--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What happens if you do nothing, nothing…" description: "\"“What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price and a terrible freedom to that”\" — Brent Weeks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png" --- # What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price… ![“What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price and a terrible freedom to that” quote by Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png) > ““What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price and a terrible freedom to that”” [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests that inaction carries its own costs and a paradoxical sense of freedom that can be unsettling. **In simple terms:** Doing nothing has consequences and a strange freedom. Key Takeaway Consider the cost of inaction. Themes choice consequence freedom Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily decisions - career stagnation - relationship neglect Key Concepts existential risk personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What does doing nothing cost you? - How does freedom feel when you avoid action? A Different Perspective Inaction may lead to missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ## Related quotes > [“Outside, among your fellows, among strangers, you must perceive appearances, a hundred things you cannot do; but inside, the terrible freedom!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/outside-among-your-fellows-among-strangers-you-must-perceive/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“For an Irish-Catholic boy with a nudity hang-up, it was an island of terrible freedom in a sea of "No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-valentine/for-an-irish-catholic-boy-with-a-nudity-hang-up-it-was-an-island-of/) [John Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-valentine/) > [Outside among your fellows, among strangers, you must preserve appearances, a hundred things you cannot do; but inside, the terrible freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/outside-among-your-fellows-among-strangers-you-must-preserve/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [To me, it seems pretty obvious that socialism is terrible. After all, do you know what's not terrible? Freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/to-me-it-seems-pretty-obvious-that-socialism-is-terrible-after-all-do/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [Sleep takes off the costume of circumstance, arms us with terrible freedom, so that every will rushes to a deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/sleep-takes-off-the-costume-of-circumstance-arms-us-with-terrible/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) ## More by Brent Weeks > [“Highest marks of the day. And don’t ever do it again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/highest-marks-of-the-day-and-don-t-ever-do-it-again/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“life is our battlefield. We must do what we know to do, not what we want to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/life-is-our-battlefield-we-must-do-what-we-know-to-do-not-what-we/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“In suffering, we find the true measure of our strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/in-suffering-we-find-the-true-measure-of-our-strength/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“Non takuulam. I shall not serve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/non-takuulam-i-shall-not-serve/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“And on a difference of three minutes, all of history changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/and-on-a-difference-of-three-minutes-all-of-history-changes/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [When you don't know what to do, do what's right and do what's in front of you. But not necessarily what's right in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/when-you-don-t-know-what-to-do-do-what-s-right-and-do-what-s-in-front/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“An oath you only keep when it's convenient isn't an oath at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/an-oath-you-only-keep-when-it-s-convenient-isn-t-an-oath-at-all/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [It's easier for me to write certain character types because of my own life experiences, but I find it too artistically limiting to only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/it-s-easier-for-me-to-write-certain-character-types-because-of-my-own/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [The God gives simpler problems to lesser men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/the-god-gives-simpler-problems-to-lesser-men/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“At some point, you have to decide not merely what you're going to believe, but how you're going to believe. Are you going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/at-some-point-you-have-to-decide-not-merely-what-you-re-going-to/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“You are a god clad in flesh, Gaelan Starfire, and you're more fragile than you know. Be ware.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/you-are-a-god-clad-in-flesh-gaelan-starfire-and-you-re-more-fragile/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“Might doesn’t make right. Might makes reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/might-doesn-t-make-right-might-makes-reality/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“I've taken lives, and I've taken my own life in my hands and trusted a friend with it. Yes, sir, I'd say that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/i-ve-taken-lives-and-i-ve-taken-my-own-life-in-my-hands-and-trusted-a/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) [Explore all 235 Brent Weeks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price and a terrible freedom to that”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brent Weeks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-there-s-a-price-and-a-terrible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-there-s-a-price-and-a-terrible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/brent-weeks-1256_freedom_what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-t_209466.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What happens if you do nothing, nothing, there's a price and a terrible freedom to that” — Brent Weeks", "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": "Brent Weeks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What happens if you do nothing,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-there-s-a-price-and-a-terrible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/what-happens-if-you-do-nothing-nothing-there-s-a-price-and-a-terrible/#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 } } ] } ```