--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is, once you learn how to die…" description: "\"The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.\" — Mitch Albom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png" --- # The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to… ![“The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png) > “The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing mortality teaches us to value life and live fully. **In simple terms:** Understanding death helps you live better. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to appreciate life. Themes mortality life appreciation growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - health crises - career changes - personal loss - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting death change your priorities? - What does living fully mean to you? A Different Perspective Some may find focusing on death unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Once you learn how to die you learn how to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [When you learn to die, you learn to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/when-you-learn-to-die-you-learn-to-live/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-survive/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Learn how to live and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll know how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-how-to-live-and-you-ll-know-how-to-die-learn-how-to-die-and-you-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To learn to die is to learn to live. Death is the giver of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-foley/to-learn-to-die-is-to-learn-to-live-death-is-the-giver-of-life/) [Michael Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-foley/) > [Mexican writer and diplomat, "Pasado en claro" ("A Draft of Shadows") You learn something the day you die. You learn how to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/mexican-writer-and-diplomat-pasado-en-claro-a-draft-of-shadows-you/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Learn how to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you'll learn how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/learn-how-to-live-and-you-ll-know-how-to-die-learn-how-to-die-and-you/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [“You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-learn-how-to-die/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [The first function of poetry is to tell the truth, to learn how to do that, to find out what you really feel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/the-first-function-of-poetry-is-to-tell-the-truth-to-learn-how-to-do/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [Nature's book always contains the truth; we must only learn to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sepp-holzer/nature-s-book-always-contains-the-truth-we-must-only-learn-to-read-it/) Sepp Holzer > [PEOPLE WHO HURTS AND SAID THAT THEY ALL READY MOVE ON DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY ARE ALREADY MOVE ON CAUSE THE TRUTH IS THEY…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alona-r-marquez/people-who-hurts-and-said-that-they-all-ready-move-on-doesn-t-mean/) Alona R Marquez > [Let us continue to improve until we are filled with the knowledge of the truth. We have yet much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/let-us-continue-to-improve-until-we-are-filled-with-the-knowledge-of/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [“Things aren't what they seem. What a truth to learn at such a tender age! More discouraging was the way in which everyone around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-strnad/things-aren-t-what-they-seem-what-a-truth-to-learn-at-such-a-tender/) [Jan Strnad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-strnad/) > [“When no one you know tells the truth, you learn to see under the surface.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/when-no-one-you-know-tells-the-truth-you-learn-to-see-under-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Young children are naturally so philosophical. They ask: 'What is real? What is truth?' They have to learn it; they don't automatically know it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/young-children-are-naturally-so-philosophical-they-ask-what-is-real/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) ## More by Mitch Albom > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [the words people do not speak are louder than the ones they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-words-people-do-not-speak-are-louder-than-the-ones-they-do/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Once, lovers on faraway shores sat by candlelight and dipped ink to parchment, writing words that could not be erased. They took an evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-lovers-on-faraway-shores-sat-by-candlelight-and-dipped-ink-to/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life goes quickly, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-goes-quickly-doesn-t-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/as-children-grow-they-gravitate-to-their-fates/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/if-the-only-thing-wrong-with-moses-is-that-he-s-not-yours-if-the-only/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“whisper their good-byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whisper-their-good-byes/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-didn-t-get-it-sacrifice-is-a-part-of-life-it-s-supposed-to-be-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-give-myself-a-good-cry-if-i-need-it-but-then-i-concentrate-on-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It was sad, the imbalance of it all. Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-was-sad-the-imbalance-of-it-all-why-do-kids-assume-so-much-from/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) [Explore all 962 Mitch Albom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [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/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Albom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/mitch-albom-187_death_the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-y_1148837.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” — Mitch Albom", "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": "Mitch Albom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The truth is, once you learn...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/#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 } } ] } ```