--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough to be ready to go where…" description: "\"It is not enough to be ready to go where duty calls. A man should stand around where he can hear the call!\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/robert-louis-stevenson-289_duty_it-is-not-enough-to-be-ready-to-go-where_851765.jpg" --- # It is not enough to be ready to go where duty calls. A man… ![“It is not enough to be ready to go where duty calls. A man should stand around where he can hear the call!” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/robert-louis-stevenson-289_duty_it-is-not-enough-to-be-ready-to-go-where_851765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/robert-louis-stevenson-289_duty_it-is-not-enough-to-be-ready-to-go-where_851765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/robert-louis-stevenson-289_duty_it-is-not-enough-to-be-ready-to-go-where_851765.jpg) > “It is not enough to be ready to go where duty calls. A man should stand around where he can hear the call!” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readiness alone isn’t enough; one must actively listen for duty’s call and respond, not just be prepared. **In simple terms:** Active response to duty matters more than readiness. Key Takeaway Listen and act on duty’s call. Themes duty action readiness Mood motivational directive Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - military service - community volunteering - career decisions - emergency response - personal growth Key Concepts ethical philosophy leadership Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from hearing your duty? - How can you stay alert to calls for action? A Different Perspective Listening can be difficult amid distractions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calls Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls-man-757668/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Calls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-calls-757666/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Man Stand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-stand-397847/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Ready Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready-duty-329084/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stand Hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-hear-757671/) ## Related quotes > [When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-christ-calls-a-man-he-bids-him-come-and-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When duty calls, that is when character counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/when-duty-calls-that-is-when-character-counts/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“When we Shienarans ride, every man knows who is next in line if the man in command falls. A chain unbroken right down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/when-we-shienarans-ride-every-man-knows-who-is-next-in-line-if-the/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Tears ready to do duty at a minute's notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/tears-ready-to-do-duty-at-a-minute-s-notice/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“Rachel Henson stood facing him, immaculate in her uniform and ready for duty as always. She looked as though she had spent her whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james-west/rachel-henson-stood-facing-him-immaculate-in-her-uniform-and-ready/) [Peter James West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james-west/) > [“We’ve got to get rid of the mentality that if there are no holes in you, then you’re ready for duty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/we-ve-got-to-get-rid-of-the-mentality-that-if-there-are-no-holes-in/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I expect that on the 1st of August, the SA will be once more ready for duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-rohm/i-expect-that-on-the-1st-of-august-the-sa-will-be-once-more-ready-for/) [Ernst Rohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-rohm/) > [Can't stand to hear you scream god because he's not fucking here bitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suicide-silence/can-t-stand-to-hear-you-scream-god-because-he-s-not-fucking-here-bitch/) [Suicide Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suicide-silence/) > [I can't stand to hear my own voice. If one of my songs comes on in a café, I'll run out right away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-can-t-stand-to-hear-my-own-voice-if-one-of-my-songs-comes-on-in-a/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [With stand-up, you can hear something work immediately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-redd/with-stand-up-you-can-hear-something-work-immediately/) [Chris Redd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-redd/) > [I can tell you I love you as many times as you can stand to hear it, but all it does is remind us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-andrus/i-can-tell-you-i-love-you-as-many-times-as-you-can-stand-to-hear-it/) [Mark Andrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-andrus/) > [Just gonna stand there and hear me cry. Well that's alright because I love the way you lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/just-gonna-stand-there-and-hear-me-cry-well-that-s-alright-because-i/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [“Why, how refreshing it is to hear a man stand in judgment of a woman. And how original of you, sir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-mcquiston/why-how-refreshing-it-is-to-hear-a-man-stand-in-judgment-of-a-woman/) [Jennifer McQuiston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-mcquiston/) > [A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/a-boy-who-won-t-stand-up-for-himself-becomes-a-man-who-can-t-stand-up/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Man will ever stand in need of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theocritus/man-will-ever-stand-in-need-of-man/) [Theocritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theocritus/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/our-duty-as-christians-is-always-to-keep-heaven-in-our-eye-and-earth/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. 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