--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to be simultaneously…" description: "\"You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and spontaneous. You don't really know for sure what percentage of the preparation you are going to use, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png" --- # You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and… ![“You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and spontaneous. You don't really know for sure what percentage of the preparation you are going to use, and you don't know exactly where it will apply. So you have to be prepared, but not locked into that preparation.” quote by Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png) > “You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and spontaneous. You don't really know for sure what percentage of the preparation you are going to use, and you don't know exactly where it will apply. So you have to be prepared, but not locked into that preparation.” [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing thorough preparation with flexibility allows effective response to unexpected situations. **In simple terms:** Prepare well, stay adaptable. Key Takeaway Be ready, stay flexible. Themes preparation spontaneity adaptability Mood confident focused Type motivational practical When to use this quote - public speaking - live broadcasting - emergency response - sports commentary Key Concepts risk management situational awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to rely on preparation versus intuition? - What strategies keep you flexible under pressure? A Different Perspective Over‑preparation can hinder creativity; too much spontaneity may cause errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Percentages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percentages/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) ## Related quotes > [We're foolish if we think we're going to end mass incarceration unless we are willing to deal with the reality that huge percentages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-re-foolish-if-we-think-we-re-going-to-end-mass-incarceration/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [As you give to fund God's needs, are you forced to trust Him to provide for yours? That's what a growing faith is about.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/as-you-give-to-fund-god-s-needs-are-you-forced-to-trust-him-to/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [A great percentage of the mistakes I discovered in my own work, could be attributed to testimonies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-hilberg/a-great-percentage-of-the-mistakes-i-discovered-in-my-own-work-could/) [Raul Hilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-hilberg/) > [They also held that the way to salvation was to give way to lust and temptation in all things. And no greater percentage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-also-held-that-the-way-to-salvation-was-to-give-way-to-lust-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [For someone to promise a percentage type cure for this issue, for instance I had someone who said they had experienced a 90 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-chambers/for-someone-to-promise-a-percentage-type-cure-for-this-issue-for/) [Alan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-chambers/) > [Such a small percentage of our population carry the burden of knowing what's really going on in our country's name, and I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ling/such-a-small-percentage-of-our-population-carry-the-burden-of-knowing/) [Lisa Ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ling/) > [A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/a-tax-cut-means-higher-family-income-and-higher-business-profits-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [ \[Performing artists\] are making greater percentages. People are going to live events more and it's a big success story for everyone - except the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/performing-artists-are-making-greater-percentages-people-are-going-to/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [All of our competitors around the world, every country is investing more in infrastructure as a percentage of their GDP than we are. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/all-of-our-competitors-around-the-world-every-country-is-investing/) [Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/) > [Don't solicit for your sister, it's not nice. Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [The casinos believe in math (and I don't mean numerology).They believe in the power of percentages and short pays, not in the power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-scoblete/the-casinos-believe-in-math-and-i-don-t-mean-numerology-they-believe/) [Frank Scoblete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-scoblete/) > [My argument is focused on the fact that a relatively small percentage of the world's Muslim countries are impacted by this order. Stated differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-rivkin/my-argument-is-focused-on-the-fact-that-a-relatively-small-percentage/) [David B. Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-rivkin/) > [Oh, shut up. He is not saying that he's too good-looking to be friends with girls. But then again, yesterday at the beach, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/oh-shut-up-he-is-not-saying-that-he-s-too-good-looking-to-be-friends/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/an-immense-percentage-of-snobs-i-believe-is-to-be-found-in-every-rank/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) ## More by Bob Costas > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [People will speculate about what they want, but that is not my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/people-will-speculate-about-what-they-want-but-that-is-not-my/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [He was our symbol of baseball at a time when the game meant something to us that perhaps it no longer does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/he-was-our-symbol-of-baseball-at-a-time-when-the-game-meant-something/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [If Vin Scully calling a game is just as good in 2013 as he was in 1963, that's the way a game should sound.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-vin-scully-calling-a-game-is-just-as-good-in-2013-as-he-was-in/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Any good broadcast, not just an Olympic broadcast, should have texture to it. It should have information, should have some history, should have something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/any-good-broadcast-not-just-an-olympic-broadcast-should-have-texture/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Our current gun culture simply ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/our-current-gun-culture-simply-ensures-that-more-and-more-domestic/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [His doctors said he was, in many ways, the most remarkable patient they'd ever seen. His bravery, so stark and real, that even those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/his-doctors-said-he-was-in-many-ways-the-most-remarkable-patient-they/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [If every university president said, 'The revenue producing sports: basketball, football - potentially revenue producing at most universities - maybe in a few cases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-every-university-president-said-the-revenue-producing-sports/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [When we lose Fenway, we lose the sense that somebody sat here and watched Ted Williams hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/when-we-lose-fenway-we-lose-the-sense-that-somebody-sat-here-and/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [All that's missing for Utah is a blindfold and a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/all-that-s-missing-for-utah-is-a-blindfold-and-a-cigarette/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [I don't feel any different than I did when I was 40. But I realize mathematically, I'm equidistant between that and 80. I'll keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/i-don-t-feel-any-different-than-i-did-when-i-was-40-but-i-realize/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Champions don't become champions in the field---they are merely recognized there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/champions-don-t-become-champions-in-the-field-they-are-merely/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [We're still buzzin' about Bruce Springsteen at halftime, but I'll tell you if there was one guy we weren't thinking was 'Born To Run'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/we-re-still-buzzin-about-bruce-springsteen-at-halftime-but-i-ll-tell/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Yes folks, their gold medal looks the same as everybody elses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/yes-folks-their-gold-medal-looks-the-same-as-everybody-elses/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [America's gun culture demonstrates itself in the Wild West, Dirty Harry mentality of people who actually believe that if a number of people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/america-s-gun-culture-demonstrates-itself-in-the-wild-west-dirty/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) [Explore all 31 Bob Costas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) ## More Be prepared quotes > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. Excellence is to be exceptional, surpassing, more competent and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/in-your-goals-to-go-the-extra-mile-prepare-to-pay-an-extra-cost/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [Wherever you escape, the truth will find you! Always be prepared to meet with it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-you-escape-the-truth-will-find-you-always-be-prepared-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [You must have goals in your life, or otherwise be prepared to be used by those who do have them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-brooks/you-must-have-goals-in-your-life-or-otherwise-be-prepared-to-be-used/) [Herb Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-brooks/) > [I never minded giving my opinions. They are just opinions, and I had studied music and I had strong feelings. I was happy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-never-minded-giving-my-opinions-they-are-just-opinions-and-i-had/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [To me, man means awareness of death. I am not saying become afraid of death; that is not awareness. Just be aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-man-means-awareness-of-death-i-am-not-saying-become-afraid-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Another mistake a director can make is not to be prepared, so you get there on the day to shoot the scene, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/another-mistake-a-director-can-make-is-not-to-be-prepared-so-you-get/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Good preparation is key for me. Nowadays everyone is an actor slash writer, slash this, slash that, its cool; and you can only go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-zevallos/good-preparation-is-key-for-me-nowadays-everyone-is-an-actor-slash/) [Jaime Zevallos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-zevallos/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [One can understand the politics of that at this moment. It's an effort to buy time for a constituency of workers who have really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/one-can-understand-the-politics-of-that-at-this-moment-it-s-an-effort/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [We are all better than we know. If only we can be brought to realise this, we may never be prepared to settle for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-hahn/we-are-all-better-than-we-know-if-only-we-can-be-brought-to-realise/) [Kurt Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-hahn/) > [I have spoken about what we can do as citizens, what we can do as a responsive citizenry, and this is where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-spoken-about-what-we-can-do-as-citizens-what-we-can-do-as-a/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) Browse all 692 Be prepared quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and spontaneous. You don't really know for sure what percentage of the preparation you are going to use, and you don't know exactly where it will apply. So you have to be prepared, but not locked into that preparation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Costas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepared-and-spontaneous-you-don-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be prepared" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepared-and-spontaneous-you-don-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bob-costas-20393_be-prepared_you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepa_446368.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have to be simultaneously well-prepared and spontaneous. You don't really know for sure what percentage…” — Bob Costas", "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": "Bob Costas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have to be simultaneously well-prepared...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepared-and-spontaneous-you-don-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/you-have-to-be-simultaneously-well-prepared-and-spontaneous-you-don-t/#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 } } ] } ```