---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that you can only do a little is…"
description: "\"The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.\" — John le Carre"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg"
---

#  The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for…

![“The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.” quote by John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg)

> “The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.”

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Small effort is still effort; inactivity is unjustified.

**In simple terms:** Even tiny actions matter.

Key Takeaway

Act, no matter how small.

Themes

responsibility action motivation

Mood

determined reflective

Type

advice motivational

When to use this quote

- daily chores
- community service
- personal goals
- health habits

Key Concepts

ethics personal agency

Questions to Reflect On

- What small step can you take today?
- How does in excuse affect your goals?

A Different Perspective

Limited resources may hinder impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Doing nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [No excuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-excuses/)

## Related quotes

> [“The fact you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-fact-you-can-only-do-a-little-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [If I didn't feel that I was doing something or trying to do something for others, then I would have very little excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/if-i-didn-t-feel-that-i-was-doing-something-or-trying-to-do-something/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [There is no excuse for doing anything which is not strikingly beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/there-is-no-excuse-for-doing-anything-which-is-not-strikingly/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/not-being-able-to-do-everything-is-no-excuse-for-not-doing-everything/)

[Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/)

> [Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every conceived notion, follow humbly wherever and whatever abysses nature leads,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/sit-down-before-fact-as-a-little-child-be-prepared-to-give-up-every/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [There's no excuse not to make films on weekends with friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-duplass/there-s-no-excuse-not-to-make-films-on-weekends-with-friends/)

[Mark Duplass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-duplass/)

> [That is a list of the Territories that yielded to Ebon Askavi. They now stand within the shadow of the Keep. They are mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/that-is-a-list-of-the-territories-that-yielded-to-ebon-askavi-they/)

[Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/)

> [Perhaps the sexual life is the great test. If we can survive it with charity to those we love and with affection to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-sexual-life-is-the-great-test-if-we-can-survive-it-with/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture, ... When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/priests-like-all-of-us-are-affected-by-culture-when-the-culture-is/)

[Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/)

> [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [If you want to be rich, don’t allow yourself the luxury of excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-want-to-be-rich-don-t-allow-yourself-the-luxury-of-excuses/)

[Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/)

> [God knows America would be the greatest again if she operated like the Nugent family. No takers, no whiners, no gangsters, no dopers, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/god-knows-america-would-be-the-greatest-again-if-she-operated-like/)

[Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/)

> [The President has once again failed us. Millions of Americans are at risk of going without the flu vaccine this year because the administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-corzine/the-president-has-once-again-failed-us-millions-of-americans-are-at/)

[Jon Corzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-corzine/)

> [I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/i-resolutely-believe-that-respect-for-diversity-is-a-fundamental/)

[Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/)

> [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/)

[Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/)

## More by John le Carre

> [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [All power corrupts but some must govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/all-power-corrupts-but-some-must-govern/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [“You're history, Donohue. You think countries run the fucking world! Go back to fucking Sunday school. It's 'God save our multinational' they're singing these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/you-re-history-donohue-you-think-countries-run-the-fucking-world-go/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/when-you-re-my-age-and-you-see-a-story-you-better-go-for-it-pretty/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [The trouble is, when professional spies go out of their way to make a definitive statement about one of their own, the public tends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-trouble-is-when-professional-spies-go-out-of-their-way-to-make-a/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/ideologies-have-no-heart-of-their-own-they-re-the-whores-and-angels/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [Home's where you go when you run out of homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/home-s-where-you-go-when-you-run-out-of-homes/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [“Pain observed is journalistic pain. It's diplomatic pain. It's television pain, over as soon as you switch off your beastly set.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/pain-observed-is-journalistic-pain-it-s-diplomatic-pain-it-s/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [The greatest threat to mankind comes from the renunciation of individual scruple in favor of institutional denominators. . . . Real heroism lies, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-greatest-threat-to-mankind-comes-from-the-renunciation-of/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [“and the wood smoke will roll out of the fireplace on to the carpet we paid too much for on that rainy afternoon in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/and-the-wood-smoke-will-roll-out-of-the-fireplace-on-to-the-carpet-we/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/middle-children-weep-longer-than-their-brothers-and-sisters-over-her/)

[John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [For decades to come the spy world will continue to be the collective couch where the subconscious of each nation is confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/for-decades-to-come-the-spy-world-will-continue-to-be-the-collective/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [I happen to write by hand. I don't even type. John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/i-happen-to-write-by-hand-i-don-t-even-type-john-le-carre/)

[John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

> [The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-more-identities-a-man-has-the-more-they-express-the-person-they/)

[John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

[Explore all 409 John le Carre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/)

## More Doing quotes

> [I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-but-i-m-damn-well-gonna-do-it/)

[Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/)

> [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/)

[David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/)

> [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/)

[John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/)

> [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/)

[Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/)

> [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/)

[Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/)

> [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/)

[Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/)

> [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/)

[Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/)

> [If I'm not thinking about you then I am texting you , if I am not texting you then I am on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-m-not-thinking-about-you-then-i-am-texting-you-if-i-am-not/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [.\*. why u hate me..Bitches be doing the most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty/why-u-hate-me-bitches-be-doing-the-most/)

Kitty

> [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/)

[Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/)

> [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/)

[Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/)

> [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/)

[Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/)

> [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/)

[Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/)

> [You can't drain the swamp, as President Trump has touted doing, without getting rid of Mitch McConnell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/you-can-t-drain-the-swamp-as-president-trump-has-touted-doing-without/)

[Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/)

Browse all 10,133 Doing quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John le Carre"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Doing"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/john-le-carre-651_doing_the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-i_3144260.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.” — John le Carre",
                "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 le Carre",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The fact that you can only...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-fact-that-you-can-only-do-a-little-is-no-excuse-for-doing-nothing/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
