--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man asks if I’m leaving. People can…" description: "\"“A man asks if I’m leaving. People can hear the engines, can see the exhaust, are watching me scramble around the decks to make ready. “C’mon,” I tell ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53c/hugh-howey-841_leaving-people_a-man-asks-if-i-m-leaving-people-can-hea_1960848.png" --- # A man asks if I’m leaving. People can hear the engines… ![“A man asks if I’m leaving. People can hear the engines, can see the exhaust, are watching me scramble around the decks to make ready. “C’mon,” I tell the man. Others are looking at me expectantly. “Anyone who wants to go, c’mon,” I say. I have people to help. Somehow, this helps me.” quote by Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53c/hugh-howey-841_leaving-people_a-man-asks-if-i-m-leaving-people-can-hea_1960848.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53c/hugh-howey-841_leaving-people_a-man-asks-if-i-m-leaving-people-can-hea_1960848.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53c/hugh-howey-841_leaving-people_a-man-asks-if-i-m-leaving-people-can-hea_1960848.png) > ““A man asks if I’m leaving. People can hear the engines, can see the exhaust, are watching me scramble around the decks to make ready. “C’mon,” I tell the man. Others are looking at me expectantly. “Anyone who wants to go, c’mon,” I say. I have people to help. Somehow, this helps me.”” [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader encourages others to join a mission, using personal responsibility to motivate collective action. **In simple terms:** A leader asks others to help and motivates them. Key Takeaway Lead by example and invite participation. Themes leadership motivation teamwork Mood determined inspirational Type motivational leadership When to use this quote - emergency response - team projects - community events - military drills Key Concepts collective responsibility influence service Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance personal duty with group expectations? - What signals show others need support? A Different Perspective May overlook individual readiness or safety concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks-leaving-3236067/) [Exhaust Watching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaust-watching-3236068/) [Hear Engines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-engines-3236069/) [Leaving People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-people-278439/) [Man Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-asks-527217/) ## Related quotes > [Leaving the people and places you love, is a reminder of the impermanence of this life. And the permanence of the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/leaving-the-people-and-places-you-love-is-a-reminder-of-the/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [You don't make me feel like you used to. That's why I'm leaving That's why people leave each other They come to their senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/you-don-t-make-me-feel-like-you-used-to-that-s-why-i-m-leaving-that-s/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I am happy to be leaving high school but incredibly sad to be leaving the people who I've made all these memories with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-happy-to-be-leaving-high-school-but-incredibly-sad-to-be-leaving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was very hard leaving the people I was very close to. But you also have to value opportunities that come. I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bailly/it-was-very-hard-leaving-the-people-i-was-very-close-to-but-you-also/) [Eric Bailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bailly/) > [“Cutting my roots and leaving my home and family when I was 18 years old forced me to build my home in other things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/cutting-my-roots-and-leaving-my-home-and-family-when-i-was-18-years/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [ There's some bittersweet feelings about leaving the people here \[in the White House\]. 'Cause even though all the team you assemble, you know, you're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-some-bittersweet-feelings-about-leaving-the-people-here-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“leaving people behind and forgetting them piece by piece was just the way life worked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-robertson/leaving-people-behind-and-forgetting-them-piece-by-piece-was-just-the/) [Edward W. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-robertson/) > [“It’s our right to be here. This is our home. So we ain’t leaving and that’s that. The people have spoken, so you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-neri/it-s-our-right-to-be-here-this-is-our-home-so-we-ain-t-leaving-and/) [G. Neri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-neri/) > [I think leaving people wanting more is the best thing you can do sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-think-leaving-people-wanting-more-is-the-best-thing-you-can-do/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [When the scene is over, a lot of people cut. The actors are acting. And they just stop acting. But I think that leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clea-duvall/when-the-scene-is-over-a-lot-of-people-cut-the-actors-are-acting-and/) [Clea DuVall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clea-duvall/) > [I'm a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-henry/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-not-leaving-people-out-to-dry/) [Mark Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-henry/) > [I am in favour of leaving people alone, however imperfect their polity may seem. It appears to me that you must not tell other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/i-am-in-favour-of-leaving-people-alone-however-imperfect-their-polity/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [I'm a fan of leaving people hungry; I don't like leaving people satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-reyez/i-m-a-fan-of-leaving-people-hungry-i-don-t-like-leaving-people/) [Jessie Reyez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-reyez/) > [There are rumors that we want to move back to the U.K., but we're so happy in America I actually can't see us ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/there-are-rumors-that-we-want-to-move-back-to-the-u-k-but-we-re-so/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [The best hope is that one of these days the ground will get disgusted enough just to walk away - leaving people with nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/the-best-hope-is-that-one-of-these-days-the-ground-will-get-disgusted/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) ## More by Hugh Howey > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“The Loud came before the quiet. That was a Rule of the World, for the bangs and shouts need somewhere to echo, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-loud-came-before-the-quiet-that-was-a-rule-of-the-world-for-the/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“People from IT sent to replace those they’d killed. Juliette’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/people-from-it-sent-to-replace-those-they-d-killed-juliette-s/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a heap of words designed to hinder communication rather than facilitate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-heap-of-words-designed-to-hinder-communication-rather-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“That leaves Bravo Company, the expendables who know what they’re doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-leaves-bravo-company-the-expendables-who-know-what-they-re-doing/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Overhead, tangles of wires knotted together in a grand display of unplanned infrastructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/overhead-tangles-of-wires-knotted-together-in-a-grand-display-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess what I'm sayin' is, if you want to give Jules a job, be very careful.” “Why be careful?” Marnes asked. Marck gazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-guess-what-i-m-sayin-is-if-you-want-to-give-jules-a-job-be-very/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [One of the many things that surprised me about 'Wool' is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/one-of-the-many-things-that-surprised-me-about-wool-is-how-many-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“We have allowed a dangerous forest to grow as we try to guard against individual trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/we-have-allowed-a-dangerous-forest-to-grow-as-we-try-to-guard-against/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“You’re . . . a rock,” I tell the rock. “The fuck I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/you-re-a-rock-i-tell-the-rock-the-fuck-i-am/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I hated Sundays as a kid. From the moment I woke up, I could feel Monday looming,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-hated-sundays-as-a-kid-from-the-moment-i-woke-up-i-could-feel/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) [Explore all 351 Hugh Howey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More Leaving People quotes > [Leaving the people and places you love, is a reminder of the impermanence of this life. And the permanence of the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/leaving-the-people-and-places-you-love-is-a-reminder-of-the/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [There are rumors that we want to move back to the U.K., but we're so happy in America I actually can't see us ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/there-are-rumors-that-we-want-to-move-back-to-the-u-k-but-we-re-so/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [I'm a fan of leaving people hungry; I don't like leaving people satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-reyez/i-m-a-fan-of-leaving-people-hungry-i-don-t-like-leaving-people/) [Jessie Reyez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-reyez/) > [I am in favour of leaving people alone, however imperfect their polity may seem. It appears to me that you must not tell other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/i-am-in-favour-of-leaving-people-alone-however-imperfect-their-polity/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [I'm a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-henry/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-not-leaving-people-out-to-dry/) [Mark Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-henry/) > [When the scene is over, a lot of people cut. The actors are acting. And they just stop acting. But I think that leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clea-duvall/when-the-scene-is-over-a-lot-of-people-cut-the-actors-are-acting-and/) [Clea DuVall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clea-duvall/) > [I think leaving people wanting more is the best thing you can do sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-think-leaving-people-wanting-more-is-the-best-thing-you-can-do/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [“It’s our right to be here. This is our home. So we ain’t leaving and that’s that. The people have spoken, so you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-neri/it-s-our-right-to-be-here-this-is-our-home-so-we-ain-t-leaving-and/) [G. Neri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-neri/) > [“leaving people behind and forgetting them piece by piece was just the way life worked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-robertson/leaving-people-behind-and-forgetting-them-piece-by-piece-was-just-the/) [Edward W. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-robertson/) > [ There's some bittersweet feelings about leaving the people here \[in the White House\]. 'Cause even though all the team you assemble, you know, you're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-some-bittersweet-feelings-about-leaving-the-people-here-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Cutting my roots and leaving my home and family when I was 18 years old forced me to build my home in other things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/cutting-my-roots-and-leaving-my-home-and-family-when-i-was-18-years/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [It was very hard leaving the people I was very close to. But you also have to value opportunities that come. I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bailly/it-was-very-hard-leaving-the-people-i-was-very-close-to-but-you-also/) [Eric Bailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bailly/) > [I am happy to be leaving high school but incredibly sad to be leaving the people who I've made all these memories with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-happy-to-be-leaving-high-school-but-incredibly-sad-to-be-leaving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't make me feel like you used to. That's why I'm leaving That's why people leave each other They come to their senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/you-don-t-make-me-feel-like-you-used-to-that-s-why-i-m-leaving-that-s/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [The best hope is that one of these days the ground will get disgusted enough just to walk away - leaving people with nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/the-best-hope-is-that-one-of-these-days-the-ground-will-get-disgusted/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) [Browse all 17 Leaving People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-people-278439/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man asks if I’m leaving. People can hear the engines, can see the exhaust, are watching me scramble around the decks to make ready. “C’mon,” I tell the man. 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