--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He that will not whan he may,Whan he…" description: "\"He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue nay.\" — John Heywood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png" --- # He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue… ![“He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue nay.” quote by John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png) > “He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue nay.” [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often fail to act on their desires, believing they cannot achieve them, yet the same desire can become a reality if pursued. **In simple terms:** Desire blocked by doubt; can become reality if pursued. Key Takeaway Recognize desire, act despite doubt. Themes desire self‑efficacy belief action Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal goals - career advancement - relationships - health habits Key Concepts psychology motivation self‑fulfilling prophecy Questions to Reflect On - What desire have you dismissed? - How can you turn belief into action? A Different Perspective Desire alone is insufficient without concrete effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) ## Related quotes > [He that will not when he may, When he would, he should have nay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/he-that-will-not-when-he-may-when-he-would-he-should-have-nay/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [He who will not when he may, may not when he will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-salisbury/he-who-will-not-when-he-may-may-not-when-he-will/) [John of Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-salisbury/) > [He that doth what he should not, shall feel what he would not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-doth-what-he-should-not-shall-feel-what-he-would-not/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [He that doth what he should not, shall feele what he would not. \[He that doth what he should not shall feel what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-doth-what-he-should-not-shall-feele-what-he-would-not-he-that/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [He who would pray, must obey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/he-who-would-pray-must-obey/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [His will cannot be neutral or 'free' to act contrary to his nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/his-will-cannot-be-neutral-or-free-to-act-contrary-to-his-nature/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [He that leaveth nothing to chance will do few things ill, but he will do very few things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/he-that-leaveth-nothing-to-chance-will-do-few-things-ill-but-he-will/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/he-who-fears-he-shall-suffer-already-suffers-what-he-fears/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [He will easily be content and at peace, whose conscience is pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-will-easily-be-content-and-at-peace-whose-conscience-is-pure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-would-live-in-peace-and-at-ease-must-not-speak-all-he-knows/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [He that will do thee a good turne, either he will be gon or dye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-will-do-thee-a-good-turne-either-he-will-be-gon-or-dye/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [He that believeth in the Lord taketh heed to the commandment; 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Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) [Browse all 33,019 May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue nay.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Heywood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-would-he-shall-haue-nay/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "May" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-would-he-shall-haue-nay/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/john-heywood-3045_may_he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-wou_685039.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He that will not whan he may,Whan he would, he shall haue nay.” — John Heywood", "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": "John Heywood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He that will not whan he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-would-he-shall-haue-nay/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/he-that-will-not-whan-he-may-whan-he-would-he-shall-haue-nay/#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 } } ] } ```