--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd never have picked up the first…" description: "\"If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never have picked up the 42,000 in Calcutta.\" — Mother Teresa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg" --- # If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never… ![“If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never have picked up the 42,000 in Calcutta.” quote by Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg) > “If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never have picked up the 42,000 in Calcutta.” [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on a pivotal moment where an early choice led to a significant charitable impact in Calcutta. **In simple terms:** Choosing a path early led to helping 42,000 people. Key Takeaway Early decisions can shape massive humanitarian outcomes. Themes choice charity impact Mood inspirational reflective Type quote philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - career choices - social work - community development Key Concepts cause and effect humanitarianism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What early choices have shaped your impact? - How can you create meaningful change today? A Different Perspective It may romanticize chance over sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calcutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calcutta/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) ## Related quotes > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/please-don-t-kill-the-child-i-want-the-child-please-give-me-the-child/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-see-god-in-every-human-being-when-i-wash-the-leper-s-wounds-i-feel/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [In Calcutta alone, we have given more than 1,000 children in adoption. I cannot calculate how many babies we get a year. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-calcutta-alone-we-have-given-more-than-1-000-children-in-adoption/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/unless-this-love-is-among-us-we-can-kill-ourselves-with-work-and-it/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-should-be-less-talk-a-preaching-point-is-not-a-meeting-point/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Life is a game, play it... Life is too precious, do not destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/life-is-a-game-play-it-life-is-too-precious-do-not-destroy-it/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-easy-to-love-the-people-far-away-it-is-not-always-easy-to-love/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/give-a-glass-of-water-you-give-it-to-me-receive-a-little-child-you/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/before-you-speak-it-is-necessary-for-you-to-listen-for-god-speaks-in/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [In our home (for the dying at Kali Ghat) in Calcutta, there is great peace, unity and love. Many Hindu families bring food, clothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-our-home-for-the-dying-at-kali-ghat-in-calcutta-there-is-great/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We have very little, so we have nothing to be preoccupied with. The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-have-very-little-so-we-have-nothing-to-be-preoccupied-with-the/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/find-your-own-calcutta-find-the-sick-the-suffering-and-the-lonely/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/be-the-living-expression-of-god-s-kindness-kindness-in-your-face/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Whatever our religion, we know that if we really want to love, we must first learn to forgive before anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/whatever-our-religion-we-know-that-if-we-really-want-to-love-we-must/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More by Mother Teresa > [Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/love-is-a-fruit-in-season-at-all-times-and-within-the-reach-of-every/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Speak in a low, persuasive tone. Listen; be teachable. Laugh at good stories and learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/keep-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turned-up-speak-in-a-low-persuasive/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/holy-living-consists-in-doing-god-s-work-with-a-smile/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I don't look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-don-t-look-at-anything-every-person-whether-he-is-hindu-muslim-or/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We may not be able to give much but we can always give the joy that springs in a heart that is in LOVE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-may-not-be-able-to-give-much-but-we-can-always-give-the-joy-that/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/maybe-if-i-didn-t-pick-up-that-one-person-i-wouldn-t-have-picked-up/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/people-are-unrealistic-illogical-and-self-centered-love-them-anyway/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-by-forgiving-that-one-is-forgiven/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-more-we-empty-ourselves-the-more-room-we-give-god-to-fill-us/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/joy-is-prayer-joy-is-strength-joy-is-love-joy-is-a-net-of-love-by/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Explore all 951 Mother Teresa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More Calcutta quotes > [What I like about Calcutta is the food. I like simple Bengali food like dal, shukto, fish, and mutton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barun-sobti/what-i-like-about-calcutta-is-the-food-i-like-simple-bengali-food/) [Barun Sobti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barun-sobti/) > [Recovering in a Calcutta, India hospital. I think I'm more difficult than critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/recovering-in-a-calcutta-india-hospital-i-think-i-m-more-difficult/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I think Calcutta is that kind of a market that if you are a Delhi or a Bombay designer, they feel they are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaba-gupta/i-think-calcutta-is-that-kind-of-a-market-that-if-you-are-a-delhi-or/) [Masaba Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaba-gupta/) > [Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/be-the-living-expression-of-god-s-kindness-kindness-in-your-face/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Calcutta is a very culturally-forward city. People encourage art, music, literature and I just feel like that's a city that looks for experiences over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaba-gupta/calcutta-is-a-very-culturally-forward-city-people-encourage-art-music/) [Masaba Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaba-gupta/) > [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [The Calcutta public accepted me and put me where I am. I will always be grateful to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/the-calcutta-public-accepted-me-and-put-me-where-i-am-i-will-always/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-is-a-portable-climate-it-carries-the-heat-of-the-tropics-to/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/find-your-own-calcutta-find-the-sick-the-suffering-and-the-lonely/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Forty feet long sixty feet high hotel Covered with old gray for buzzing flies Eye like mango flowing orange pus Ears Durga people vomiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/forty-feet-long-sixty-feet-high-hotel-covered-with-old-gray-for/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [You see for me, America is an idea. It is a stage for transformation. I felt when I came to Iowa City from Calcutta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharati-mukherjee/you-see-for-me-america-is-an-idea-it-is-a-stage-for-transformation-i/) [Bharati Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharati-mukherjee/) > [We have very little, so we have nothing to be preoccupied with. The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-have-very-little-so-we-have-nothing-to-be-preoccupied-with-the/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“The coolies pull them across Howrah bridge, which they share with cars, trucks, bullock carts, a party of young women in saris strolling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobert/the-coolies-pull-them-across-howrah-bridge-which-they-share-with-cars/) Michael Tobert > [Confession is something we will never outgrow, even if we become the saints God made us to be. Pope John Paul II and Mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-wuerl/confession-is-something-we-will-never-outgrow-even-if-we-become-the/) [Donald Wuerl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-wuerl/) > [In our home (for the dying at Kali Ghat) in Calcutta, there is great peace, unity and love. Many Hindu families bring food, clothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-our-home-for-the-dying-at-kali-ghat-in-calcutta-there-is-great/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Browse all 103 Calcutta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calcutta/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never have picked up the 42,000 in Calcutta.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mother Teresa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-person-i-d-never-have-picked-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Calcutta" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-person-i-d-never-have-picked-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95a/mother-teresa-196_calcutta_if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-pe_1338180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I'd never have picked up the first person, I'd never have picked up the 42,000 in Calcutta.” — Mother Teresa", "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": "Mother Teresa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I'd never have picked up...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-person-i-d-never-have-picked-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-i-d-never-have-picked-up-the-first-person-i-d-never-have-picked-up/#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 } } ] } ```