--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you look death in the eye and death…" description: "\"When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.\" — Rick Yancey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg" --- # When you look death in the eye and death blinks first… ![“When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.” quote by Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg) > “When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.” [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing death directly can dissolve fear, making the impossible possible. **In simple terms:** Facing fear makes you powerful. Key Takeaway Confront fear head‑on. Themes courage fear mortality Mood intense empowering Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - dangerous sports - life‑threatening decisions - personal crises Key Concepts existentialism psychology heroic narrative Questions to Reflect On - What fear could you face now? - How does confronting mortality change your goals? A Different Perspective Not everyone can confront death safely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [“We should always be prepared for attacks by the enemy and be capable of looking into the eye of death so that death may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-should-always-be-prepared-for-attacks-by-the-enemy-and-be-capable/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The truth only be glimpsed through the eye of the death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-truth-only-be-glimpsed-through-the-eye-of-the-death/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/one-eye-on-death-and-one-full-fix-d-on-heaven/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Funerals often make us want sex-it's one in the eye for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/funerals-often-make-us-want-sex-it-s-one-in-the-eye-for-death/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [“The one who kills runs the risk of destroying the entire world just building up the courage to meet death eye-to-eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blassreiter-season-2-episode-7/the-one-who-kills-runs-the-risk-of-destroying-the-entire-world-just/) Blassreiter Season 2 Episode 7 > [I looked death in the eye - and it was a terrible experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/i-looked-death-in-the-eye-and-it-was-a-terrible-experience/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [When I got out of the hospital, it was one of those classic things - you're looking death in the eye, and it changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hunter/when-i-got-out-of-the-hospital-it-was-one-of-those-classic-things-you/) [Robert Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hunter/) > [Being a celebrity doesn't have an iota of value when you're looking death in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/being-a-celebrity-doesn-t-have-an-iota-of-value-when-you-re-looking/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [I've looked that old scoundrel death in the eye many times but this time I think he has me on the ropes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-ve-looked-that-old-scoundrel-death-in-the-eye-many-times-but-this/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" At the hole where he went in Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin. Hear what little Red-Eye saith: "Nag, come up and dance with death!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/rikki-tikki-tavi-at-the-hole-where-he-went-in-red-eye-called-to/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [He who pretends to look on death without fear lies. All men are afraid of dying, this is the great law of sentient beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/he-who-pretends-to-look-on-death-without-fear-lies-all-men-are-afraid/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Far happier are the dead methinks than they who look for death and fear it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/far-happier-are-the-dead-methinks-than-they-who-look-for-death-and/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [He who pretends to look upon death without fear, lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/he-who-pretends-to-look-upon-death-without-fear-lies/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Look out, Death: I am coming.-Art thou not glad? what talks we'll have.-What memories of old battles.-Come, bring the bowl, Death; I am thirsty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-lanier/look-out-death-i-am-coming-art-thou-not-glad-what-talks-we-ll-have/) [Sidney Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-lanier/) > [Life is impermanent and in the face of that impermanence, cavort! Look death in the eye, tell him you’re as cute as a button,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-milford/life-is-impermanent-and-in-the-face-of-that-impermanence-cavort-look/) [Nancy Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-milford/) ## More by Rick Yancey > [“Don't you get it yet? The minute we decide that one person doesn't matter anymore, they've won."..."Beneath a sky crowded with a billion stars.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/don-t-you-get-it-yet-the-minute-we-decide-that-one-person-doesn-t/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [The way we learn to write is the way we learn to talk: We listen to others and start mimicking speech, and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/the-way-we-learn-to-write-is-the-way-we-learn-to-talk-we-listen-to/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [There are things that are too terrible to remember, and there are things that are almost too wonderful to recall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/there-are-things-that-are-too-terrible-to-remember-and-there-are/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“I can’t leave him. I made a promise.” I start to explain it, but I don’t even know how to begin. How do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-can-t-leave-him-i-made-a-promise-i-start-to-explain-it-but-i-don-t/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“That's my big problem. That's it! Before the Arrival,guys like Evan Walker never looked twice at me, much less shot wild game for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/that-s-my-big-problem-that-s-it-before-the-arrival-guys-like-evan/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I'm one, too," he said. "What?" He spit a wad of blood and mucus into the dirt. "A virgin." What a shock. "What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-m-one-too-he-said-what-he-spit-a-wad-of-blood-and-mucus-into-the/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Good God, man, what is that smell?" He eyed with disgust the doctor's filthy cloak. "Life," answered the doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/good-god-man-what-is-that-smell-he-eyed-with-disgust-the-doctor-s/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“He drops into the room, landing on the balls of his feet like a cat. I'm in his arms in the time it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/he-drops-into-the-room-landing-on-the-balls-of-his-feet-like-a-cat-i/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“All things do happen for a reason... . Is this not the foundation of our faith? You are here-all of us-because we are but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/all-things-do-happen-for-a-reason-is-this-not-the-foundation-of-our/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“Her raised his face to the weeping sky, closed his dark eyes, and sighed deeply, a smile playing on his sensuous lips. "The bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/her-raised-his-face-to-the-weeping-sky-closed-his-dark-eyes-and/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [To hold on, you have to find something you’re willing to die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/to-hold-on-you-have-to-find-something-you-re-willing-to-die-for/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [I brought Sammy inside and put him to bed. Said his prayer with him. “‘Now I lay me down to sleep…’” To me, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-brought-sammy-inside-and-put-him-to-bed-said-his-prayer-with-him/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [A moment comes in war when the last line must be crossed. The line that separates what you hold dear from what total war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/a-moment-comes-in-war-when-the-last-line-must-be-crossed-the-line/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) [Explore all 342 Rick Yancey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## More Blink quotes > [I thought that the world was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-thought-that-the-world-was-a-vast-system-of-signs-a-conversation/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [...nothing wonderful lasted forever. Joy was as fleeting as a shooting star that crossed the evening sky, ready to blink out at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/nothing-wonderful-lasted-forever-joy-was-as-fleeting-as-a-shooting/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“Nothing is ever truly set by fate. In one blink, everything changes. Even though it should be a clear, sunny day, the softest whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/nothing-is-ever-truly-set-by-fate-in-one-blink-everything-changes/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Gauguin flew into a frenzy! He held my head under the X-ray machine for ten straight minutes and for several hours after I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/gauguin-flew-into-a-frenzy-he-held-my-head-under-the-x-ray-machine/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things-in-my-life-when-i-married/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [It's American Alternative radio stations that bug me. We're considered Alternative, but don't expect us to be played next to Blink 182 and Offspring.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/it-s-american-alternative-radio-stations-that-bug-me-we-re-considered/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) > [One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-segel/one-thing-that-i-think-never-goes-out-of-style-is-just-purity/) [Jason Segel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-segel/) > [“The stars blink like a hairnet that was dropped / on a seat and now it is lying in the alley behind / the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/the-stars-blink-like-a-hairnet-that-was-dropped-on-a-seat-and-now-it/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Every cliche about kids is true; they grow up so quickly, you blink and they're gone, and you have to spend the time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/every-cliche-about-kids-is-true-they-grow-up-so-quickly-you-blink-and/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Why women don't blink during foreplay... not enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/why-women-don-t-blink-during-foreplay-not-enough-time/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) Russell Targ > [You know, the smallest thing can change a life. In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - and when you least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-know-the-smallest-thing-can-change-a-life-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Blink and you miss a sprint. The 10,000 meters is lap after lap of waiting. Theatrically, the mile is just the right length: beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/blink-and-you-miss-a-sprint-the-10-000-meters-is-lap-after-lap-of/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [“Every moment—every blink—is composed of a series of discrete moving parts, and every one of those parts offers an opportunity for intervention, for reform,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/every-moment-every-blink-is-composed-of-a-series-of-discrete-moving/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Every time I so much as blink you get an erection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/every-time-i-so-much-as-blink-you-get-an-erection/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) Browse all 396 Blink quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Yancey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death-blinks-first-nothing-seems/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blink" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death-blinks-first-nothing-seems/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/rick-yancey-831_blink_when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death_311219.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you look death in the eye and death blinks first, nothing seems impossible.” — Rick Yancey", "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": "Rick Yancey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you look death in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death-blinks-first-nothing-seems/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/when-you-look-death-in-the-eye-and-death-blinks-first-nothing-seems/#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 } } ] } ```