--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was once a fortunate man but at some…" description: "\"I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune abandoned me. But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e13/marcus-aurelius-139_abandoned_i-was-once-a-fortunate-man-but-at-some-p_1126289.jpg" --- # I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune… ![“I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune abandoned me. But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e13/marcus-aurelius-139_abandoned_i-was-once-a-fortunate-man-but-at-some-p_1126289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e13/marcus-aurelius-139_abandoned_i-was-once-a-fortunate-man-but-at-some-p_1126289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e13/marcus-aurelius-139_abandoned_i-was-once-a-fortunate-man-but-at-some-p_1126289.jpg) > “I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune abandoned me. But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fortune is fleeting; true wealth comes from character and actions. **In simple terms:** Good character creates good fortune. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue. Themes philosophy stoicism fortune character Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - adversity Key Concepts virtue intentional action Questions to Reflect On - How do you define success? - What habits build good character? A Different Perspective Fortune can still influence outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Good character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-character/) [Good fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fortune/) [Good intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“But fortunate means that a man has assigned to himself a good fortune: and a good fortune is good disposition of the soul, good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/but-fortunate-means-that-a-man-has-assigned-to-himself-a-good-fortune/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Good fortune then! To make me blest or cursed'st among men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/good-fortune-then-to-make-me-blest-or-cursed-st-among-men/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Only learn to seize good fortune, for good fortune's always here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/only-learn-to-seize-good-fortune-for-good-fortune-s-always-here/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“...good fortune is not only good fortune, and over the years things happened in that family that caused some terrible regret. Still, for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/good-fortune-is-not-only-good-fortune-and-over-the-years-things/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bad-fortune-of-the-good-turns-their-faces-up-to-heaven-the-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Henceforth I ask not good fortune. I myself am good fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/henceforth-i-ask-not-good-fortune-i-myself-am-good-fortune/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You had my heart, and I yours; a heart for a heart, good fortune for good fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marceline-desbordes-valmore/you-had-my-heart-and-i-yours-a-heart-for-a-heart-good-fortune-for/) [Marceline Desbordes-Valmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marceline-desbordes-valmore/) > [All fortune is good fortune; for it either rewards, disciplines, amends, or punishes, and so is either useful or just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/all-fortune-is-good-fortune-for-it-either-rewards-disciplines-amends/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [In the long-run, the best proof of a good character is good actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-the-long-run-the-best-proof-of-a-good-character-is-good-actions/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [It's more fun to play a good character with a good director and good actors around you. 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Your ability to tell the truth about how bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/a-good-character-is-not-only-about-the-good-person-people-know-you-to/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I think a good story's a good story and a good character's a good character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sheen/i-think-a-good-story-s-a-good-story-and-a-good-character-s-a-good/) [Michael Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sheen/) > [ When you get fame and fortune and you make something of your life and become successful... But \[there is a\] whole new slew of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/when-you-get-fame-and-fortune-and-you-make-something-of-your-life-and/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [If a man who is born to a fortune cannot make himself easier and freer than those who are not, he gains nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/if-a-man-who-is-born-to-a-fortune-cannot-make-himself-easier-and/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. 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