Competence Quotes

“Never compete with your master, because that is disrespect to him! You are your only rival, you compete with yourself, go beyond yourself!”

“Pride in office without competence is as much a sin as competence without confidence.”

“So many people can now write competent stories that the short story is in danger of dying of competence.”

“It’s easier to donate a few thousands to charity and think oneself noble than to base self-respect on personal standards of personal achievement. It’s simple to seek substitutes for competence—such easy substitutes: love, charm, kindness, charity. But there is no substitute for competence.”

“It's easy to run to others. It's so hard to stand on one's own record. You can fake virtue for an audience. You can't fake it in your own eyes. Your ego is your strictest judge. They run from it. They spend their lives running. It's easier to donate a few thousand to charity and think oneself noble than to base self-respect on personal standards of personal achievement. It's simple to seek substitutes for competence--such easy substitutes: love, charm, kindness, charity. But there is no substitute for competence.”

“In the last twenty years the colleges have been emphasizing creative writing to such an extent that you almost feel that any idiot with a nickel's worth of talent can emerge from a writing class able to write a competent story. In fact, so many people can now write competent stories that the short story as a medium is in danger of dying of competence. We want competence, but competence by itself is deadly. What is needed is the vision to go with it, and you do not get this from a writing class.”

“I have rare moments of competence.”

“Humility and competence are the keys to a successful life.”

“. . to be exceptional in martial arts, you must possess the "4 C's" : Consistency, Commitment, Creativity and Competence”