--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who sleeps on the Road will lose…" description: "\"“He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.”\" — Idries Shah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/idries-shah-450_head_he-who-sleeps-on-the-road-will-lose-eith_445705.jpg" --- # He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his… ![“He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.” quote by Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/idries-shah-450_head_he-who-sleeps-on-the-road-will-lose-eith_445705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/idries-shah-450_head_he-who-sleeps-on-the-road-will-lose-eith_445705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/idries-shah-450_head_he-who-sleeps-on-the-road-will-lose-eith_445705.jpg) > ““He who sleeps on the Road will lose either his hat or his head.”” [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Risking complacency leads to loss of either material possessions or personal safety. **In simple terms:** Being careless on a dangerous path can cost you something valuable. Key Takeaway Stay alert and protect yourself. Themes risk carelessness consequences Mood cautious serious Type proverbial warning When to use this quote - travel - night driving - adventure sports - walking alone - construction sites Key Concepts vulnerability personal safety material loss Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you ignoring? - How can you mitigate danger on your path? A Different Perspective If you are prepared, you may still face unavoidable hazards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idries-shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idries-shah/) [Sufis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufis/) [Sufism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufism/) ## Related quotes > [“Si no te reprochas a ti mismo”, dice Saadi, “no aceptarás el reproche ajeno.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/si-no-te-reprochas-a-ti-mismo-dice-saadi-no-aceptar-s-el-reproche/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufis are not here to satisfy a demand. They exist to share what they have got. These two things are not always the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-not-here-to-satisfy-a-demand-they-exist-to-share-what-they/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Someone says that I haven’t taught him anything that he can remember. He can’t understand yet that that’s precisely what I am aiming at…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/someone-says-that-i-haven-t-taught-him-anything-that-he-can-remember/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufism is, in operation, pragmatic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-in-operation-pragmatic/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Alguien dice que no le he enseñado nada que pueda recordar. Aún no puede comprender que eso es precisamente a lo que estoy apuntando…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/alguien-dice-que-no-le-he-ense-ado-nada-que-pueda-recordar-a-n-no/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“SOVEREIGNTY Sovereignty is a wind of change. (Hariri)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sovereignty-sovereignty-is-a-wind-of-change-hariri/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Imagination blocks you like a bolt on a door. Burn that bar. (Rumi)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/imagination-blocks-you-like-a-bolt-on-a-door-burn-that-bar-rumi/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“If you will not reprove yourself,’ Saadi says, ‘you will not welcome reproof from another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/if-you-will-not-reprove-yourself-saadi-says-you-will-not-welcome/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The worst of sages is a visitor of princes; the best of princes is a visitor of sages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-worst-of-sages-is-a-visitor-of-princes-the-best-of-princes-is-a/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Fettered feet in the presence of friends is better than living in a garden with strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/fettered-feet-in-the-presence-of-friends-is-better-than-living-in-a/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Any society which enjoins its members to adhere to both of these (politeness and truth) is a fraud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/any-society-which-enjoins-its-members-to-adhere-to-both-of-these/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The means through which people may perceive Truth have forms; Truth has no form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-means-through-which-people-may-perceive-truth-have-forms-truth/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“The existence of relative truth does not prove the non-existence of universal truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-existence-of-relative-truth-does-not-prove-the-non-existence-of/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [A man who is determined never to move out of the beaten road cannot lose his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-man-who-is-determined-never-to-move-out-of-the-beaten-road-cannot/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Any plan where you lose your hat is a bad plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-foglio/any-plan-where-you-lose-your-hat-is-a-bad-plan/) [Phil Foglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-foglio/) ## More by Idries Shah > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/teach-honesty-by-all-means-you-do-know-what-it-is-don-t-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufism is transmitted by means of the human exemplar, the teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-transmitted-by-means-of-the-human-exemplar-the-teacher/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“No existe práctica en aislamiento.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/no-existe-pr-ctica-en-aislamiento/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [A king who feared wasps once decreed that they were abolished. As it happened, they did him no harm. But he was eventually stung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/a-king-who-feared-wasps-once-decreed-that-they-were-abolished-as-it/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Do not tell your secrets to everyone in this headquarters, Earth. We have surveyed it well. There was nobody to whom to entrust secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/do-not-tell-your-secrets-to-everyone-in-this-headquarters-earth-we/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-those-who-have-expunged-from-their-minds-the-human/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Yes, the world is an illusion. But Truth is always being shown there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/yes-the-world-is-an-illusion-but-truth-is-always-being-shown-there/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-the-message-not-the-man-which-is-important-to-the-sufis/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The human being, whether he realises it or not, is trusting someone or something every moment of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-human-being-whether-he-realises-it-or-not-is-trusting-someone-or/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Who is the wrong person to criticise? You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/who-is-the-wrong-person-to-criticise-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“You may be able to get the bone down your throat But if it reaches your stomach it will tear your navel. (Gulistan)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/you-may-be-able-to-get-the-bone-down-your-throat-but-if-it-reaches/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“People are always trying to understand. There is only one way to do that. It is to discover < + i + >why< +…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-are-always-trying-to-understand-there-is-only-one-way-to-do/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [We view Sufism not as an ideology that molds people to the right way of belief or action, but as an art or science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/we-view-sufism-not-as-an-ideology-that-molds-people-to-the-right-way/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) [Explore all 365 Idries Shah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## More Head quotes > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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I just used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/oh-i-m-a-great-believer-in-the-power-of-the-pause-radio-is-a-bit/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [Growing up in Dallas, my first influences on the guitar were T-Bone Walker and Les Paul. T-Bone taught me how to play lead guitar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-miller/growing-up-in-dallas-my-first-influences-on-the-guitar-were-t-bone/) [Steve Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-miller/) > [I chose a career in the kitchen because the thought of sitting and doing the same thing every day and being stationary was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-tosi/i-chose-a-career-in-the-kitchen-because-the-thought-of-sitting-and/) [Christina Tosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-tosi/) > [“All the tools, techniques and technology in the world are nothing without the head, heart and hands to use them wisely, kindly and mindfully”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/all-the-tools-techniques-and-technology-in-the-world-are-nothing/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [I'm just insane. So what usually drives me is pure joy for something stupid. I'm also very visual. 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