Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) was a German poet, playwright and historian, and with Goethe the central figure of Weimar Classicism. He trained as a military doctor and deserted the service in order to write. His Ode to Joy was later set to music in the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
About this theme: Success
Success is the theme where the difference between a quotation and a slogan is easiest to see. A slogan promises an outcome; a quote worth keeping usually names a cost. That is why the most durable lines about success are so often about failure — the number of attempts, the years without result, what had to be given up along the way.
More by Friedrich Schiller
More on Success
- Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.— Lao Tzu
- Fortune favors the bold.— Latin Proverb
- Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.— Albert Einstein
- Grain by grain a loaf, stone by stone a palace.— Croatian Proverb
- Well done is better than well said.— Benjamin Franklin