You can please some of the people some of the time … but you can never please all of the people all of the time -Abraham Lincoln

One of the most popular partially used quotes. This saying by Abraham Lincoln have been quoted by many, including tech giant Steve Jobs and media giant Arianna Huffington. Why partially quoted ? Well, the quote is long and people often do not memorize it correctly.

Here’s the complete exact quote:

You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time

– Abraham Lincoln

So let’s jump into the original full quote:
You can please some of the people some of the time: The easiest condition, pleasing some people sometimes, that’s achievable.
all of the people some of the time: This one is tough, but might be achieved, pleasing everyone for sometime. That’s until they start find issues with your solution.
some of the people all of the time: This one is easier than the previous, once you have real fans, it is relatively easy to please them.
but you can never please all of the people all of the time: This is essence of this quote, whatever you do, you can not please everyone and keep them happy.

Thus to resume this quote in simple words, you can not please everyone, and even if you succeed in doing so you won’t be able to maintain this forever.

Moral of the quote, don’t try too hard to please everyone, because you will not succeed.