--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't know how to live until you…" description: "\"“You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.”\" — Mitch Albom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png" --- # You don't know how to live until you learn how to die. ![“You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png) > ““You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.”” [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. Understanding death is essential to truly know how to live a full life. **In simple terms:** You must learn about death to live well. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality to appreciate life. Themes mortality life wisdom learning Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - grief counseling - life coaching - spiritual retreats - writing - teaching Key Concepts existential philosophy psychology of death mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does dying teach about living? - How can confronting mortality improve daily choices? A Different Perspective Fear of death may hinder learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [You live and learn. Then you die and forget it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/you-live-and-learn-then-you-die-and-forget-it-all/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [We live to learn,die to rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-thuku/we-live-to-learn-die-to-rest/) Antony Thuku > [The only way to know is to Live, Learn, and Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/the-only-way-to-know-is-to-live-learn-and-grow/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-truth-is-once-you-learn-how-to-die-you-learn-how-to-live/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [I now know I can live without basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-taurasi/i-now-know-i-can-live-without-basketball/) [Diana Taurasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-taurasi/) > [“...but like Mama say, sometimes we got to live it out before we learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-grissom/but-like-mama-say-sometimes-we-got-to-live-it-out-before-we-learn/) [Kathleen Grissom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-grissom/) > [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/) > [I can't make a movie where I can't learn. I'd die of boredom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-kongara/i-can-t-make-a-movie-where-i-can-t-learn-i-d-die-of-boredom/) [Sudha Kongara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-kongara/) > [“All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/all-human-beings-should-try-to-learn-before-they-die-what-they-are/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [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/) > [All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/all-men-should-strive-to-learn-before-they-die-what-they-are-running/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [To learn to die is an heroic work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-otis-warren/to-learn-to-die-is-an-heroic-work/) [Mercy Otis Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-otis-warren/) > [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/) ## 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": "“You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Albom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-learn-how-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-learn-how-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/mitch-albom-187_death_you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-lea_1660998.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You don't know how to live until you learn how to die.” — 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": "“You don't know how to live...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-learn-how-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-don-t-know-how-to-live-until-you-learn-how-to-die/#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 } } ] } ```