---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you start thinking about leaving…"
description: "\"When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment carefully. Go out while you’re still on top, not when you’re no longer in control of events.\"..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png"
---

#  When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment…

![“When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment carefully. Go out while you’re still on top, not when you’re no longer in control of events.” quote by Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png)

> “When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment carefully. Go out while you’re still on top, not when you’re no longer in control of events.”

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Leaving a role should be timed when you still have power, not after you lose influence.

**In simple terms:** Leave while strong.

Key Takeaway

Plan exit before loss of control.

Themes

strategy power timing

Mood

calm strategic

Type

advisory motivational

When to use this quote

- career transition
- political resignation
- business negotiations
- personal branding

Key Concepts

Leadership control exit planning

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you maintain influence after leaving?
- What signals indicate the optimal exit moment?

A Different Perspective

May underestimate future opportunities after departure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“But just then, for that fraction of time, it seems as though all things are possible. You can look across the limitations of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-just-then-for-that-fraction-of-time-it-seems-as-though-all-things/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I hate that I'm already thinking about him leaving again. Even though it's far off, I hate thinking about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-that-i-m-already-thinking-about-him-leaving-again-even-though/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You never want to be in a place where an employee has vested 3 out of the 4 years of stock and they start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/you-never-want-to-be-in-a-place-where-an-employee-has-vested-3-out-of/)

[Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/)

> [I'm at my best when I'm not thinking and I'm leaving it all out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fried/i-m-at-my-best-when-i-m-not-thinking-and-i-m-leaving-it-all-out-there/)

[Max Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fried/)

> [“I came so close to telling him I was thinking of leaving, but I didn’t. I also came close to telling him I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benedict/i-came-so-close-to-telling-him-i-was-thinking-of-leaving-but-i-didn-t/)

[Charles Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benedict/)

> [“We don’t need to identify concrete solutions to all our problems. We don’t need to create the illusion of control amid uncertain circumstances. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-deschene/we-don-t-need-to-identify-concrete-solutions-to-all-our-problems-we/)

[Lori Deschene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-deschene/)

> [Step into this moment, because it is the only one you have right now. It is not wasted or thrown away. The divine opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/step-into-this-moment-because-it-is-the-only-one-you-have-right-now/)

[Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/)

> [Realize that you are only destined to become one person the person you choose to be in this moment. Do good and feel good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/realize-that-you-are-only-destined-to-become-one-person-the-person/)

[Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/)

> [“Have the confidence to trust your gut feeling and choose your moment to act. Timing is everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lulu-guinness/have-the-confidence-to-trust-your-gut-feeling-and-choose-your-moment/)

Lulu Guinness

> [We and we alone have the power to change our lives, and we can choose to do so at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/we-and-we-alone-have-the-power-to-change-our-lives-and-we-can-choose/)

[Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/)

> [We have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-bolte-taylor/we-have-the-power-to-choose-moment-by-moment-who-and-how-we-want-to/)

[Jill Bolte Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-bolte-taylor/)

> [It is true that we choose our life, but its also true that we can choose at any moment to change our path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-magee/it-is-true-that-we-choose-our-life-but-its-also-true-that-we-can/)

[Jamie Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-magee/)

> [“We are given moments, and we must choose what to do with them. This is your moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-l-farley/we-are-given-moments-and-we-must-choose-what-to-do-with-them-this-is/)

[Christina L. Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-l-farley/)

> [“I had everything I wanted in my hand. If I had to choose my eternity, I'd choose this moment, right now, with him. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/i-had-everything-i-wanted-in-my-hand-if-i-had-to-choose-my-eternity-i/)

[Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/)

> [“If I had to choose a moment in time when I knew my life would be different going forward—when I knew I would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-m-frazier/if-i-had-to-choose-a-moment-in-time-when-i-knew-my-life-would-be/)

[T.M. Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-m-frazier/)

## More by Carlos Ghosn

> [Design is important, it's an important dimension in the car. It's not the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/design-is-important-it-s-an-important-dimension-in-the-car-it-s-not/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [You don't build your character by doing what everybody else is doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/you-don-t-build-your-character-by-doing-what-everybody-else-is-doing/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [I would say a good leader brings results. A great leader writes a new story, it's different. Obviously a new story has to incorporate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/i-would-say-a-good-leader-brings-results-a-great-leader-writes-a-new/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [Our objective is to position Nissan in the top rank of the car industry. Until we get there, there will be no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/our-objective-is-to-position-nissan-in-the-top-rank-of-the-car/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [I approve designs not because I think I am more gifted or somebody who can see ahead three or four years from now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/i-approve-designs-not-because-i-think-i-am-more-gifted-or-somebody/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [I love not to be busy in a certain way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/i-love-not-to-be-busy-in-a-certain-way/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [More and more, in any company, managers are dealing with different cultures. Companies are going global, but the teams are being divided and scattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/more-and-more-in-any-company-managers-are-dealing-with-different/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [Every single time you make a merger, somebody is losing his identity. And saying something different is just rubbish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/every-single-time-you-make-a-merger-somebody-is-losing-his-identity/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [As the CEO, I have to take care of the short term, mid term and the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/as-the-ceo-i-have-to-take-care-of-the-short-term-mid-term-and-the/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [When you want to turn around a company, you want to make sure that the solution is coming from inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/when-you-want-to-turn-around-a-company-you-want-to-make-sure-that-the/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [To face deflation, you have to have people accepting it and not reacting to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/to-face-deflation-you-have-to-have-people-accepting-it-and-not/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [You have to be careful to react when you start to deviate from your course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/you-have-to-be-careful-to-react-when-you-start-to-deviate-from-your/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [I have my family, my children - I have a lot of outside activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/i-have-my-family-my-children-i-have-a-lot-of-outside-activities/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [The low price of oil is a headwind to investments in alternative energy technologies, but it will not stop them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/the-low-price-of-oil-is-a-headwind-to-investments-in-alternative/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

> [Talking about stepping down in five years is frankly not a topic of particular actuality now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/talking-about-stepping-down-in-five-years-is-frankly-not-a-topic-of/)

[Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

[Explore all 77 Carlos Ghosn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/)

## More Events quotes

> [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/)

[Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/)

> [My political views have never made me insensitive to the pain and suffering caused to the innocent victims of events such as the Warrington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/my-political-views-have-never-made-me-insensitive-to-the-pain-and/)

[Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/)

> [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/)

[Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/)

> [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/)

[Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/)

> [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/)

[Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/)

> [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/)

[Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/)

> [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/)

[Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/)

> [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/)

[Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/)

> [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/)

[Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/)

> [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [Sporting events like the Olympics have developed and maintained a clear message of promoting gender equality as an essential criterion in the success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/sporting-events-like-the-olympics-have-developed-and-maintained-a/)

[Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/)

> [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [It's really a pity that there are observers who view political events like comic strips. There has to be a Zorro, there has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/it-s-really-a-pity-that-there-are-observers-who-view-political-events/)

[Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/)

> [Everything is not black-and-white . I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/everything-is-not-black-and-white-i-m-really-interested-in-the-gray/)

[Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/)

[Browse all 5,384 Events quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment carefully. Go out while you’re still on top, not when you’re no longer in control of events.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carlos Ghosn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-choose-your-moment-carefully-go/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Events"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-choose-your-moment-carefully-go/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/carlos-ghosn-8799_events_when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-ch_2584996.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When you start thinking about leaving, choose your moment carefully. Go out while you’re still on top, not…” — Carlos Ghosn",
                "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": "Carlos Ghosn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When you start thinking about leaving,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-choose-your-moment-carefully-go/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/when-you-start-thinking-about-leaving-choose-your-moment-carefully-go/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
