--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But if you don’t know where you want to…" description: "\"“But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.”\" — David Baldacci" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png" --- # But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any… ![“But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.” quote by David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png) > ““But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.”” [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without a clear goal, any direction may seem sufficient but lacks purpose. **In simple terms:** Lack of direction leads to aimless wandering. Key Takeaway Define a destination before choosing a path. Themes purpose direction decision‑making Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type advisory inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - travel - personal projects Key Concepts goal setting clarity focus Questions to Reflect On - What is your true destination? - How can you stay adaptable while pursuing a goal? A Different Perspective A goal can limit flexibility and creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm not going to force you into anything you don't want. But I'm also not going to take a vow of chastity and pine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/i-m-not-going-to-force-you-into-anything-you-don-t-want-but-i-m-also/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [If you find your feet dragging, check your path. You are probably on the wrong one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-toshio-sudo/if-you-find-your-feet-dragging-check-your-path-you-are-probably-on/) [Philip Toshio Sudo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-toshio-sudo/) > [“One of the greatest source of danger in life is to find the right path and stand on it. If you find the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/one-of-the-greatest-source-of-danger-in-life-is-to-find-the-right/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Sometimes in life the path gets narrow even as the road get wide and one still gets lost RjS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/sometimes-in-life-the-path-gets-narrow-even-as-the-road-get-wide-and/) [rassool jibraeel snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/) > [Life's a journey; you know where you'll end up but you don't know what path you'll take to get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-journey-you-know-where-you-ll-end-up-but-you-don-t-know-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes you find your path, sometimes it finds you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/sometimes-you-find-your-path-sometimes-it-finds-you/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“It's like being lost, and coming on an old wagon trail. You don't know where it leads, how long or why it's been abandoned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-ross/it-s-like-being-lost-and-coming-on-an-old-wagon-trail-you-don-t-know/) Sinclair Ross > [The end for which we are created invites us to walk a road that is surely sown with a lot of thorns, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-giorgio-frassati/the-end-for-which-we-are-created-invites-us-to-walk-a-road-that-is/) [Pier Giorgio Frassati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-giorgio-frassati/) > [“How little we understand of the gifts we have been given or the shape of the path we took to reach our salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/how-little-we-understand-of-the-gifts-we-have-been-given-or-the-shape/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [Even a cup of coffee tastes so much sweeter because you've come once again out of the, literally, out of the edge of death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-koch/even-a-cup-of-coffee-tastes-so-much-sweeter-because-you-ve-come-once/) [Christopher Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-koch/) > [What am I suppose to do when the best part of me was always you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-micah-rosales/what-am-i-suppose-to-do-when-the-best-part-of-me-was-always-you/) [Maria Micah Rosales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-micah-rosales/) > [It would have been an interesting run if we hadn't gotten along! It was good casting, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-west/it-would-have-been-an-interesting-run-if-we-hadn-t-gotten-along-it/) [Dominic West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-west/) > [I suppose I'm led to do so by the fact of what happened to my contemporaries - people whom I've admired, people who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-suppose-i-m-led-to-do-so-by-the-fact-of-what-happened-to-my/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. I got that tag because I was young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenson-button/yeah-i-m-the-brit-who-isn-t-lewis-hamilton-that-woke-up-and-realised/) [Jenson Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenson-button/) > [He's psychologically damaged, I suppose, if you stand back and look objectively at him, but then, who isn't?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-darrow/he-s-psychologically-damaged-i-suppose-if-you-stand-back-and-look/) [Paul Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-darrow/) ## More by David Baldacci > [Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/why-waste-time-trying-to-discover-the-truth-when-you-can-so-easily/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's the hardest thing in the world to put yourself in someone else's place, try to really feel what they feel, figure out why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-to-put-yourself-in-someone-else-s/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s what’s called a ‘valley fill.’ What they fill it with the coal companies call ‘overburden.’ That’s basically everything they tore off the land:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-s-called-a-valley-fill-what-they-fill-it-with-the-coal/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [But if I worried too much about publishers' expectations, I'd probably paralyze myself and not be able to write anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-i-worried-too-much-about-publishers-expectations-i-d-probably/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [That's what civilization sometimes did to threats, real or perceived. They walled them off. Us against them. Survival of the fittest. You die so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-civilization-sometimes-did-to-threats-real-or-perceived/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“You could have been a great scientist or something. Or a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/you-could-have-been-a-great-scientist-or-something-or-a-writer/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s good to hear, Billy. Kids have enough shit to deal with without somebody who is supposed to love them beating the crap out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-good-to-hear-billy-kids-have-enough-shit-to-deal-with-without/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [Most people associate reading with laying on the beach. They don't see that it's crucial for a democracy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/most-people-associate-reading-with-laying-on-the-beach-they-don-t-see/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm ever curious about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-ever-curious-about-the-world/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“There was a time when Stone would have rated a platoon of crackerjack killers coming for him by land, sea and air. Those days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/there-was-a-time-when-stone-would-have-rated-a-platoon-of-crackerjack/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm driven to go out and find new things to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-driven-to-go-out-and-find-new-things-to-write-about/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's hard, Cotton. To let yourself love something you know you may never have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-hard-cotton-to-let-yourself-love-something-you-know-you-may/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm a wicked ping-pong player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-a-wicked-ping-pong-player/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“He could compartmentalize at an astonishing level. It came from not giving a shit. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/he-could-compartmentalize-at-an-astonishing-level-it-came-from-not/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“two unconscious, bleeding men and then over at the girl behind the bar. She was staring at him openmouthed, the glass-rag and beer mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/two-unconscious-bleeding-men-and-then-over-at-the-girl-behind-the-bar/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) [Explore all 214 David Baldacci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## More Journey quotes > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Have a Blast; Life wont last! Make the best of the journey before it is over!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-a-blast-life-wont-last-make-the-best-of-the-journey-before-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Cocoon's cry to first fly, Travels thousands of miles— So much in so little life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-negi/cocoon-s-cry-to-first-fly-travels-thousands-of-miles-so-much-in-so/) [Ritu Negi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-negi/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Loving yourself is a journey, not a destination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-holliday/loving-yourself-is-a-journey-not-a-destination/) [Tess Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-holliday/) > [“Everywhere is home, let is go home”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzuco-hu-nh/everywhere-is-home-let-is-go-home/) Dzuco Huỳnh > [Life is a journey, not a destination. Fall into the deep - rise to new heights. .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-basumatary/life-is-a-journey-not-a-destination-fall-into-the-deep-rise-to-new/) [Ashish Basumatary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-basumatary/) > [Be the inner journeys, be the outer travels, all trips elevate man, all voyages lift him up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/be-the-inner-journeys-be-the-outer-travels-all-trips-elevate-man-all/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The hardest roads are often empty; the darkest paths are mostly silent; toughest destinations are almost peopleless! No easy road brings you great victory!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-hardest-roads-are-often-empty-the-darkest-paths-are-mostly-silent/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“May the seas bend to your journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoraida-c-rdova/may-the-seas-bend-to-your-journey/) [Zoraida Córdova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoraida-c-rdova/) [Browse all 11,861 Journey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Baldacci" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to-go-i-suppose-any-path-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Journey" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to-go-i-suppose-any-path-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ab/david-baldacci-1558_journey_but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to_1408960.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But if you don’t know where you want to go, I suppose any path will get you there.” — David Baldacci", "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": "David Baldacci", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But if you don’t know where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to-go-i-suppose-any-path-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-you-don-t-know-where-you-want-to-go-i-suppose-any-path-will/#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 } } ] } ```