--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling…" description: "\"Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws.\" — Francois Rabelais" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png" --- # Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws. ![“Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws.” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png) > “Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws.” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fate favors those who are willing, while the unwilling are left behind. **In simple terms:** Willingness attracts destiny; resistance leads to stagnation. Key Takeaway Cultivate willingness to shape your destiny. Themes fate willpower agency Mood thoughtful encouraging philosophical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - creative pursuits - relationship building Key Concepts determinism existentialism motivation Questions to Reflect On - Are you actively embracing opportunities? - What holds you back from being willing? A Different Perspective Passive acceptance can limit opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) ## Related quotes > [Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-reluctant/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Th' unwilling gratitude of base mankind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/th-unwilling-gratitude-of-base-mankind/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Fate leads the willing and drags along the unwilling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-unwilling/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Go with your fate, but not beyond. Beyond leads to dark places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/go-with-your-fate-but-not-beyond-beyond-leads-to-dark-places/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [“Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant. Either you control your destiny, or your destiny will control you. Life won't pause for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-john-bishop/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-reluctant-either-you/) [Gary John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-john-bishop/) > [Fate leads him who follows it, and drags him who resist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/fate-leads-him-who-follows-it-and-drags-him-who-resist/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [You can't do anything if a person says no. In such a case, there's nothing you can do - unlike the popular cliche that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/you-can-t-do-anything-if-a-person-says-no-in-such-a-case-there-s/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [It would not be going too far to assert that ... conflict confronts every woman who ventures upon a career of her own and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/it-would-not-be-going-too-far-to-assert-that-conflict-confronts-every/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [There are multi-scatterings of various and associated issues and concerns, but it all boils down to accountable people versus those unwilling to be accountable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/there-are-multi-scatterings-of-various-and-associated-issues-and/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [We always hear from newspapers that while people understand the environmental challenge, they are unwilling to stomach the solutions. The trouble is, we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-goldsmith/we-always-hear-from-newspapers-that-while-people-understand-the/) [Zac Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-goldsmith/) > [Excessive distrust is not less hurtfJul than its opposite. Most men become useless to him who is unwilling to risk being deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/excessive-distrust-is-not-less-hurtfjul-than-its-opposite-most-men/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [“What you seem so unwilling to accept, even now, is this: that the ideals which supported the old Republic had no correspondence to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/what-you-seem-so-unwilling-to-accept-even-now-is-this-that-the-ideals/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. And henceforth, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/go-all-of-you-poor-people-in-the-name-of-god-the-creator-and-let-him/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) [Explore all 184 Francois Rabelais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francois Rabelais" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling-draws/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling-draws/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/francois-rabelais-2038_destiny_fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling_1317040.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fate leads the willing, and th' unwilling draws.” — Francois Rabelais", "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": "Francois Rabelais", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fate leads the willing, and th'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling-draws/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/fate-leads-the-willing-and-th-unwilling-draws/#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 } } ] } ```