--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I once played the chief part in a rather…" description: "\"I once played the chief part in a rather exciting business without ever once budging from London . And the joke of it was that the man who went out to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/john-buchan-7539_adventure_i-once-played-the-chief-part-in-a-rather_2162628.jpg" --- # I once played the chief part in a rather exciting business… ![“I once played the chief part in a rather exciting business without ever once budging from London . And the joke of it was that the man who went out to look for adventure only saw a bit of the game, and I who sat in my chambers saw it all and pulled the strings. 'They also serve who only stand and…” quote by John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/john-buchan-7539_adventure_i-once-played-the-chief-part-in-a-rather_2162628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/john-buchan-7539_adventure_i-once-played-the-chief-part-in-a-rather_2162628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/john-buchan-7539_adventure_i-once-played-the-chief-part-in-a-rather_2162628.jpg) > “I once played the chief part in a rather exciting business without ever once budging from London . And the joke of it was that the man who went out to look for adventure only saw a bit of the game, and I who sat in my chambers saw it all and pulled the strings. 'They also serve who only stand and wait,' you know.” [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power can be exercised from a safe distance, observing the whole picture while others take risks. **In simple terms:** Control from afar. Key Takeaway Leverage observation and influence. Themes strategy control observation leadership risk management Mood analytical detached strategic Type advice philosophical leadership When to use this quote - business negotiations - political strategy - project management - remote teamwork - crisis coordination Key Concepts Power dynamics remote leadership information advantage Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance observation with direct involvement? - When is it better to act than to watch? A Different Perspective Reliance on observation can miss nuanced details that only direct experience reveals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Budging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-budging-4594472/) [Chamber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamber/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Exciting Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting-business-1443841/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [London Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london-joke-4594470/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Man Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-went-799571/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Played Chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-chief-4594471/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) ## Related quotes > [Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/life-is-an-exciting-business-and-most-exciting-when-it-is-lived-for/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The most exciting business ideas fit on the back of an airplane napkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-gallo/the-most-exciting-business-ideas-fit-on-the-back-of-an-airplane-napkin/) [Carmine Gallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-gallo/) > [The actual making of a record is the most exciting part of this business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/the-actual-making-of-a-record-is-the-most-exciting-part-of-this/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [I think Virgin Blue is still a very promising and exciting business. Now, I know that's not a view that's widely held in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-corrigan/i-think-virgin-blue-is-still-a-very-promising-and-exciting-business/) [Chris Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-corrigan/) > [Art was always a means to an end with me. You get an idea, and you just can't wait. Once you've started, then you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/art-was-always-a-means-to-an-end-with-me-you-get-an-idea-and-you-just/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [“The man went to the controls, looking up at me, flaring his nostrils to my actions. 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Again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bell-wright/there-was-a-man-and-it-happened-as-such-things-often-so-happen-that/) [Harold Bell Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bell-wright/) > [Wherever that man went, he went gratefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/wherever-that-man-went-he-went-gratefully/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“The trouble is,' the bound man went on, not stopped by anyone, 'that you are too closed off and have definitively lost faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bulgakov-master-and-margarita/the-trouble-is-the-bound-man-went-on-not-stopped-by-anyone-that-you/) [Bulgakov Master and Margarita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bulgakov-master-and-margarita/) > [As far as I'm concerned the last good man went when Elvis died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-the-last-good-man-went-when-elvis-died/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm that the essence of democracy is melodrama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-babbitt/if-a-man-went-simply-by-what-he-saw-he-might-be-tempted-to-affirm/) [Irving Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-babbitt/) > [I never mingled with men, but I came home less of a man than I went out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-tauler/i-never-mingled-with-men-but-i-came-home-less-of-a-man-than-i-went-out/) [Johannes Tauler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-tauler/) > [A man went to Istanbul, his first visit there. On his way to a business meeting, this man lost his way. He began raging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/a-man-went-to-istanbul-his-first-visit-there-on-his-way-to-a-business/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-want-to-remind-priests-that-the-confessional-must-not-be-a-torture/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) ## More by John Buchan > [“All this was very loose guessing, and I don't pretend it was ingenious or scientific. I wasn't any kind of Sherlock Holmes. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/all-this-was-very-loose-guessing-and-i-don-t-pretend-it-was-ingenious/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. 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It is the only way to be inconspicuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-always-try-to-suit-my-clothes-to-my-company-it-is-the-only-way-to/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“But let none, he added, pray to have the full music; for it will make him who hears it a footsore traveller in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/but-let-none-he-added-pray-to-have-the-full-music-for-it-will-make/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“though I was afraid of many things, the thing I feared most mortally was being afraid. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/though-i-was-afraid-of-many-things-the-thing-i-feared-most-mortally/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [ \[W\]ithout humour you cannot run a sweetie-shop, let alone a nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/w-ithout-humour-you-cannot-run-a-sweetie-shop-let-alone-a-nation/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I was a peaceful sedentary man, a lover of a quiet life, with no appetite for perils and commotions. But I was beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-was-a-peaceful-sedentary-man-a-lover-of-a-quiet-life-with-no/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [In our modern world we have seen inaugurated the reign of a dull bourgeois rationalism, which finds some inadequate reason for all things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/in-our-modern-world-we-have-seen-inaugurated-the-reign-of-a-dull/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [The robe of flesh wears thin, and with the years God shines through all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/the-robe-of-flesh-wears-thin-and-with-the-years-god-shines-through/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“Most people are a little scared at new things ... You want a bigger heart to face danger which you go out to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/most-people-are-a-little-scared-at-new-things-you-want-a-bigger-heart/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) [Explore all 90 John Buchan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. 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In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. 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Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I once played the chief part in a rather exciting business without ever once budging from London . 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