“What you do matters — but not much. What you are matters tremendously.”
Catherine Doherty (1896–1985) Religious order founder; Servant of God
Madonna House Staff Letter #140
Reverence for Life (1969)
Context: I do not want to frighten you by telling you about the temptations life will bring. Anyone who is healthy in spirit will overcome them. But there is something I want you to realize. It does not matter so much what you do. What matters is whether your soul is harmed by what you do. If your soul is harmed, something irreparable happens, the extent of which you won't realize until it will be too late.
“What you do matters — but not much. What you are matters tremendously.”
Catherine Doherty (1896–1985) Religious order founder; Servant of God
Madonna House Staff Letter #140
Henry James book The Ambassadors
Source: The Ambassadors (1903), book V, ch. II.
Context: Live all you can — it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that, what have you had?.. What one loses one loses; make no mistake about that... The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.. Live!
“It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.”
Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader
Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
“It doesn’t matter what you say you believe - it only matters what you do.”
Robert Fulghum book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Source: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
“The mistakes don't matter. It's what you do when you mess up that does.”
Kim Harrison (1966) Pseudonym
Source: Early to Death, Early to Rise
“Experience suggests it doesn't matter so much how you got here, as what you do after you arrive.”
Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga
Source: Vorkosigan Saga, Barrayar (1991)
“What you can do is often simply a matter of what you will do.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth