Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
People focus on visible growth, but preparing the underlying foundation is essential for a good harvest.
In plain terms
Work on the unseen basics first.
What can you take from it?
Cultivate foundations before expecting results.

Where it applies

  • starting a project
  • personal development

Putting it to work

  • invest in skill building
  • strengthen core habits

Questions to consider

  • What foundations are you neglecting?
  • How can you balance visible progress with groundwork?

Another view

Sometimes visible progress is necessary to motivate effort.

More from Shunryu Suzuka

  1. To accept some idea of truth without experiencing it is like a painting of a cake on paper which you cannot eat.

    Permalink to quote #12
  2. So the secret is just to say 'Yes!' and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself, always yourself, without sticking to an old self.

    Permalink to quote #14
  3. Hell is not punishment. It's training.

    Permalink to quote #11

Related quotes

  1. On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the li…

    Ayrton SennaAyrton Senna quote #5
  2. I don't believe in perfection. I don't think there is such a thing. But the energy of wanting things to be great is a perfectionist energy.

    Reese WitherspoonReese Witherspoon quote #8
  3. I am a woman in process. I'm just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.

    Oprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey quote #11