--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better late than never is poor…" description: "\"Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity of a lifetime\" — Henri Matisse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg" --- # Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who… ![“Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity of a lifetime” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg) > “Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity of a lifetime” [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Late opportunities are a weak consolation for those who missed a once‑in‑a‑lifetime chance. **In simple terms:** Missing a big chance can't be fixed by being late. Key Takeaway Value timing and act early. Themes opportunity regret timing life choices Mood cautionary reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal goals - investment choices Key Concepts chance loss motivation Questions to Reflect On - What chances have you delayed? - Can a late start still succeed? A Different Perspective May ignore that some late actions still matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-late-314910/) [Consolation Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consolation-man-4136726/) [Lost opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-opportunity/) [Man Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-lost/) [Poor Consolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-consolation-3702049/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In grief, words are a poor consolation - silence and agonizing tears are all that is left the sufferer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-todd-lincoln/in-grief-words-are-a-poor-consolation-silence-and-agonizing-tears-are/) [Mary Todd Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-todd-lincoln/) > [It is a very poor consolation to be told that the man who has given one a bad dinner, or poor wine, is irreproachable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-a-very-poor-consolation-to-be-told-that-the-man-who-has-given/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The valet blanched at the thought of four hours in a carriage. "I've sent for Dr. Fansher." As if that would shorten their errand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jewel/the-valet-blanched-at-the-thought-of-four-hours-in-a-carriage-i-ve/) [Carolyn Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jewel/) > [“…He has finally learned that lying to oneself is an offense for which human beings seldom grant themselves absolution. He comes to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/he-has-finally-learned-that-lying-to-oneself-is-an-offense-for-which/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [Truly the stars were given for a consolation to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/truly-the-stars-were-given-for-a-consolation-to-man/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Better late than never, I'll call it perfect timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-late-than-never-i-ll-call-it-perfect-timing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better late than never? Hope you had the most amazing birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-late-than-never-hope-you-had-the-most-amazing-birthday/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better late than never."-Dork Diaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-late-than-never-dork-diaries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I promised my wife 27 years ago when I left Florida State that I'd bring her back to Florida. I'm a little late, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-corso/i-promised-my-wife-27-years-ago-when-i-left-florida-state-that-i-d/) [Lee Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-corso/) > [Better be late than never because life is full of dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/better-be-late-than-never-because-life-is-full-of-dreams/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“It's better to be late...then late”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlson-d-souza/it-s-better-to-be-late-then-late/) [Carlson D'souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlson-d-souza/) > [Better late than pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bismark-frimpong/better-late-than-pregnant/) [Bismark Frimpong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bismark-frimpong/) > [Better never than late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/better-never-than-late/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Better late than never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-late-than-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Better late then never, But never late is always better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/better-late-then-never-but-never-late-is-always-better/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) ## More by Henri Matisse > [The wall around the window does not create two worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-wall-around-the-window-does-not-create-two-worlds/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in-i-asked-for-my-money-back-on/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-painting-in-an-interior-spreads-joy-around-it-by-the-colors-which/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/color-was-not-given-to-us-in-order-that-we-should-imitate-nature-it/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [If it is practiced by a man of taste, the photograph will have the appearance of art (but) the photographer must...intervene as little as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-it-is-practiced-by-a-man-of-taste-the-photograph-will-have-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-have-always-tried-to-hide-my-efforts-and-wished-my-works-to-have-a/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The chief function of color should be to serve expression as well as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-chief-function-of-color-should-be-to-serve-expression-as-well-as/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/one-gets-into-a-state-of-creativity-by-conscious-work/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My pictures are made up of four or five colors that collide with one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/my-pictures-are-made-up-of-four-or-five-colors-that-collide-with-one/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [What I dream of is an art of balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/what-i-dream-of-is-an-art-of-balance/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-driven-on-by-an-idea-that-i-really-only-grasp-as-it-grows-with/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-don-t-paint-things-i-only-paint-the-difference-between-things/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [After a half-century of hard work and reflection the wall is still there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/after-a-half-century-of-hard-work-and-reflection-the-wall-is-still/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) [Explore all 219 Henri Matisse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## More Lost opportunity quotes > [The old politician maintain the chair for a lot of decades. So if we will lose the referendum, this is not a problem for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-renzi/the-old-politician-maintain-the-chair-for-a-lot-of-decades-so-if-we/) [Matteo Renzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-renzi/) > [“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-are-now-faced-with-the-fact-my-friends-that-tomorrow-is-today-we/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [My mantra: Brainless exercise is a lost opportunity for improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-merzenich/my-mantra-brainless-exercise-is-a-lost-opportunity-for-improvement/) [Michael Merzenich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-merzenich/) > [“Adolescence is a period of life when the brain is malleable, and it represents a good opportunity for learning and social development. However, according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brockman/adolescence-is-a-period-of-life-when-the-brain-is-malleable-and-it/) [John Brockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brockman/) > [The world needs thinkers, leaders, and doers more than ever, so neglecting the minds of half the population means a lost opportunity to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yoo/the-world-needs-thinkers-leaders-and-doers-more-than-ever-so/) [Tae Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yoo/) > [Opportunities flit by while we sit regretting the chances we have lost, and the happiness that comes to us we heed not, because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/opportunities-flit-by-while-we-sit-regretting-the-chances-we-have/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [The fact that the Liberals killed Energy East - a pipeline that would have brought Western Canadian energy to the Maritimes - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-scheer/the-fact-that-the-liberals-killed-energy-east-a-pipeline-that-would/) [Andrew Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-scheer/) > [Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept. The consequences of doing otherwise are profound: death, illness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/between-now-and-2015-we-must-make-sure-that-promises-made-become/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [“Most gay Christians live in so much fear that they have learned how to proficiently blend in to their conservative surroundings. It's a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marin/most-gay-christians-live-in-so-much-fear-that-they-have-learned-how/) [Andrew Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marin/) > [“I'm convinced that people see the ghosts of themselves all the time, but most just chose to block them out. The words don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/i-m-convinced-that-people-see-the-ghosts-of-themselves-all-the-time/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [The memory of that event has only just come back to me, now doubly painful: regret for a vanished past and, above all, remorse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dominique-bauby/the-memory-of-that-event-has-only-just-come-back-to-me-now-doubly/) [Jean-Dominique Bauby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dominique-bauby/) > [Not taking those few moments in the morning to decide what you're saying to people by how you're choosing to dress is a lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/not-taking-those-few-moments-in-the-morning-to-decide-what-you-re/) [Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/) > [Los Angeles is a sprawl of broken dreams and lost opportunities, disconnected souls and entertainment junkies. The sunny skies and graceful palms don't redeem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hart/los-angeles-is-a-sprawl-of-broken-dreams-and-lost-opportunities/) [Carolyn Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hart/) > [The task is to keep the lost opportunities of the past alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/the-task-is-to-keep-the-lost-opportunities-of-the-past-alive/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [We should have won this one. I think it is a lost opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-haynes/we-should-have-won-this-one-i-think-it-is-a-lost-opportunity/) [Jimmy Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-haynes/) [Browse all 58 Lost opportunity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-opportunity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity of a lifetime", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Matisse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolation-for-the-man-who-has-lost/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lost opportunity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolation-for-the-man-who-has-lost/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/henri-matisse-1641_lost-opportunity_better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolati_2902671.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better late than never is poor consolation for the man who has lost the opportunity of a lifetime” — Henri Matisse", "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": "Henri Matisse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better late than never is poor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolation-for-the-man-who-has-lost/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/better-late-than-never-is-poor-consolation-for-the-man-who-has-lost/#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 } } ] } ```