--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't go around thinking the world owes…" description: "\"“Don't go around thinking the world owes you a living. It was here first.”\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/mark-twain-22_life_don-t-go-around-thinking-the-world-owes_2560547.png" --- # Don't go around thinking the world owes you a living. It… ![“Don't go around thinking the world owes you a living. It was here first.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/mark-twain-22_life_don-t-go-around-thinking-the-world-owes_2560547.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/mark-twain-22_life_don-t-go-around-thinking-the-world-owes_2560547.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/mark-twain-22_life_don-t-go-around-thinking-the-world-owes_2560547.png) > ““Don't go around thinking the world owes you a living. It was here first.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages personal responsibility and humility, rejecting entitlement to success **In simple terms:** Take responsibility for your own life Key Takeaway Earn your living through effort Themes self-reliance humility responsibility Mood reflective motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career building - financial planning - entrepreneurship - education Key Concepts Entitlement self-sufficiency Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal effort with societal support? - What privileges might you overlook? A Different Perspective Neglects systemic barriers that affect opportunity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Owes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owes/) [Owes Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owes-living-753940/) [Thinking World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-world-401040/) [World Owes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-owes/) ## Related quotes > [Dont go around saying the world owes you a living,the world owes you nothing because it was here first](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/dont-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living-the-world-owes-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/don-t-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living-the-world-owes-you-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It may be that them whose pleasure brings you into this world owes you a living, but it don't mean the world is responsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/it-may-be-that-them-whose-pleasure-brings-you-into-this-world-owes/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [Don't go around saying the world owes you a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people feel that the world owes them a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/some-people-feel-that-the-world-owes-them-a-living/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-world-owes-you-nothing-it-was-here-first/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing—it was here i rst. —MARK TWAIN, GREAT AMERICAN NOVELIST”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living-the-world-owes-you-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is too little idea of personal responsibility; too much of "the world owes me a living," forgetting that if the world does owe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-newton-vail/there-is-too-little-idea-of-personal-responsibility-too-much-of-the/) [Theodore Newton Vail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-newton-vail/) > [It's not good for government to tell people that the world owes them a living and that things are free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/it-s-not-good-for-government-to-tell-people-that-the-world-owes-them/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [“The world owes me a living'--that's passive. 'I owe the world and God a life'--that's active.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/the-world-owes-me-a-living-that-s-passive-i-owe-the-world-and-god-a/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Don't be misled into believing that somehow the world owes you a living. The boy who believes that his parents, or the government, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sarnoff/don-t-be-misled-into-believing-that-somehow-the-world-owes-you-a/) [David Sarnoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sarnoff/) > [The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-men-who-start-out-with-the-notion-that-the-world-owes-them-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > ['Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.' Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living-the-world-owes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving, England is mine and it owes me a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/i-decree-today-that-life-is-simply-taking-and-not-giving-england-is/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [Life owes me a living worth living. Yes, Eden regarded life as her debtor, she its relentless paymaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/life-owes-me-a-living-worth-living-yes-eden-regarded-life-as-her/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 go around thinking the world owes you a living. 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