Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
A cause is only lost when we abandon it before trying to achieve it.
In plain terms
You only lose a cause if you quit before fighting for it.
What can you take from it?
Persist before declaring defeat.

Where it applies

  • activism
  • personal goals
  • social movements

Putting it to work

  • set small milestones
  • reaffirm commitment

Questions to consider

  • What makes you keep fighting a hard cause?
  • When is it wise to let go?

Another view

Sometimes a cause may be futile despite persistence.

More from Vaclav Havel

  1. Seemingly endless negotiations finally led to the division of Czechoslovakia. It had one great advantage: it proceeded calmly, without violence, major conflict…

    Permalink to quote #21
  2. Isn't it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one co…

    Permalink to quote #23
  3. There are no exact guidelines. There are probably no guidelines at all. The only thing I can recommend at this stage is a sense of humor, an ability to see thi…

    Permalink to quote #20

Related quotes

  1. You can be disappointed, but you can't walk away.

    John EdwardsJohn Edwards quote #4
  2. You can ask the people around me. I don't give up. I don't give up... and it's not out of frustration and desperation that I say I don't give up. I don't give …

    Johnny CashJohnny Cash quote #10
  3. Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.

    Napoleon HillNapoleon Hill quote #14