--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing that mattered was that the…" description: "\"“The only thing that mattered was that the quarter century or so he had remaining would be his life, to live out as he chose and in his own best intere..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/ken-grimwood-46891_life_the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-that-th_2175250.jpg" --- # The only thing that mattered was that the quarter century… ![“The only thing that mattered was that the quarter century or so he had remaining would be his life, to live out as he chose and in his own best interests. Nothing took precedence over that: not work, not friendships, not relationships with women. Those were all components of his life, and valuable…” quote by Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/ken-grimwood-46891_life_the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-that-th_2175250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/ken-grimwood-46891_life_the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-that-th_2175250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/ken-grimwood-46891_life_the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-that-th_2175250.jpg) > ““The only thing that mattered was that the quarter century or so he had remaining would be his life, to live out as he chose and in his own best interests. Nothing took precedence over that: not work, not friendships, not relationships with women. Those were all components of his life, and valuable ones, but they did not define it or control it. That was up to him, and him alone.”” [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s purpose is self‑determined; personal fulfillment outweighs external roles and expectations. **In simple terms:** Live for yourself, not for others. Key Takeaway Prioritize your own values. Themes self‑determination purpose autonomy Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship choices - retirement planning - health priorities Key Concepts existentialism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What truly defines your life? - How do you balance personal freedom with social responsibilities? A Different Perspective May neglect valuable relationships if taken to extremes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowing you don’t have much time left changes things. You get kind of philosophical. And you figure things out—more like, they figure themselves out—and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/knowing-you-don-t-have-much-time-left-changes-things-you-get-kind-of/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [Rap music's the only thing that ever mattered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-beats/rap-music-s-the-only-thing-that-ever-mattered/) [Kenny Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-beats/) > [For me, the only thing that mattered was getting married in the presence of my family and very close friends. We did not want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishita-dutta/for-me-the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-getting-married-in-the/) [Ishita Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishita-dutta/) > [For Ishar Singh, the only thing that mattered was his duty, service. 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It was about teaching, or learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-lin/the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-what-you-were-to-do-in-life-and-it/) [Maya Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-lin/) > [“The only thing that mattered was where I was and who I was with now, and when Will’s arms tightened around me I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/the-only-thing-that-mattered-was-where-i-was-and-who-i-was-with-now/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [The stuffs you're good at and the stuffs you're bad at are just different parts of the same thing. Same goes for people you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/the-stuffs-you-re-good-at-and-the-stuffs-you-re-bad-at-are-just/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [“Your first kiss isn’t as important as your last. The math test really didn’t matter. The pie really did. The stuff you’re good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-wate/your-first-kiss-isn-t-as-important-as-your-last-the-math-test-really/) Ethan Wate > [He was the closest thing I'd ever had to something, or someone, that mattered. But in the end, close didn't count. You were either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/he-was-the-closest-thing-i-d-ever-had-to-something-or-someone-that/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Photography was the only thing that mattered in my life and I gave it everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/photography-was-the-only-thing-that-mattered-in-my-life-and-i-gave-it/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [At that moment he knew one thing. The only thing that mattered. He loved her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/at-that-moment-he-knew-one-thing-the-only-thing-that-mattered-he/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [“Somehow, irresistibly, the prime thing was: nothing mattered. Life in the end seemed a prank of such size you could only stand off at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/somehow-irresistibly-the-prime-thing-was-nothing-mattered-life-in-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [A thing there was that mattered; a thing, wreathed about with chatter, defaced, obscured in her own life, let drop every day in corruption,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-thing-there-was-that-mattered-a-thing-wreathed-about-with-chatter/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“When it was just you and your fight to live, the only thing that mattered was time. Time was the only thing reminding you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-wade/when-it-was-just-you-and-your-fight-to-live-the-only-thing-that/) [Rachael Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-wade/) ## More by Ken Grimwood > [Sometimes isolation can be shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-grimwood/sometimes-isolation-can-be-shared/) [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) > [“Jeff," she said, sobbing, "I'm scared! I don't want to die! Not … die forever, and—" He hugged her tightly, rocked her in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-grimwood/jeff-she-said-sobbing-i-m-scared-i-don-t-want-to-die-not-die-forever/) [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) > [“He couldn't keep his eyes off her face, wished she'd take off those damned sunglasses so he could see the eyes he'd known so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-grimwood/he-couldn-t-keep-his-eyes-off-her-face-wished-she-d-take-off-those/) [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) > [He went out with a variety of women, slept with some of them, hated the whole meaningless process. 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It's taken me many, many years to learn to deal with that, and I don't expect I'll ever be fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-grimwood/all-life-includes-loss-it-s-taken-me-many-many-years-to-learn-to-deal/) [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) > [“Jeff felt it flow through him, the electric freshness of the once more unpredictable world out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-grimwood/jeff-felt-it-flow-through-him-the-electric-freshness-of-the-once-more/) [Ken Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) [Explore all 8 Ken Grimwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-grimwood/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The only thing that mattered was that the quarter century or so he had remaining would be his life, to live out as he chose and in his own best interests. 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