn't know what one can't do.”

Jim Davis (1945) American cartoonist and creator of Garfield

“The real struggle has been since Africans first set foot on the continent, an affirmation of the value of one’s self. And I think if, in order to participate in American society, in order to accomplish some of the things which the black middle class has accomplished, if you have had to give up that self in order to accomplish that, then you are not making an affirmation of the value of the African being. You are saying that in order to do that I must become someone else, I must become like someone else…”

August Wilson (1945–2005) American playwright

On the cultural sacrifices made by African Americans in higher classes in “Playwright August Wilson on Writing About Black America” https://billmoyers.com/story/august-wilson-on-writing-about-black-america/ (Bill Moyers, 1988)

Wallace Stevens photo

“A. A violent order is disorder; and
B. A great disorder is an order. These
Two things are one.”

Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) American poet

"Connoisseur of Chaos"
Parts of a World (1942)

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer

As quoted in The Ring of Truth (2004) by Joseph O'Day

Hermann Hesse photo

“They knew a tremendous number of things — But was it worthwhile knowing all these things if they did not know the one important thing, the only important thing?”

Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German writer

Source: Siddhartha (1922), p. 21

“I am proud of what I have accomplished, especially while serving as chief justice, at the time I joined the court, it was marked by acrimony. When I became chief justice, we proved that good people who may differ in their opinions can come together and accomplish important things for the people we serve – and we do it amicably.”

Robert P. Young Jr.

Justice Young leaving Michigan Supreme Court for Detroit law firm job http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/03/29/justice-young-leaving-michigan-supreme-court-detroit-law-firm-job/99772568/ (March 29, 2017)

Related topics