--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can take care of everything except…" description: "\"“You can take care of everything except chance. Chance can kill you.”\" — Charles Williams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/charles-williams-12379_best-laid-plans_you-can-take-care-of-everything-except-c_1432754.jpg" --- # You can take care of everything except chance. Chance can… ![“You can take care of everything except chance. Chance can kill you.” quote by Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/charles-williams-12379_best-laid-plans_you-can-take-care-of-everything-except-c_1432754.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/charles-williams-12379_best-laid-plans_you-can-take-care-of-everything-except-c_1432754.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5d/charles-williams-12379_best-laid-plans_you-can-take-care-of-everything-except-c_1432754.jpg) > ““You can take care of everything except chance. Chance can kill you.”” [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is unpredictable; we can control many things but not random events that can be fatal. **In simple terms:** We control much, not chance. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, focus on what you can manage. Themes uncertainty control fragility Mood anxious reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - business planning - personal health - travel - financial investing Key Concepts probability risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for unpredictable risks? - What can you control when chance threatens? A Different Perspective Chance can dominate despite preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best laid plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-laid-plans/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) ## Related quotes > [Use your second chance as your last chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syed-muhd/use-your-second-chance-as-your-last-chance/) Syed Muhd > [I was planning on writing a detailed review of several books on web security tonight, but the Obama collapse has superseded my best-laid plans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-foster-johnson/i-was-planning-on-writing-a-detailed-review-of-several-books-on-web/) [Charles Foster Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-foster-johnson/) > [Chaos is roving through the system and able to undo, at any point, the best laid plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/chaos-is-roving-through-the-system-and-able-to-undo-at-any-point-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Not to be born is undoubtedly the best plan of all. Unfortunately, it is within no one's reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/not-to-be-born-is-undoubtedly-the-best-plan-of-all-unfortunately-it/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Gather up your telegrams Your faded pictures, best laid plans Books and postcards, 45's Every sunset in the sky Carry with you maps and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/gather-up-your-telegrams-your-faded-pictures-best-laid-plans-books/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [The best-laid plans of mice and comedians usually wind up on the cutting-room floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/the-best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-comedians-usually-wind-up-on-the/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-men-often-go-awry/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [The best laid plans take 40 years to complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-best-laid-plans-take-40-years-to-complete/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [“The best=laid plans, one's most fastidious contingency strategies have revealed themselves in the cold light of day to be laughably inadequate, no match for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/the-best-laid-plans-one-s-most-fastidious-contingency-strategies-have/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We all have the best laid plans for our children, and they go and ruin it all by growing up any way they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-riggle/we-all-have-the-best-laid-plans-for-our-children-and-they-go-and-ruin/) Kristina Riggle > [“They say the best laid plans often go a lie, Because no matter how detailed the preparation, A plan will always have a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/they-say-the-best-laid-plans-often-go-a-lie-because-no-matter-how/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [Carry with you maps and string, flashlights, friends who make you sing, and stars to help you find your place, music, hope, and amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/carry-with-you-maps-and-string-flashlights-friends-who-make-you-sing/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [“Is it dangerous to plan too much? Yes, we all need to plan, to have a plan, but life goes on regardless of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-w-p-garland/is-it-dangerous-to-plan-too-much-yes-we-all-need-to-plan-to-have-a/) [Leslie W.P. Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-w-p-garland/) > [“These what-if equations have kept her life static since adolescence. And if life proves one thing, it’s that the best laid plans don’t necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-alexander/these-what-if-equations-have-kept-her-life-static-since-adolescence/) [Nick Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-alexander/) > [I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best laid plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-been-careless-and-so-have-been-thwarted-by-luck-and-chance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Charles Williams > [To forgive and to be forgiven are the two points of holy magnificence and holy modesty; round these two centres the whole doctrine of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/to-forgive-and-to-be-forgiven-are-the-two-points-of-holy-magnificence/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [The most he would do was to promise that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. It is about all that, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/the-most-he-would-do-was-to-promise-that-the-gates-of-hell-should-not/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“Have you by any chance an edition of St. Ignatius's treatise against the Gnostics?" he asked in a low clear voice. The young assistant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/have-you-by-any-chance-an-edition-of-st-ignatius-s-treatise-against/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“What’s the matter with you, Madox? You got a grudge against the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/what-s-the-matter-with-you-madox-you-got-a-grudge-against-the-world/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“There is no possible idea," Kenneth thought as he came onto the terrace, "to which the mind of man can't supply some damned alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/there-is-no-possible-idea-kenneth-thought-as-he-came-onto-the-terrace/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Of Adam and Eve: They had what they wanted. That they did not like it when they got it does not alter the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/of-adam-and-eve-they-had-what-they-wanted-that-they-did-not-like-it/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Hell is indefinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/hell-is-indefinite/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“Nothing was certain, but everything was safe - that was part of the mystery of Love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/nothing-was-certain-but-everything-was-safe-that-was-part-of-the/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Every contrition for sin is apt to encourage a not quite charitable wish that other people should exhibit a similar contrition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/every-contrition-for-sin-is-apt-to-encourage-a-not-quite-charitable/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Love was even more mathematical than poetry. It was the pure mathematics of the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/love-was-even-more-mathematical-than-poetry-it-was-the-pure/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“Over the white curve he had looked into incredible space; abysses of intelligence lay beyond it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/over-the-white-curve-he-had-looked-into-incredible-space-abysses-of/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [You will all know that in the Middle Ages there were supposed to be various classes of angels. these hierarchized celsitudes are but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/you-will-all-know-that-in-the-middle-ages-there-were-supposed-to-be/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“She sat the sister of Arthur, the wife of Lot four sons got by him, and one not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/she-sat-the-sister-of-arthur-the-wife-of-lot-four-sons-got-by-him-and/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [The history of Christianity would have been far happier if we all had remembered one rule of intelligence -- not to believe a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/the-history-of-christianity-would-have-been-far-happier-if-we-all-had/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Many promising reconciliations have broken down because while both parties come prepared to forgive, neither party come prepared to be forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/many-promising-reconciliations-have-broken-down-because-while-both/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) [Explore all 55 Charles Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) ## More Best laid plans quotes > [I was planning on writing a detailed review of several books on web security tonight, but the Obama collapse has superseded my best-laid plans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-foster-johnson/i-was-planning-on-writing-a-detailed-review-of-several-books-on-web/) [Charles Foster Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-foster-johnson/) > [“These what-if equations have kept her life static since adolescence. And if life proves one thing, it’s that the best laid plans don’t necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-alexander/these-what-if-equations-have-kept-her-life-static-since-adolescence/) [Nick Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-alexander/) > [“Is it dangerous to plan too much? Yes, we all need to plan, to have a plan, but life goes on regardless of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-w-p-garland/is-it-dangerous-to-plan-too-much-yes-we-all-need-to-plan-to-have-a/) [Leslie W.P. Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-w-p-garland/) > [Carry with you maps and string, flashlights, friends who make you sing, and stars to help you find your place, music, hope, and amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/carry-with-you-maps-and-string-flashlights-friends-who-make-you-sing/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [“They say the best laid plans often go a lie, Because no matter how detailed the preparation, A plan will always have a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/they-say-the-best-laid-plans-often-go-a-lie-because-no-matter-how/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [“We all have the best laid plans for our children, and they go and ruin it all by growing up any way they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-riggle/we-all-have-the-best-laid-plans-for-our-children-and-they-go-and-ruin/) Kristina Riggle > [“The best=laid plans, one's most fastidious contingency strategies have revealed themselves in the cold light of day to be laughably inadequate, no match for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/the-best-laid-plans-one-s-most-fastidious-contingency-strategies-have/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [The best laid plans take 40 years to complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-best-laid-plans-take-40-years-to-complete/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-men-often-go-awry/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [The best-laid plans of mice and comedians usually wind up on the cutting-room floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/the-best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-comedians-usually-wind-up-on-the/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Gather up your telegrams Your faded pictures, best laid plans Books and postcards, 45's Every sunset in the sky Carry with you maps and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/gather-up-your-telegrams-your-faded-pictures-best-laid-plans-books/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [Not to be born is undoubtedly the best plan of all. Unfortunately, it is within no one's reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/not-to-be-born-is-undoubtedly-the-best-plan-of-all-unfortunately-it/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Chaos is roving through the system and able to undo, at any point, the best laid plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/chaos-is-roving-through-the-system-and-able-to-undo-at-any-point-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best laid plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-been-careless-and-so-have-been-thwarted-by-luck-and-chance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Riches do not come by crossing your fingers and walking through the day hoping. Riches and wealth comes from well-laid plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/riches-do-not-come-by-crossing-your-fingers-and-walking-through-the/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) [Browse all 23 Best laid plans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-laid-plans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can take care of everything except chance. 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