"The battle is all over except the "shouting" when one knows what is wanted and has made up his mind to get it, whatever the price may be"
About this Quote
Victory, Hill suggests, is mostly a private event: the moment desire hardens into decision. Everything after that is "shouting" - the public noise of effort, persuasion, and persistence. The line is built like a sales pitch disguised as a battlefield report, and that is the point. Hill’s world is one where willpower is capital, certainty is leverage, and hesitation is the only real enemy.
The specific intent is motivational but also disciplinary. By declaring the battle "all over" once you know what you want and commit to it, Hill compresses success into a psychological switch. That framing flatters the reader (you can win from the inside), while quietly demanding absolute buy-in: "whatever the price may be". It’s a promise and a dare. If you fail, the implication is not bad luck or structural limits; it’s that you never truly decided.
The subtext is pure early-20th-century self-help: individual agency elevated to near-mystical force, consequences bracketed as personal choice. Hill wrote in the wake of industrial expansion, mass advertising, and the emerging cult of the self-made man. His prose borrows the romance of war to make ambition feel noble, even inevitable. Calling action "shouting" minimizes the grind and spotlights mindset as destiny.
What makes it work is its ruthless simplification. It turns messy, contingent reality into a clean narrative: choose, commit, pay. That’s intoxicating. It’s also a little dangerous, because it treats the "price" as abstract - and assumes everyone can afford it.
The specific intent is motivational but also disciplinary. By declaring the battle "all over" once you know what you want and commit to it, Hill compresses success into a psychological switch. That framing flatters the reader (you can win from the inside), while quietly demanding absolute buy-in: "whatever the price may be". It’s a promise and a dare. If you fail, the implication is not bad luck or structural limits; it’s that you never truly decided.
The subtext is pure early-20th-century self-help: individual agency elevated to near-mystical force, consequences bracketed as personal choice. Hill wrote in the wake of industrial expansion, mass advertising, and the emerging cult of the self-made man. His prose borrows the romance of war to make ambition feel noble, even inevitable. Calling action "shouting" minimizes the grind and spotlights mindset as destiny.
What makes it work is its ruthless simplification. It turns messy, contingent reality into a clean narrative: choose, commit, pay. That’s intoxicating. It’s also a little dangerous, because it treats the "price" as abstract - and assumes everyone can afford it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
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