--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Live or die: mere consequences of what…" description: "\"Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've assigned myself a new obligation. I'm going t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg" --- # Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built… ![“Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've assigned myself a new obligation. I'm going to stop undoing deconstructing I'm going to start building... ... What matters is what you are doing when you die... ... I want to be building.” quote by Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg) > “Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've assigned myself a new obligation. I'm going to stop undoing deconstructing I'm going to start building... ... What matters is what you are doing when you die... ... I want to be building.” [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes that the true value lies not in outcomes or mortality, but in the quality and intentionality of one's creative or constructive actions. **In simple terms:** Focus on purposeful creation. Key Takeaway Build with intention. Themes purpose creation mortality responsibility meaning Mood determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - personal projects - artistic endeavors - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts intentionality legacy Practical Applications - design thinking - project planning Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to 'build well' in your life? - How can you shift from deconstruction to construction? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences/) [Live or die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-or-die/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) ## Related quotes > [Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is-2/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I love my job - I'm going to keep doing it until I die - but there's nothing more soul-destroying than having to cancel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-fender/i-love-my-job-i-m-going-to-keep-doing-it-until-i-die-but-there-s/) [Sam Fender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-fender/) > [It takes a lot of doing to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-takes-a-lot-of-doing-to-die/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I’m what-iffing! I don’t what-if! What-iffing is for growups. They what-if themselves right into doing nothing, and die without ever living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-m-what-iffing-i-don-t-what-if-what-iffing-is-for-growups-they-what/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [I'll keep doing it until I die or the audiences die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-russell/i-ll-keep-doing-it-until-i-die-or-the-audiences-die/) [Mark Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-russell/) > [“Things are pretty black and white when your options are either live or die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-langtry/things-are-pretty-black-and-white-when-your-options-are-either-live/) [Leslie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-langtry/) > [I've reached the point where I hardly care whether I live or die. The world will keep on turning without me, and I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-ve-reached-the-point-where-i-hardly-care-whether-i-live-or-die-the/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [A movie will live or die with your casting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-baker/a-movie-will-live-or-die-with-your-casting/) [Sean Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-baker/) > [I live or die by how well I act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-menzies/i-live-or-die-by-how-well-i-act/) [Tobias Menzies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-menzies/) > [“You think you're so strong! What are you going to do!!? You'll just get yourself killed! You'll get killed and be forgotten by tomorrow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dadan/you-think-you-re-so-strong-what-are-you-going-to-do-you-ll-just-get/) Dadan > [Each say following another, either hastening or putting off our death--what pleasure does it bring? I count that man worthless whois cheered by empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/each-say-following-another-either-hastening-or-putting-off-our-death/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [This isn't the end,This is war! Live or Die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/this-isn-t-the-end-this-is-war-live-or-die/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [You're not living until it doesn't matter a tinker's damn to you whether you live or die. At that point you live. When you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/you-re-not-living-until-it-doesn-t-matter-a-tinker-s-damn-to-you/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Whether your time calls you to live or die, do both like a prince.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/whether-your-time-calls-you-to-live-or-die-do-both-like-a-prince/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [“Al-Lah alone decides whether we live or die. The rest is vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-jones/al-lah-alone-decides-whether-we-live-or-die-the-rest-is-vanity/) [Sherry Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-jones/) ## More by Muriel Barbery > [“Those who can, do; those who can't, teach; those who can't teach, teach the teachers; and those who can't teach the teachers go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/those-who-can-do-those-who-can-t-teach-those-who-can-t-teach-teach/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“A terroir only exists by virtue of one's childhood mythology . . . we have invented these words of tradition rooted deep in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/a-terroir-only-exists-by-virtue-of-one-s-childhood-mythology-we-have/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“The tea ritual: such a precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple,authentic and refined sensations, a license given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/the-tea-ritual-such-a-precise-repetition-of-the-same-gestures-and-the/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [As always, I am saved by the inability of living creatures to believe anything that might cause the walls of their little mental assumptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/as-always-i-am-saved-by-the-inability-of-living-creatures-to-believe/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent condemns one in our society to a dark and disillusioned life...to beauty all is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-be-poor-ugly-and-moreover-intelligent-condemns-one-in-our-society/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Beautiful things should belong to beautiful souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/beautiful-things-should-belong-to-beautiful-souls/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I know that they're all unhappy because nobody loves the right person the way they should and because they don't understand that it's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-know-that-they-re-all-unhappy-because-nobody-loves-the-right-person/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [We never look beyond our assumptions and what's worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/we-never-look-beyond-our-assumptions-and-what-s-worse-we-have-given/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“To rich people it must seem that the ordinary little people..experience human emotions with less intensity and greater indifference...The fact that we might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-rich-people-it-must-seem-that-the-ordinary-little-people/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I may know that the world is an ugly place, I still don't want to see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-may-know-that-the-world-is-an-ugly-place-i-still-don-t-want-to-see/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain Beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty-when-you/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Behold the man I also know how to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/behold-the-man-i-also-know-how-to-be/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) [Explore all 250 Muriel Barbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've assigned myself a new obligation. I'm going to stop undoing deconstructing I'm going to start building... ... What matters is what you are doing when you die... ... I want to be building.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Muriel Barbery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ad/muriel-barbery-1092_building_live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-yo_46291.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've…” — Muriel Barbery", "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": "Muriel Barbery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Live or die: mere consequences of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is/#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 } } ] } ```