Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Counting on things that haven't happened is a dangerous form of self-deception.
In plain terms
Don't count on results before they happen.
What can you take from it?
Avoid relying on uncertain outcomes.

Where it applies

  • investment decisions
  • project planning
  • gambling

Putting it to work

  • plan for risks
  • verify assumptions
  • prepare for failure

Questions to consider

  • How often do you count chickens?
  • What happens when they don't hatch?

Another view

Some planning requires assuming positive outcomes.

More from David Mitchell

  1. I have always preferred maps to books. They don't answer you back.

    Permalink to quote #3
  2. Lunatics are writers whose works write them.

    Permalink to quote #5
  3. What do I miss? Second-hand bookshops where I can find things I had no idea I wanted. AbeBooks helps, but it doesn't have that smell.

    Permalink to quote #2

Related quotes

  1. Ground not upon dreams; you know they are ever contrary.

    Thomas MiddletonThomas Middleton quote #25
  2. Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.

    Francis BaconFrancis Bacon quote #57
  3. You can't talk of the dangers of snake poisoning and not mention snakes.

    C. Everett KoopC. Everett Koop quote #1