--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing so fatal to character as…" description: "\"There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.\" — David Lloyd George" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png" --- # There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished… ![“There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.” quote by David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png) > “There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.” [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Incomplete work erodes character, suggesting that leaving tasks unfinished harms personal integrity and reputation. **In simple terms:** Half‑done tasks damage character. Key Takeaway Finish what you start. Themes integrity productivity character discipline Mood motivational serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - project management - daily to‑do lists - goal setting - accountability partners Key Concepts procrastination commitment self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What unfinished tasks linger for you? - How can you prioritize to avoid half‑finished work? A Different Perspective Sometimes circumstances prevent completion despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-half-3146665/) [Fatal Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatal-character-5263794/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Finished Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished-tasks-2190637/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-finished-816648/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) ## Related quotes > [“you must begin by building a track record of finished tasks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-chandler/you-must-begin-by-building-a-track-record-of-finished-tasks/) [Steve Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-chandler/) > [A painting that is well composed is half finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bonnard/a-painting-that-is-well-composed-is-half-finished/) [Pierre Bonnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bonnard/) > [A person's character is but half formed till after wedlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simmons/a-person-s-character-is-but-half-formed-till-after-wedlock/) [Charles Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simmons/) > [When you do a half-hour show, there's only so much you can do. At best, you're going to get a character with two-and-a-half dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-smart/when-you-do-a-half-hour-show-there-s-only-so-much-you-can-do-at-best/) [Jean Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-smart/) > [Once you watch any character for nine-and-half hours, be it good, bad or grey, you tend to attach yourself with it. You always feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/once-you-watch-any-character-for-nine-and-half-hours-be-it-good-bad/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [Character is half the reason we read. We're excited because of the plot, but we care because of the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/character-is-half-the-reason-we-read-we-re-excited-because-of-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [When the actors look your character, half the problems are solved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/when-the-actors-look-your-character-half-the-problems-are-solved/) [Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/) > [My solo albums were each like a half-finished puzzle; they represented only the beginning of a full picture. Simply put, they were inadequate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/my-solo-albums-were-each-like-a-half-finished-puzzle-they-represented/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky. Just as a bird will get spooked and abandon her eggs if some outside party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/for-me-showing-a-half-finished-manuscript-is-tricky-just-as-a-bird/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [I've written a couple screenplays and half-finished plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/i-ve-written-a-couple-screenplays-and-half-finished-plays/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [I continually blacken pages and scribble away, so I always have a number of songs that are half-finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-continually-blacken-pages-and-scribble-away-so-i-always-have-a/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Wings of a half finished book across his chest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/wings-of-a-half-finished-book-across-his-chest/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [First snow-falling-on the half-finished bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/first-snow-falling-on-the-half-finished-bridge/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [“ToScottie March 11, 1939 p. 387- 388 And please do not leave good books half- finished, you spoil them for yourself...Don't be so lavish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/toscottie-march-11-1939-p-387-388-and-please-do-not-leave-good-books/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Nobody wants to see a half-finished Vine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-williams/nobody-wants-to-see-a-half-finished-vine/) [Maisie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-williams/) ## More by David Lloyd George > [What do you want to be a sailor for? There are greater storms in politics than you will ever find at sea. Piracy, broadsides,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/what-do-you-want-to-be-a-sailor-for-there-are-greater-storms-in/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [No democracy has ever long survived the failure of its adherents to be ready to die for it. My own conviction is this, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/no-democracy-has-ever-long-survived-the-failure-of-its-adherents-to/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Liberty is not merely a privilege to be conferred; it is a habit to be acquired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/liberty-is-not-merely-a-privilege-to-be-conferred-it-is-a-habit-to-be/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Liberty has restraints but no frontiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/liberty-has-restraints-but-no-frontiers/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [With me a change of trouble is as good as a vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/with-me-a-change-of-trouble-is-as-good-as-a-vacation/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Do not be afraid of taking a big step-you cannot cross a chasm in two steps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/do-not-be-afraid-of-taking-a-big-step-you-cannot-cross-a-chasm-in-two/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [The man who tries to make the flag an object of a single party is a greater traitor to that flag than any man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/the-man-who-tries-to-make-the-flag-an-object-of-a-single-party-is-a/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [He has sat on the fence so long that the iron has entered his soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/he-has-sat-on-the-fence-so-long-that-the-iron-has-entered-his-soul/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Lucidity of speech is unquestionably one of the surest tests of mental precision...In my experience a confused talker is never a clear thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/lucidity-of-speech-is-unquestionably-one-of-the-surest-tests-of/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Sincerity is the surest road to confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/sincerity-is-the-surest-road-to-confidence/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Golf is the only game where the worst player gets the best of it. He obtains more out of it as regards both exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/golf-is-the-only-game-where-the-worst-player-gets-the-best-of-it-he/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [By thetest of our faith thehighest standard ofcivilization is the readiness to sacrifice for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/by-thetest-of-our-faith-thehighest-standard-ofcivilization-is-the/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [Of all the bigotries that savage the human temper there is none so stupid as the anti-Semitic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/of-all-the-bigotries-that-savage-the-human-temper-there-is-none-so/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [A politician is a person with whose politics you don't agree; if you agree with him he's a statesman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/a-politician-is-a-person-with-whose-politics-you-don-t-agree-if-you/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [If you want to succeed in politics you must keep your conscience firmly under control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/if-you-want-to-succeed-in-politics-you-must-keep-your-conscience/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) [Explore all 74 David Lloyd George quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Lloyd George" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-as-half-finished-tasks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-as-half-finished-tasks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/david-lloyd-george-9272_character_there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-a_660392.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.” — David Lloyd George", "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 Lloyd George", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is nothing so fatal to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-as-half-finished-tasks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-as-half-finished-tasks/#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 } } ] } ```