--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is like a ship which never anchors…" description: "\"Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on board, I had better do those things that may profit me at my landing, than practice such as shal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg" --- # Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on… ![“Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on board, I had better do those things that may profit me at my landing, than practice such as shall cause my commitment when I come ashore.” quote by Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg) > “Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on board, I had better do those things that may profit me at my landing, than practice such as shall cause my commitment when I come ashore.” [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) ## 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 urges using time wisely, focusing on actions that benefit future outcomes rather than commitments that bind you later. **In simple terms:** Use time for future profit, not future obligations. Key Takeaway Prioritize lasting value over temporary constraints. Themes time management future planning priorities Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - financial planning - personal growth - travel - project management Key Concepts Opportunity cost long‑term thinking Questions to Reflect On - What actions now will benefit your future self? - How do you balance present enjoyment with future gain? A Different Perspective Neglecting present relationships can cause regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anchors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anchors/) [Board Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/board-better-4972948/) [Boards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boards/) [Cause Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-commitment-4972949/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Commitment Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment-come-2283048/) [Landing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landing/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Practice Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice-shall-4972950/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There were times in my career where I could have easily been traded, easily been given up on, and I think me making strides,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-conley-jr-2/there-were-times-in-my-career-where-i-could-have-easily-been-traded/) [Mike Conley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-conley-jr-2/) > [When you dive into being an entrepreneur, you are making a commitment to yourself and to others who come to work with you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-ghosn/when-you-dive-into-being-an-entrepreneur-you-are-making-a-commitment/) [Caroline Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-ghosn/) > [Ultimate hope constitutes the anchor of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/ultimate-hope-constitutes-the-anchor-of-the-soul/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [I get an adrenaline rush from "playing with the big boys." I consider myself a tomboy and was an athlete in high school, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-alexander/i-get-an-adrenaline-rush-from-playing-with-the-big-boys-i-consider/) [Megan Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-alexander/) > [I'm single, footloose and fancy free, I have no responsibilities, no anchors. Work, friendship and self-improvement, that's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-edgerton/i-m-single-footloose-and-fancy-free-i-have-no-responsibilities-no/) [Joel Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-edgerton/) > [Cast all your cares on God; that anchor holds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/cast-all-your-cares-on-god-that-anchor-holds/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/) [Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Women and God are the two rocks on which a man must either anchor or be wrecked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/women-and-god-are-the-two-rocks-on-which-a-man-must-either-anchor-or/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-s-all-still-about-having-a-good-story-you-have-to-have-a-good/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I was born imagining myself with an apron on, with pies cooling on the window sill and babies crying upstairs. I thought that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-was-born-imagining-myself-with-an-apron-on-with-pies-cooling-on-the/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [The past is an anchor with suffering written on the rope. I don't live there now. I am cutting myself free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/the-past-is-an-anchor-with-suffering-written-on-the-rope-i-don-t-live/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [My mom taught me the power of love. I learned to focus on the long-term big picture from my father. His sense of humor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/my-mom-taught-me-the-power-of-love-i-learned-to-focus-on-the-long/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) > [Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends. If I knew, I might toss out my anchor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/where-it-all-ends-i-can-t-fathom-my-friends-if-i-knew-i-might-toss/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) ## More by Owen Feltham > [The boundary of man is moderation. When once we pass that pale our guardian angel quits his charge of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/the-boundary-of-man-is-moderation-when-once-we-pass-that-pale-our/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Of all trees, I observe God hath chosen the vine, a low plant that creeps upon the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/of-all-trees-i-observe-god-hath-chosen-the-vine-a-low-plant-that/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [To go to law is for two persons to kindle a fire, at their own cost, to warm others and singe themselves to cinders;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/to-go-to-law-is-for-two-persons-to-kindle-a-fire-at-their-own-cost-to/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Virtue is the truest liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/virtue-is-the-truest-liberty/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Fear, if it be not immoderate, puts a guard about us that does watch and defend us; but credulity keeps us naked, and lays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/fear-if-it-be-not-immoderate-puts-a-guard-about-us-that-does-watch/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Where there is plenty, charity is a duty, not a courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/where-there-is-plenty-charity-is-a-duty-not-a-courtesy/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Meditation is the soul's perspective glass, whereby, in her long remove, she discerneth God, as if He were nearer at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/meditation-is-the-soul-s-perspective-glass-whereby-in-her-long-remove/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Truth and fidelity are the pillars of the temple of the world; when these are broken, the fabric falls, and crushes all to pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/truth-and-fidelity-are-the-pillars-of-the-temple-of-the-world-when/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [There is no one subsists by himself alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/there-is-no-one-subsists-by-himself-alone/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Promises may get friends, but it is performance that must nurse and keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/promises-may-get-friends-but-it-is-performance-that-must-nurse-and/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [It is rare to see a rich man religious; for religion preaches restraint, and riches prompt to unlicensed freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/it-is-rare-to-see-a-rich-man-religious-for-religion-preaches/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Pleasures can undo a man at any time, if yielded to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/pleasures-can-undo-a-man-at-any-time-if-yielded-to/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Human life has not a surer friend, nor oftentimes a greater enemy, than hope. It is the miserable man's god, which in the hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/human-life-has-not-a-surer-friend-nor-oftentimes-a-greater-enemy-than/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Negligence is the rust of the soul that corrodes through all her best resolves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/negligence-is-the-rust-of-the-soul-that-corrodes-through-all-her-best/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [To be gentle is the test of a lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/to-be-gentle-is-the-test-of-a-lady/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) [Explore all 73 Owen Feltham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) ## More Anchors quotes > [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends. If I knew, I might toss out my anchor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/where-it-all-ends-i-can-t-fathom-my-friends-if-i-knew-i-might-toss/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [My mom taught me the power of love. I learned to focus on the long-term big picture from my father. His sense of humor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/my-mom-taught-me-the-power-of-love-i-learned-to-focus-on-the-long/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) > [The past is an anchor with suffering written on the rope. I don't live there now. I am cutting myself free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/the-past-is-an-anchor-with-suffering-written-on-the-rope-i-don-t-live/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [I was born imagining myself with an apron on, with pies cooling on the window sill and babies crying upstairs. I thought that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-was-born-imagining-myself-with-an-apron-on-with-pies-cooling-on-the/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-s-all-still-about-having-a-good-story-you-have-to-have-a-good/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Women and God are the two rocks on which a man must either anchor or be wrecked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/women-and-god-are-the-two-rocks-on-which-a-man-must-either-anchor-or/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/) [Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/) > [Cast all your cares on God; that anchor holds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/cast-all-your-cares-on-god-that-anchor-holds/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I'm single, footloose and fancy free, I have no responsibilities, no anchors. Work, friendship and self-improvement, that's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-edgerton/i-m-single-footloose-and-fancy-free-i-have-no-responsibilities-no/) [Joel Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-edgerton/) > [I get an adrenaline rush from "playing with the big boys." I consider myself a tomboy and was an athlete in high school, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-alexander/i-get-an-adrenaline-rush-from-playing-with-the-big-boys-i-consider/) [Megan Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-alexander/) > [Ultimate hope constitutes the anchor of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/ultimate-hope-constitutes-the-anchor-of-the-soul/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Experience had quickly taught her that she could not survive the storms without the anchor of the constraining love of Christ and what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/experience-had-quickly-taught-her-that-she-could-not-survive-the/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Kids are anchors of mothers' life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/kids-are-anchors-of-mothers-life/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) [Browse all 358 Anchors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anchors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on board, I had better do those things that may profit me at my landing, than practice such as shall cause my commitment when I come ashore.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Owen Feltham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors-while-i-am-on-board-i-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anchors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors-while-i-am-on-board-i-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/owen-feltham-9361_anchors_time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors_1411061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time is like a ship which never anchors; while I am on board, I had better do those things that may profit…” — Owen Feltham", "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": "Owen Feltham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Time is like a ship which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors-while-i-am-on-board-i-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/time-is-like-a-ship-which-never-anchors-while-i-am-on-board-i-had/#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 } } ] } ```