---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be compromised you need to have a…"
description: "\"“To be compromised you need to have a stake in things, you need to have something to lose and something to gain. You have to be risking yourself, not a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/patrick-mcguinness-51267_compromise_to-be-compromised-you-need-to-have-a-sta_1854643.jpg"
---

#  To be compromised you need to have a stake in things, you…

![“To be compromised you need to have a stake in things, you need to have something to lose and something to gain. You have to be risking yourself, not all the time, but enough of the time to be weighing things up, principle over self-preservation, the gains, the losses.” quote by Patrick McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/patrick-mcguinness-51267_compromise_to-be-compromised-you-need-to-have-a-sta_1854643.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/patrick-mcguinness-51267_compromise_to-be-compromised-you-need-to-have-a-sta_1854643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/patrick-mcguinness-51267_compromise_to-be-compromised-you-need-to-have-a-sta_1854643.jpg)

> ““To be compromised you need to have a stake in things, you need to have something to lose and something to gain. You have to be risking yourself, not all the time, but enough of the time to be weighing things up, principle over self-preservation, the gains, the losses.””

[Patrick McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcguinness/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Balancing personal stakes with risk is essential; one must sometimes sacrifice self‑preservation for higher principles and potential gains.

**In simple terms:** Risk requires personal investment and willingness to lose.

Key Takeaway

Weigh principles against safety.

Themes

risk principle self‑preservation investment balance

Mood

determined reflective

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- career choices
- political activism
- entrepreneurial ventures
- relationships
- ethical dilemmas

Key Concepts

ethical decision‑making cost‑benefit analysis personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What principle would you prioritize over personal safety?
- How do you measure acceptable risk?

A Different Perspective

Too much risk can lead to burnout or loss without sufficient reward.

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[Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

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> [We will compromise and compromise and compromise but we will never be compromised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanis-varoufakis/we-will-compromise-and-compromise-and-compromise-but-we-will-never-be/)

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> [I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders - leaders not compromised by terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/i-call-on-the-palestinian-people-to-elect-new-leaders-leaders-not/)

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> [Apple does magical things, but it does magical things that are a combination of a product, a service, a system, and an experience with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sculley/apple-does-magical-things-but-it-does-magical-things-that-are-a/)

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> [“I could no longer be equated with the Virgin Mary. I had been corrupted. I was like everyone else. My stone-casting credibility had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-simsion/i-could-no-longer-be-equated-with-the-virgin-mary-i-had-been/)

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> [If our governments are so compromised that they will not tell us the truth, then we must step forward to grasp it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-harrison/if-our-governments-are-so-compromised-that-they-will-not-tell-us-the/)

[Sara Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-harrison/)

> [What nature of being are we that even our dreams can be compromised?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-tan/what-nature-of-being-are-we-that-even-our-dreams-can-be-compromised/)

Alex Tan

> [I imagine like most of us that I'd like obscene amounts of money but the people I met and worked with who have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isaacs/i-imagine-like-most-of-us-that-i-d-like-obscene-amounts-of-money-but/)

[Jason Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isaacs/)

> [“A sudden flash of his partner Wyte, telling him he was compromised, him replying, "I don't have an opinion on that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/a-sudden-flash-of-his-partner-wyte-telling-him-he-was-compromised-him/)

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> [“There was an intruder on a forbidden part of the island, and the security system was compromised." Another image of Archer's sword slicing through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/there-was-an-intruder-on-a-forbidden-part-of-the-island-and-the/)

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> [“Even though we don't know which companies the NSA has compromised – or by what means – knowing that they could have compromised any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/even-though-we-don-t-know-which-companies-the-nsa-has-compromised-or/)

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## More by Patrick McGuinness

> [“Kafka’s The Castle came to mind, a book I had not read but that fell into that category of literature that culture reads on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcguinness/kafka-s-the-castle-came-to-mind-a-book-i-had-not-read-but-that-fell/)

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> [“He was a fundamentalist – a pragmatic one perhaps, but a fundamentalist nonetheless, for whom all the failures of the ideal were due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcguinness/he-was-a-fundamentalist-a-pragmatic-one-perhaps-but-a-fundamentalist/)

[Patrick McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcguinness/)

> [“The waiter came over to ask if all is delicious. As we have not yet ordered, it is certainly the perfect time to enquire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcguinness/the-waiter-came-over-to-ask-if-all-is-delicious-as-we-have-not-yet/)

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[Explore all 7 Patrick McGuinness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcguinness/)

## More Compromise quotes

> [Leaders need to compromise, negotiate with members of both parties and ideologies, and reform health care the right way - by developing a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/leaders-need-to-compromise-negotiate-with-members-of-both-parties-and/)

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> [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/)

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> [“And what would you like, Sharie?" asked Miss Mush. "What do you have?" asked Sharie. "Potato salad". "What else is there?" asked Sharie. "Nothing"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/and-what-would-you-like-sharie-asked-miss-mush-what-do-you-have-asked/)

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> [A lasting relationship consists of the 3 C's: Commitment. Communication. Compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/a-lasting-relationship-consists-of-the-3-c-s-commitment-communication/)

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> [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/)

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> [There could be some compromise, but I think we have to stick to the provisions of the treaty, and the provisions of the treaty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-santer/there-could-be-some-compromise-but-i-think-we-have-to-stick-to-the/)

[Jacques Santer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-santer/)

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[Browse all 2,076 Compromise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/)

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