--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't think of yourself as indispensable…" description: "\"Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.\" — Donald..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/donald-rumsfeld-1507_indispensable_don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable_3092337.png" --- # Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As… ![“Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” quote by Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/donald-rumsfeld-1507_indispensable_don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable_3092337.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/donald-rumsfeld-1507_indispensable_don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable_3092337.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/donald-rumsfeld-1507_indispensable_don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable_3092337.png) > “Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.” [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. No one is truly indispensable; even the most powerful eventually become replaceable. **In simple terms:** Everyone can be replaced; no one is essential. Key Takeaway Recognize humility, plan for succession. Themes humility leadership legacy Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - corporate leadership - political strategy - personal development Key Concepts power dynamics succession planning ego management Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you were suddenly unavailable? - How does acknowledging replaceability improve teamwork? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind leaders to risks and change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charles De Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-de-gaulle/) [Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable/) [Indispensable Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable-infallible-5323289/) [Indispensable Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable-men-2662591/) [Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible/) [Infallible Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible-charles-5323290/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Think Indispensable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-indispensable-2638281/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/don-t-think-of-yourself-as-indispensable-or-infallible-the-cemeteries/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [“Charles de Gaulle said? ‘The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bushkin/charles-de-gaulle-said-the-graveyards-are-full-of-indispensable-men/) [Henry Bushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bushkin/) > [The cemetery is filled with indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemetery-is-filled-with-indispensable-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [My career is the sum of the decisions I have made. Everyone can work hard, but I work on my own terms. I stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/my-career-is-the-sum-of-the-decisions-i-have-made-everyone-can-work/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [The graveyards are full of indispensable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-graveyards-are-full-of-indispensable-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [You need to make sure that you are where you think you are indispensable. And dedicate your task to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ghosn/you-need-to-make-sure-that-you-are-where-you-think-you-are/) [Carlos Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ghosn/) > [Nihilists expend everything and everyone except themselves. They are the indispensable men, without whom the world might try to live almost happily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark-macinnes/nihilists-expend-everything-and-everyone-except-themselves-they-are/) [Helen Clark MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark-macinnes/) > [I think that there is never an indispensable leader, you know? I think that there is a time with dignity that one needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-think-that-there-is-never-an-indispensable-leader-you-know-i-think/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/the-cemeteries-are-full-of-indispensable-men/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [Confidence in markets and in institutions, it's a lot like oxygen. When you have it, you don't even think about it. It's indispensable. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/confidence-in-markets-and-in-institutions-it-s-a-lot-like-oxygen-when/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/instead-of-looking-on-discussion-as-a-stumbling-block-in-the-way-of/) [Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/) > [Now we are intimately locked together. You get swine flu in Mexico; it’s a problem for Charles de Gaulle Airport 24 hours later. Lehman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/now-we-are-intimately-locked-together-you-get-swine-flu-in-mexico-it/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [ \[Charles de Gaulle\] has been abysmally careless, like a man running a bus over mountains, who forgot to equip it with good brakes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/charles-de-gaulle-has-been-abysmally-careless-like-a-man-running-a/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [“She was beautiful and lithe, with soft skin the color of bread and eyes like green almonds, and she had straight black hair that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/she-was-beautiful-and-lithe-with-soft-skin-the-color-of-bread-and/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [ \[Larry Kramer\] thinks Charles de Gaulle was gay. He thinks Max Schmeling was gay. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-thinks-charles-de-gaulle-was-gay-he-thinks-max-schmeling/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) ## More by Donald Rumsfeld > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't think we'll discover anything, myself. I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-think-we-ll-discover-anything-myself-i-think-what-will-happen/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/members-of-the-u-s-house-and-the-u-s-senate-are-not-there-by-accident/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-federal-government-should-be-the-last-resort-not-the-first-ask-if/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-price-of-being-close-to-the-president-is-delivering-bad-news-you/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-speak-ill-of-your-predecessors-or-successors-you-didn-t-walk-in/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/if-you-can-t-solve-a-problem-make-it-bigger/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/enjoy-your-time-in-public-service-it-may-well-be-one-of-the-most/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/there-will-be-good-moments-and-there-will-be-less-good-moments/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/from-where-you-sit-the-white-house-may-look-as-untidy-as-the-inside/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/you-will-launch-many-projects-but-have-time-to-finish-only-a-few-so/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/what-is-the-value-of-having-millions-of-people-in-iraq-not-having-a/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-be-a-bottleneck-if-a-matter-is-not-a-decision-for-the-president/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [When you're skiing, if you're not falling you're not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/when-you-re-skiing-if-you-re-not-falling-you-re-not-trying/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) [Explore all 234 Donald Rumsfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## More Indispensable quotes > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Secrecy is as indispensable to human beings as fire, and as greatly feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/secrecy-is-as-indispensable-to-human-beings-as-fire-and-as-greatly/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [In general, in poetry and literature, I am among those people who believe that too much is indispensable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/in-general-in-poetry-and-literature-i-am-among-those-people-who/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [Farmers are the only indispensable people on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-zhaoxing/farmers-are-the-only-indispensable-people-on-the-face-of-the-earth/) [Li Zhaoxing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-zhaoxing/) > [In the formation of such a government, it is not only the right, but the indispensable duty of every citizen to examine the principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/in-the-formation-of-such-a-government-it-is-not-only-the-right-but/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-must-understand-that-god-does-not-love-us-without-liking-us/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [I was depressed. I knew I was lost, but I had no idea how to find myself again. It was as though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/i-was-depressed-i-knew-i-was-lost-but-i-had-no-idea-how-to-find/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [A book is a silent teacher, and a precious and indispensable companion in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-book-is-a-silent-teacher-and-a-precious-and-indispensable-companion/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. Those who continually search for happiness will never find it. Happiness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/they-must-often-change-who-would-be-constant-in-happiness-or-wisdom/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Fun, fighting, and feeding! These are the three indispensable elements of the boy's world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baden-powell-de-aquino/fun-fighting-and-feeding-these-are-the-three-indispensable-elements/) [Baden Powell de Aquino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baden-powell-de-aquino/) [Browse all 630 Indispensable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indispensable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. 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