--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Marquis de Carabas always had a plan…" description: "\"“The Marquis de Carabas always had a plan, and he always had a fallback plan; and beneath these plans he always had a real plan, one that he would not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/george-r-r-martin-48_mind_the-marquis-de-carabas-always-had-a-plan_2920367.jpg" --- # The Marquis de Carabas always had a plan, and he always… ![“The Marquis de Carabas always had a plan, and he always had a fallback plan; and beneath these plans he always had a real plan, one that he would not even let himself know about, for when the original plan and the fallback plan had both gone south.” quote by George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/george-r-r-martin-48_mind_the-marquis-de-carabas-always-had-a-plan_2920367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/george-r-r-martin-48_mind_the-marquis-de-carabas-always-had-a-plan_2920367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/george-r-r-martin-48_mind_the-marquis-de-carabas-always-had-a-plan_2920367.jpg) > ““The Marquis de Carabas always had a plan, and he always had a fallback plan; and beneath these plans he always had a real plan, one that he would not even let himself know about, for when the original plan and the fallback plan had both gone south.”” [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The character always prepares multiple strategies, keeping a hidden ultimate goal unknown even to himself, to survive when all other plans fail. **In simple terms:** Always have hidden backup plans. Key Takeaway Prepare layered strategies and keep a secret core plan. Themes strategy resilience planning uncertainty adaptation Mood cautious reflective determined Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - business crisis - military campaign - personal setbacks - project management Key Concepts contingency planning risk management self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What core goal are you ignoring? - How can you balance transparency with strategic secrecy? A Different Perspective Relying on hidden plans can lead to over‑confidence and neglect of current realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ## Related quotes > [“The marquis de Carabas was not a good man, and he knew himself well enough to be perfectly certain that he was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-marquis-de-carabas-was-not-a-good-man-and-he-knew-himself-well/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Well, I made an announcement to my family at 8 that I wanted to be an actor, and I focused like a laser beam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-carpenter/well-i-made-an-announcement-to-my-family-at-8-that-i-wanted-to-be-an/) [Jennifer Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-carpenter/) > [I don't like being someones second choice or fallback plan..don't do that shit to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-being-someones-second-choice-or-fallback-plan-don-t-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody who tells you to have a fallback plan are people who had a fallback plan, didn’t follow their dreams, and don’t want you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/anybody-who-tells-you-to-have-a-fallback-plan-are-people-who-had-a/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [My original plan was to be a surgeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-olusola/my-original-plan-was-to-be-a-surgeon/) [Kevin Olusola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-olusola/) > [From my point of view, a lot of the things that we've done over our entire career have always been a big failure because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-forge/from-my-point-of-view-a-lot-of-the-things-that-we-ve-done-over-our/) [Tobias Forge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-forge/) > [“I still think we need to stick to our original plan,” Bell said. “We brought him into this world, it’s up to us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/i-still-think-we-need-to-stick-to-our-original-plan-bell-said-we/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [ The original plan was that James Wan would direct the pilot \[of MacGyver \] but it didn't work out, and then it did, which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-till/the-original-plan-was-that-james-wan-would-direct-the-pilot-of/) [Lucas Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-till/) > [“I think it would be prudent to advise you that due to extraordinary circumstances beyond our control, the original plan we had for participating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/i-think-it-would-be-prudent-to-advise-you-that-due-to-extraordinary/) Elle Lothlorien > [I thought that I'd always just do Broadway, my original plan, but that was derailed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-trucks/i-thought-that-i-d-always-just-do-broadway-my-original-plan-but-that/) [Toni Trucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-trucks/) > [Nothing in progression can rest on its original plan. 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