--- title: "3 Duty Debt Quotes By Robert A. Heinlein" description: "3 Duty Debt quotes by Robert A. Heinlein. Plus more from Robert A. Heinlein and more Duty Debt sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg" --- > [Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fulfill-obligations-you-have/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg) > [“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-people-expect-of-you-they-are-2/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/robert-a-heinlein-209_long-time_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_1919517.jpg) > [Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-people-expect-of-you-they-are-3/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_2054186.jpg) ## More by Robert A. Heinlein > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ignorance-is-curable-stupid-is-forever/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/#itemlist", "name": "3 Duty Debt Quotes By Robert A. Heinlein", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. Heinlein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fulfill-obligations-you-have/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.” — Robert A. Heinlein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Do not confuse \"duty\" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants \"just a few minutes of your time, please—this won't take long.\" Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time—and squawk for more! So learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is \"expected\" of you.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. Heinlein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-people-expect-of-you-they-are-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/robert-a-heinlein-209_long-time_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_1919517.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/robert-a-heinlein-209_long-time_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_1919517.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/robert-a-heinlein-209_long-time_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_1919517.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not confuse \"duty\" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you…” — Robert A. Heinlein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not confuse \"duty\" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. Heinlein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-people-expect-of-you-they-are-3/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_2054186.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_2054186.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-peop_2054186.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not confuse \"duty\" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you…” — Robert A. Heinlein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/", "name": "Duty Debt Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-a-heinlein-209_debt_duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fu_305349.jpg" }, "description": "3 Duty Debt quotes by Robert A. Heinlein. Plus more from Robert A. Heinlein and more Duty Debt sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Duty Debt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-debt/robert-a-heinlein/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```