--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to start living for something…" description: "\"You have to start living for something that's worth dying for.\" — Andrew Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png" --- # You have to start living for something that's worth dying… ![“You have to start living for something that's worth dying for.” quote by Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png) > “You have to start living for something that's worth dying for.” [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urges living with purpose so that one's life justifies ultimate sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Live meaningfully, worth dying for. Key Takeaway Pursue a cause greater than self. Themes purpose sacrifice legacy Mood determined hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - social justice work - military service - personal mission statements Key Concepts moral conviction activism Questions to Reflect On - What cause gives your life meaning? - How do you balance risk and purpose? A Different Perspective May be misused to glorify martyrdom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Start Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-living/) [Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth/) ## Related quotes > [“If life is worth living for so is it worth dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/if-life-is-worth-living-for-so-is-it-worth-dying/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [Make sure the thing you're living for is worth dying for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mayes-wigg/make-sure-the-thing-you-re-living-for-is-worth-dying-for/) Charles Mayes Wigg > [“Just make sure that the thing you're living for is worth dying for." --Levi”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-williamson/just-make-sure-that-the-thing-you-re-living-for-is-worth-dying-for/) [Jill Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-williamson/) > [We start dying when we have nothing worth living for. And we don't really start living until we find something worth dying for](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/we-start-dying-when-we-have-nothing-worth-living-for-and-we-don-t/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [“We start dying the day we stop dreaming. And ironically, we start living the day we discover a dream worth dying for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/we-start-dying-the-day-we-stop-dreaming-and-ironically-we-start/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [We face the question whether a still higher "standard of living" is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/we-face-the-question-whether-a-still-higher-standard-of-living-is/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [If life is worth living then it's worth recording.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-carl/if-life-is-worth-living-then-it-s-worth-recording/) [Shay Carl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-carl/) > [I meant, said Ipslore bitterly, what is there in this world that truly makes living worth while? Death thought about it Cats, he said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-meant-said-ipslore-bitterly-what-is-there-in-this-world-that-truly-2/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [If your life's worth living, it's worth recording.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/if-your-life-s-worth-living-it-s-worth-recording/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/are-the-things-you-are-living-for-worth-christ-dying-for/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [“I can tell you that the pain of living is worth it. That if you live, your life will be as full of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-henry/i-can-tell-you-that-the-pain-of-living-is-worth-it-that-if-you-live/) [Emily Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-henry/) > [Is what you're living for worth Christ dying for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epitaph/is-what-you-re-living-for-worth-christ-dying-for/) Epitaph > [ “Is it really worth dying for the person you love?” \[Maureen\] thinks about this for a moment. “That’s not the real question, Oliver. What… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/is-it-really-worth-dying-for-the-person-you-love-maureen-thinks-about/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Maybe the reason I've never died in this story is that I've never had something worth dying for before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-the-reason-i-ve-never-died-in-this-story-is-that-i-ve-never-had/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [And love … love was worth dying for. Worth living for, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/and-love-love-was-worth-dying-for-worth-living-for-too/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) ## More by Andrew Young > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I think we've made tremendous progress on racism. We've even made progress on war. We've made almost no progress on poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-think-we-ve-made-tremendous-progress-on-racism-we-ve-even-made/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Any racial reconciliation we've had in this country has come not out of confrontation but out of a spirit of reconciliation. If we continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/any-racial-reconciliation-we-ve-had-in-this-country-has-come-not-out/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I wouldn't listen to my parents, but I found out that I absorbed. I never heard what they said - told me - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-wouldn-t-listen-to-my-parents-but-i-found-out-that-i-absorbed-i/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [In a world where change is inevitable and continuous, the need to achieve that change without violence is essential for survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/in-a-world-where-change-is-inevitable-and-continuous-the-need-to/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [There's no problem on the planet that can't be solved without violence. That's the lesson of the civil rights movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/there-s-no-problem-on-the-planet-that-can-t-be-solved-without/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [More and more I find I'm really impressed with how much my son knows and how much he thinks like me. But he never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/more-and-more-i-find-i-m-really-impressed-with-how-much-my-son-knows/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Look at those they call unfortunate and at a closer view, you'll find many of them are unwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/look-at-those-they-call-unfortunate-and-at-a-closer-view-you-ll-find/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [We've changed in the sense that we flipped - and this is no longer the Republican party of Lincoln. This is the party of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/we-ve-changed-in-the-sense-that-we-flipped-and-this-is-no-longer-the/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I call upon both Republicans and Democrats to work with us to have a national ID card that is free and accessible. President Lyndon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-call-upon-both-republicans-and-democrats-to-work-with-us-to-have-a/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [“Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. -Andrew Young, author, civil rights activist, US congressman, mayor, and UN ambassador (b. 1932)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/nothing-is-illegal-if-one-hundred-businessmen-decide-to-do-it-andrew/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [The commercialization of sport is the democratization of sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/the-commercialization-of-sport-is-the-democratization-of-sport/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I have about concluded that wealth is a state of mind, and that anyone can acquire a wealthy state of mind by thinking rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-have-about-concluded-that-wealth-is-a-state-of-mind-and-that-anyone/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Martin Luther King said America had given a bad check to black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/martin-luther-king-said-america-had-given-a-bad-check-to-black-people/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I was raised that way: don't get mad, get smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-was-raised-that-way-don-t-get-mad-get-smart/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) [Explore all 101 Andrew Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have to start living for something that's worth dying for.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/you-have-to-start-living-for-something-that-s-worth-dying-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/you-have-to-start-living-for-something-that-s-worth-dying-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b1/andrew-young-5409_death_you-have-to-start-living-for-something-t_987034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have to start living for something that's worth dying for.” — Andrew Young", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Andrew Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have to start living for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/you-have-to-start-living-for-something-that-s-worth-dying-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/you-have-to-start-living-for-something-that-s-worth-dying-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```