--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All that I did,\" she said, \"everything I…" description: "\"All that I did,\" she said, \"everything I tried to do. All for nothing.\" Nothing is done entirely for nothing, said the fox of dreams. Nothing is wasted..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/neil-gaiman-29_decision_all-that-i-did-she-said-everything-i-tri_92928.jpg" --- # All that I did," she said, "everything I tried to do. All… ![“All that I did," she said, "everything I tried to do. All for nothing." Nothing is done entirely for nothing, said the fox of dreams. Nothing is wasted. You are older, and you have made decisions, and you are not the fox you were yesterday. Take what you have learned, and move on.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/neil-gaiman-29_decision_all-that-i-did-she-said-everything-i-tri_92928.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/neil-gaiman-29_decision_all-that-i-did-she-said-everything-i-tri_92928.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/neil-gaiman-29_decision_all-that-i-did-she-said-everything-i-tri_92928.jpg) > “All that I did," she said, "everything I tried to do. All for nothing." Nothing is done entirely for nothing, said the fox of dreams. Nothing is wasted. You are older, and you have made decisions, and you are not the fox you were yesterday. Take what you have learned, and move on.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dialogue on regret and futility transforms into a lesson that nothing is wasted; growth comes from learning, moving beyond past selves, and embracing change. **In simple terms:** Regret yields wisdom; nothing is truly wasted. Key Takeaway Learning from past actions propels forward motion. Themes regret growth wisdom change self‑reflection Mood hopeful contemplative Type dialogue philosophical quote When to use this quote - post‑career reflection - recovering from a failed project - midlife reassessment Key Concepts life philosophy personal development Practical Applications - coaching sessions - motivational writing Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be 'the fox of dreams'? - How can we honor past efforts while moving forward? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Foxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foxes/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing is done entirely for nothing. Nothing is wasted. You are older, and you have made decisions, and you are not the fox you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/nothing-is-done-entirely-for-nothing-nothing-is-wasted-you-are-older/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“No time spent on hopes and dreams is ever wasted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ackley-mcphail/no-time-spent-on-hopes-and-dreams-is-ever-wasted/) [Danielle Ackley-McPhail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ackley-mcphail/) > [I never considered my dreams wasted energy; they were invariably linked to some form of action. When I dreamed about having a lemonade stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kroc/i-never-considered-my-dreams-wasted-energy-they-were-invariably/) [Ray Kroc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kroc/) > [Truly life is wasted on the living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/truly-life-is-wasted-on-the-living/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ I certainly don't feel like I have a monopoly on \[opinions\] because I have the job at FOX - any one of a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/i-certainly-don-t-feel-like-i-have-a-monopoly-on-opinions-because-i/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [I've built a tree house; because of my architectural training, it's heavily over-designed, with an oriel window sticking out of it and flying foxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-wise/i-ve-built-a-tree-house-because-of-my-architectural-training-it-s/) [Greg Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-wise/) > [“You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-not-at-all-like-my-rose-he-said-as-yet-you-are-nothing-no-one/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Calling Michelle 'Obama Barack's baby mama?' Tell me, is that acceptable? But the Obamas aren't the only targets. Fox's pattern of race-baiting and fear-mongering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/calling-michelle-obama-barack-s-baby-mama-tell-me-is-that-acceptable/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [ The only thing is that ordinarily when I do dance with \[women\] they think I am suddenly going to throw them over a table… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kelly/the-only-thing-is-that-ordinarily-when-i-do-dance-with-women-they/) [Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kelly/) > [Old foxes want no tutors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/old-foxes-want-no-tutors/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [New Rule: There is no devil, so stop blaming your screw-ups on him. Last week, one of the biggest evangelical leaders in America, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-there-is-no-devil-so-stop-blaming-your-screw-ups-on-him-last/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute. Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-reasoning-animal-such-is-the-claim-i-think-it-is-open-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [People realized that they could come on Fox News Sunday, and they would be well and fairly treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-hume/people-realized-that-they-could-come-on-fox-news-sunday-and-they/) [Brit Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-hume/) > [I did not support Operation Desert Fox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-did-not-support-operation-desert-fox/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. 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Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Decision quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. 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And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“it is either you happen to life or life happens to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesan-kareem/it-is-either-you-happen-to-life-or-life-happens-to-you/) [Sesan Kareem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sesan-kareem/) > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I am encouraged President Obama now says he will fulfill his constitutional obligation to seek authorization for any potential military action in Syria. 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