--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not enough just to laugh at good…" description: "\"“It's not enough just to laugh at good fortune and say, 'Enough already.' You have to really mean it -- that you have enough. And because you mean it, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4b/orson-scott-card-134_bad-fortune_it-s-not-enough-just-to-laugh-at-good-fo_2772823.jpg" --- # It's not enough just to laugh at good fortune and say… ![“It's not enough just to laugh at good fortune and say, 'Enough already.' You have to really mean it -- that you have enough. And because you mean it, you take the surplus and you give it away. Similarly, when bad fortune comes, you bear it until it becomes unbearable -- your family is hungry, or…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4b/orson-scott-card-134_bad-fortune_it-s-not-enough-just-to-laugh-at-good-fo_2772823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4b/orson-scott-card-134_bad-fortune_it-s-not-enough-just-to-laugh-at-good-fo_2772823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4b/orson-scott-card-134_bad-fortune_it-s-not-enough-just-to-laugh-at-good-fo_2772823.jpg) > ““It's not enough just to laugh at good fortune and say, 'Enough already.' You have to really mean it -- that you have enough. And because you mean it, you take the surplus and you give it away. Similarly, when bad fortune comes, you bear it until it becomes unbearable -- your family is hungry, or you can no longer function in your work. And then again you say, 'Enough already,' and you change something. You move; you change careers; you let your spouse make all the decisions. Something. You don't endure the unendurable.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True contentment requires acknowledging sufficiency, sharing excess, and confronting hardship until it forces change, rather than merely tolerating it. **In simple terms:** Accept enough, give away surplus, act when hardship becomes intolerable. Key Takeaway Balance gratitude with decisive action. Themes contentment generosity resilience change Mood inspirational pragmatic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career transitions - philanthropy - family decision‑making - personal crises Key Concepts psychology of sufficiency social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - When have you turned surplus into generosity? - What hardship forced you to change? A Different Perspective Risk of complacency if “enough” is misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-fortune/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Fortune Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-comes-460395/) [Fortune Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-say-1253803/) [Good fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fortune/) [Inspirational success failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-success-failure/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [So much of what happened to me is good fortune. 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No matter how long it takes... fortune comes through the merry gate!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiyo-fujiwara/if-you-want-to-be-happy-then-you-ve-gotta-keep-smiling-no-matter-how/) [Kiyo Fujiwara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiyo-fujiwara/) > [“I should have begun to worry then, for as fortune comes to you, so does it slip away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-should-have-begun-to-worry-then-for-as-fortune-comes-to-you-so-does/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [England is a lucky country for me, and fortune comes only with hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleksandr-usyk/england-is-a-lucky-country-for-me-and-fortune-comes-only-with-hard/) [Oleksandr Usyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleksandr-usyk/) > [“When fortune comes, do not enjoy all of it; when advantage comes, do not take all of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/when-fortune-comes-do-not-enjoy-all-of-it-when-advantage-comes-do-not/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [When a fortune comes without calling, it's apt to leave without asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horace-lorimer/when-a-fortune-comes-without-calling-it-s-apt-to-leave-without-asking/) [George Horace Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horace-lorimer/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? 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If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Bad fortune quotes > [“Hurry up!” everyone in the room seemed to shriek at the same time. It didn’t matter to us that all over Pittsburgh, in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-beard/hurry-up-everyone-in-the-room-seemed-to-shriek-at-the-same-time-it/) [Philip Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-beard/) > [All of us have bad luck and good luck. 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He was absolutely the biggest, most complete and utter jackass she'd ever had the bad fortune to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/why-had-she-imagined-he-was-attractive-he-was-absolutely-the-biggest/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I went to New York to train as a chef, and I had the good or bad fortune, depending on how you describe it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/i-went-to-new-york-to-train-as-a-chef-and-i-had-the-good-or-bad/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [“He who has never hoped can never despair. Caesar, in good or bad fortune, looks his fate in the face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/he-who-has-never-hoped-can-never-despair-caesar-in-good-or-bad/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“You can't tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate. 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