---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do Something. If it works, do more of it…"
description: "\"Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.\" — Franklin D. Roosevelt"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg"
---

#  Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't…

![“Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.” quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg)

> “Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.”

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

If a method succeeds, repeat it; if not, try a different approach.

**In simple terms:** Repeat successes, change failures.

Key Takeaway

Adapt strategies based on results.

Themes

adaptability problem solving perseverance

Mood

pragmatic motivational

Type

practical inspirational

When to use this quote

- business
- personal goals
- education
- project management

Key Concepts

systems thinking learning loops innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you abandon a failing method?
- How do you measure success before repeating?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on trial‑and‑error can waste resources.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [As an actor, I'm rather hit and miss; I throw a lot out there, and some of it works and some of it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/as-an-actor-i-m-rather-hit-and-miss-i-throw-a-lot-out-there-and-some/)

[Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/)

> [That's the way it happens - some characters you set out to use, some are happy accidents. As long as it works, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/that-s-the-way-it-happens-some-characters-you-set-out-to-use-some-are/)

[Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/)

> [How our government works... it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/how-our-government-works-it-doesn-t/)

[Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/)

> [I don't think anyone really understands why a show works or why it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-nolan/i-don-t-think-anyone-really-understands-why-a-show-works-or-why-it/)

[Jonathan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-nolan/)

> [I guess you can say I always liked to take chances. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/i-guess-you-can-say-i-always-liked-to-take-chances-sometimes-it-works/)

[John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/)

> [You never know why something works or doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/you-never-know-why-something-works-or-doesn-t/)

[Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/)

> [Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But there is always a time and a place for the subsets within genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/sometimes-it-works-sometimes-it-doesn-t-but-there-is-always-a-time/)

[Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/)

> [There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idris-elba/there-s-a-fast-track-if-you-can-do-the-networking-for-some/)

[Idris Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idris-elba/)

> [That is what's disconcerting about working on the show, you can't seem to get an instinct about what works and what doesn't. It happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/that-is-what-s-disconcerting-about-working-on-the-show-you-can-t-seem/)

[Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/)

> [Figure out what works for you and what doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/figure-out-what-works-for-you-and-what-doesn-t/)

[Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/)

> [Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/sometimes-the-magic-works-and-sometimes-it-doesn-t/)

[Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/)

> [That's how sport is - sometimes, it works and sometimes, it doesn't. You've just got to accept that and put in 100 per cent effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayank-agarwal/that-s-how-sport-is-sometimes-it-works-and-sometimes-it-doesn-t-you/)

[Mayank Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayank-agarwal/)

> [The biggest fairy tale is that justice works because it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/the-biggest-fairy-tale-is-that-justice-works-because-it-doesn-t/)

[Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/)

> [No bill works if it doesn't work in a zip code where somebody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/no-bill-works-if-it-doesn-t-work-in-a-zip-code-where-somebody-lives/)

[Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/)

> [Dude, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/dude-sometimes-it-works-sometimes-it-doesn-t/)

[Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/)

## More by Franklin D. Roosevelt

> [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [Inquisitiveness is the most useful talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/inquisitiveness-is-the-most-useful-talent/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [I have seen war ... I hate war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-hate-war/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [All of our people all over the country-except the pure-blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over here on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/all-of-our-people-all-over-the-country-except-the-pure-blooded/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [They have given their sons to the military services. They have stoked the furnaces and hurried the factory wheels. They have made the planes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/they-have-given-their-sons-to-the-military-services-they-have-stoked/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [On the European Front the most important development of the past year has been the crushing offensive of the Great Armies of Russia...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/on-the-european-front-the-most-important-development-of-the-past-year/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [The core of our defense is the faith we have in the institutions we defend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-core-of-our-defense-is-the-faith-we-have-in-the-institutions-we/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [War is a contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/war-is-a-contagion/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [Labor Day symbolizes our determination to achieve an economic freedom for the average man which will give his political freedom realty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/labor-day-symbolizes-our-determination-to-achieve-an-economic-freedom/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [Too often in recent history liberal governments have been wrecked on rocks of loose fiscal policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/too-often-in-recent-history-liberal-governments-have-been-wrecked-on/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [The frontier of America is on the Rhine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-frontier-of-america-is-on-the-rhine/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/repetition-does-not-transform-a-lie-into-a-truth/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [The future lies with those wise political leaders who realize that the great public is interested more in Government than in politics. The growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-future-lies-with-those-wise-political-leaders-who-realize-that/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

[Explore all 521 Franklin D. Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

## More Results quotes

> [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/)

[David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/)

[Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/)

> [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/)

[Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/)

> [Pain results from a judgment you have made about a thing. Remove the judgment and the pain disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/pain-results-from-a-judgment-you-have-made-about-a-thing-remove-the/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/)

[Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/)

> [Only great and general battles can produce great results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/only-great-and-general-battles-can-produce-great-results/)

[Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/)

> [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/)

[Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/)

> [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/)

[Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/)

> [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/)

[Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/)

> [Honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/honesty-in-politics-is-the-result-of-strength-hypocrisy-is-the-result/)

[Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/)

> [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/if-robert-heinlein-is-more-to-your-taste-than-george-lucas-if-you-are/)

[Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/)

> [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/)

[Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/)

> [I know that spinning sets me in a trance; it soothes me and charges my batteries at the same time. When times are tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/i-know-that-spinning-sets-me-in-a-trance-it-soothes-me-and-charges-my/)

[Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/)

Browse all 7,807 Results quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Franklin D. Roosevelt"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-if-it-doesn-t-do-something-else/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Results"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-if-it-doesn-t-do-something-else/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_results_do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-i_3192254.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt",
                "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": "Franklin D. Roosevelt",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do Something. If it works, do...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-if-it-doesn-t-do-something-else/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/do-something-if-it-works-do-more-of-it-if-it-doesn-t-do-something-else/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
