--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It makes no odds where a man goes or…" description: "\"It makes no odds where a man goes or stays, if he is only about his business.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/henry-david-thoreau-20_business_it-makes-no-odds-where-a-man-goes-or-sta_819132.jpg" --- # It makes no odds where a man goes or stays, if he is only… ![“It makes no odds where a man goes or stays, if he is only about his business.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/henry-david-thoreau-20_business_it-makes-no-odds-where-a-man-goes-or-sta_819132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/henry-david-thoreau-20_business_it-makes-no-odds-where-a-man-goes-or-sta_819132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/henry-david-thoreau-20_business_it-makes-no-odds-where-a-man-goes-or-sta_819132.jpg) > “It makes no odds where a man goes or stays, if he is only about his business.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should focus on personal work regardless of location; external circumstances matter less. **In simple terms:** Focus on your own work. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal responsibility. Themes self-reliance focus independence Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - remote work - entrepreneurship - creative projects - study habits Key Concepts individualism purpose effort Questions to Reflect On - How does personal focus affect teamwork? - When is collaboration more valuable than solitude? A Different Perspective Neglecting community can lead to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [And how am I to face the odds Of man's bedevilment and God's? I, a stranger and afraid In a world I never made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/and-how-am-i-to-face-the-odds-of-man-s-bedevilment-and-god-s-i-a/) [A. E. 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'What's dangerous?' 'When a man goes outside his house to look for peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-hansberry/it-s-dangerous-son-what-s-dangerous-when-a-man-goes-outside-his-house/) [Lorraine Hansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-hansberry/) > [Society does not exist for itself, but for the individual; and man goes into it, not to lose, but to find himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/society-does-not-exist-for-itself-but-for-the-individual-and-man-goes/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/every-man-wherever-he-goes-is-encompassed-by-a-cloud-of-comforting/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [A man who goes forth to take the life of another whom he does not know must believe only one thing: that by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-shamir/a-man-who-goes-forth-to-take-the-life-of-another-whom-he-does-not/) [Yitzhak Shamir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-shamir/) > [Every man goes through a period of thinking they're attracted to another guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-gyllenhaal/every-man-goes-through-a-period-of-thinking-they-re-attracted-to/) [Jake Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-gyllenhaal/) > [A man goes to the movies. The critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-warshow/a-man-goes-to-the-movies-the-critic-must-be-honest-enough-to-admit/) [Robert Warshow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-warshow/) > [If a man goes a little too far along a new road, it is usually himself that he harms more than any one else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/if-a-man-goes-a-little-too-far-along-a-new-road-it-is-usually-himself/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Man goes nowhere. Everything comes to man, like tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/man-goes-nowhere-everything-comes-to-man-like-tomorrow/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [“And I can tell you, without question, that it’s too late for any man who goes to war. Even if he lives, he’ll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-nelle-patrick/and-i-can-tell-you-without-question-that-it-s-too-late-for-any-man/) [J. Nelle Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-nelle-patrick/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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