"A straight oar looks bent in the water. It matters not merely that we see a thing, but how we see it."
Read quote
9 likes
What Matters quotes
What Matters
487 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Topics related to What Matters
Browse quotes that often appear alongside what matters — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
What Matters quotes (page 4 of 25)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"And the first step, as you know, is always what matters most, particularly when we are dealing with those who are young and tender. That is the time when they are taking shape and when any impression we choose to make leaves a permanent mark."
Read quote
8 likes
"Privilege is not in and of itself bad; what matters is what we do with privilege. I want to live in a world where all women have access to education, and all women can earn PhD’s, if they so desire. Privilege does not have to be negative, but we have to share our resources and take direction about how to use our privilege in ways that empower those who lack it."
Read quote
8 likes
"Fame is a by-product. It's not a goal. What matters is loving your work and loving what you do"
Read quote
8 likes
"Your work life is divided into two distinct areas - what matters most and everything else. You will have to take what matters to the extremes and be okay with what happens to the rest. Professional success requires it."
Read quote
8 likes
"To write well about the elegant world you have to know it and experience it to the depths of your being... what matters is not whether you love it or hate it, but only to be quite clear about your position regarding it."
Read quote
8 likes
"The true secret to seeking the unknown is in the looking, not the finding. The journey is what matters."
Read quote
8 likes
"We are responsible for our own destiny. What matters is how we improve ourselves from this moment forward."
Read quote
7 likes
"You smell a rose through a fence: If two should smell it, what matter?"
Read quote
7 likes
"What matters most: passion or competence that was born in? Berkshireis full of people who have a peculiar passion for their own business. I would argue passion is more important than brain power."
Read quote
7 likes
"It has always seemed to me that so long as you produce your dramatic effect, accuracy of detail matters little. I have never striven for it and I have made some bad mistakes in consequence. What matter if I hold my readers?"
Read quote
7 likes
"Losing you is most difficult for me, but the nature of my love for you is what matters. If it distorts into half-truth, then perhaps it is better not to love you. I must keep my mind but loose you."
Read quote
7 likes
"It is of no consequence to you what others think of you. What matters is what you think of them. That is how you live your life."
Read quote
7 likes
"You will have many enemies, but even your foes will love you. Life will bring you many misfortunes, but you will find your happiness in them, and will bless life and will make others bless it-which is what matters most."
Read quote
7 likes
"What matters to you defines your mattering."
Read quote
7 likes
"In general, in America, every discourse in literature in 15 minutes degenerates into a conversation about ethics, morality and this and that. The Holocaust and the consequences of it. Well, I find it terribly boring, predictable and unimportant, because what matters about literature is esthetic achievement."
Read quote
7 likes
"I'm less interested in how we label ourselves. I'm more interested in how we treat each other. And if we're treating each other right, then I can be African-American, I can be multi-racial, I can be you name it, what matters is, am I showing people respect, am I caring for one, for other people."
Read quote
6 likes
"What matters is how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in making the lives around us better."
Read quote
6 likes
"Entrepreneurs believe that profit is what matters most in a new enterprise. But profit is secondary. Cash flow matters most."
Read quote
6 likes
"What matters is how many times you get up."
Read quote
6 likes