--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t ever settle for just survival, son…" description: "\"“Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…”\" — L.E. Modesitt Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png" --- # Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t… ![“Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…” quote by L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png) > ““Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…”” [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker advises against settling for mere existence, urging that true life involves purpose, growth, and engagement beyond basic survival. **In simple terms:** Survival isn’t enough; seek life. Key Takeaway Aim beyond mere existence. Themes philosophy motivation purpose self‑actualization Mood inspirational determined Type advice philosophical statement When to use this quote - Choosing a career for passion, not paycheck - Pursuing personal projects after a crisis - Teaching children the value of curiosity Key Concepts existential fulfillment Practical Applications - Set goals that align with personal values - Cultivate habits that foster growth Questions to Reflect On - What does a life beyond survival look like for you? - How can you transform daily routines into purposeful actions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) ## Related quotes > [“But for them—as for anyone—survival isn’t enough. So what began as a last-ditch effort has become a battle cry for something greater. Being human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-bruder/but-for-them-as-for-anyone-survival-isn-t-enough-so-what-began-as-a/) [Jessica Bruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-bruder/) > [I think the American Dream for most people is just survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-scholl/i-think-the-american-dream-for-most-people-is-just-survival/) Sandy Scholl > [“Psychopathy's no disorder in those shoes, eh? Just a survival strategy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/psychopathy-s-no-disorder-in-those-shoes-eh-just-a-survival-strategy/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [Survival is the key word to remember—not victory, not conquest, just survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/survival-is-the-key-word-to-remember-not-victory-not-conquest-just/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Morality is a luxury we can't afford out here. There's no right or wrong, just survival or death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-milligan/morality-is-a-luxury-we-can-t-afford-out-here-there-s-no-right-or/) [Peter Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-milligan/) > [Survival isn't fun. If it is - you camping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/survival-isn-t-fun-if-it-is-you-camping/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If its about survival isn't a little agony worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-matobo/if-its-about-survival-isn-t-a-little-agony-worth-it/) [Frank Matobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-matobo/) > [“Survival isn’t all there is to life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/survival-isn-t-all-there-is-to-life/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Bollywood is a tough place to be in and survival isn't easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/badshah/bollywood-is-a-tough-place-to-be-in-and-survival-isn-t-easy/) [Badshah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/badshah/) > [“There was no such thing as a fair fight. All vulnerabilities must be exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-caffrey/there-was-no-such-thing-as-a-fair-fight-all-vulnerabilities-must-be/) Cary Caffrey > [Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/nothing-is-better-for-self-esteem-than-survival/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) Jim Wright > [“Good morning,” one of the soldiers said. “I’m Captain Joseph Walker and this is Sergeant James Vanetten. We are members of the One-Hundred-and-First Airborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/good-morning-one-of-the-soldiers-said-i-m-captain-joseph-walker-and/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/good-history-is-a-question-of-survival-without-any-past-we-will/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More by L.E. Modesitt Jr > [Love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself without pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/love-of-another-is-merely-empty-flattery-and-self-deception-for-one/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [Without power, knowledge is useless. without knowledge, faith is tyranny. Without understanding, humanity is blind, and without all four, it is doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/without-power-knowledge-is-useless-without-knowledge-faith-is-tyranny/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“love no one until you can love yourself, for love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/love-no-one-until-you-can-love-yourself-for-love-of-another-is-merely/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“It’s often hard to consider the future when you are struggling with the present,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/it-s-often-hard-to-consider-the-future-when-you-are-struggling-with/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“technology enabled mercy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/technology-enabled-mercy/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“Too often, no matter what simpering savants say, there is no real choice. Not if life is to have meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/too-often-no-matter-what-simpering-savants-say-there-is-no-real/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“Up early. Must be important.” Her smile was nice, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/up-early-must-be-important-her-smile-was-nice-too/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“some people learned only from what they experienced personally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/some-people-learned-only-from-what-they-experienced-personally/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [Hatred is a form of faith, distilled by passion to remove all rationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/hatred-is-a-form-of-faith-distilled-by-passion-to-remove-all/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“one of the ways to be successful in war is to make your enemies make all the gallant but useless sacrifices…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/one-of-the-ways-to-be-successful-in-war-is-to-make-your-enemies-make/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“...there being a god, that god must be worshiped. Worship means raising the god above the individual, and liturgies often make the point that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/there-being-a-god-that-god-must-be-worshiped-worship-means-raising/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“Was there really something to the obsolete idea of a national character? Some countries just changed tyrants, without changing anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/was-there-really-something-to-the-obsolete-idea-of-a-national/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“power corrupts, even when you try not to be corrupted?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/power-corrupts-even-when-you-try-not-to-be-corrupted/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“We all feel better when we can defend ourselves. When we can tell ourselves and everyone else that we did what was necessary and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/we-all-feel-better-when-we-can-defend-ourselves-when-we-can-tell/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [“In both arguments, the implication was the same—the individual mattered far less than either Solidar or the Collegium. While that was certainly true, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/in-both-arguments-the-implication-was-the-same-the-individual/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) [Explore all 51 L.E. Modesitt Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) ## 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": "“Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L.E. Modesitt Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son-survival-isn-t-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son-survival-isn-t-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/l-e-modesitt-jr-12954_life_don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son_110711.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don’t ever settle for just survival, son. Survival isn’t life…” — L.E. Modesitt Jr", "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": "L.E. Modesitt Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Don’t ever settle for just survival,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son-survival-isn-t-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/don-t-ever-settle-for-just-survival-son-survival-isn-t-life/#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 } } ] } ```