--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The bold may not live long, but the timid…" description: "\"The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg" --- # The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all. ![“The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg) > “The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all.” [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. Boldness brings change, while excessive leads to stagnation and missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Boldness creates change; timidity leads to stagnation. Key Takeaway Embrace risk to avoid a stagnant life. Themes courage risk growth Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career moves - entrepreneurship - creative projects - personal relationships Key Concepts existentialism personal development Questions to Reflect On - What risks have you avoided that could lead to growth? - How can you balance boldness with prudence? A Different Perspective Boldness can also cause reckless decisions and harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Good. The bold live more freely, even if with less time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-d-arand/good-the-bold-live-more-freely-even-if-with-less-time/) William D. Arand > [Be BOLD. Be YOU. Be STRONG. BELIEVE in YOURSELF. Be UNIQUE. Be BEAUTIFUL. Don't stand for any less because as an individual, you deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine/be-bold-be-you-be-strong-believe-in-yourself-be-unique-be-beautiful/) [Josephine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine/) > [Whatever we're engage in in life, be bold! That's one way of getting through life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mamerto/whatever-we-re-engage-in-in-life-be-bold-that-s-one-way-of-getting/) [Edwin Mamerto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-mamerto/) > [“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/often-in-the-real-world-it-s-not-the-smart-who-get-ahead-but-the-bold/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/you-can-do-right-or-you-can-do-what-you-are-told-and-the-prize-of-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [We need more bold fighters like Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/we-need-more-bold-fighters-like-donald-trump/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [Well, I am bold and very opinionated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/well-i-am-bold-and-very-opinionated/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [“Be calm; yet assertive. Be meek; yet courageous. Be gentle; yet bold. Be kind; yet strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman-2/be-calm-yet-assertive-be-meek-yet-courageous-be-gentle-yet-bold-be/) [Charles F Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman-2/) > [Be bold in your caring, and be bold in your dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/be-bold-in-your-caring-and-be-bold-in-your-dreaming/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/be-bold-enough-to-find-the-one-thing-that-you-are-passionate-about-it/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [“Bear in mind that humility is not timidity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/bear-in-mind-that-humility-is-not-timidity/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Only the timid n the weak leave things to destiny but the strong and the self-confident never bank on destiny or luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-the-timid-n-the-weak-leave-things-to-destiny-but-the-strong-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I met you, you were timid and frightened of everything and everyone. You made the proverbial church mouse look like a happy hooker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-met-you-you-were-timid-and-frightened-of-everything-and-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The timid and fearful cannot defend liberty -- or anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/the-timid-and-fearful-cannot-defend-liberty-or-anything-else/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [You can't really win as a Booker judge. If you choose the obvious names, the unit-shifters, you're accused of being timid and unimaginative; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibor-fischer/you-can-t-really-win-as-a-booker-judge-if-you-choose-the-obvious/) [Tibor Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibor-fischer/) ## 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 Bold quotes > [Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/be-bold-enough-to-find-the-one-thing-that-you-are-passionate-about-it/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [True Religion has always been about being bold and staying real, and I felt dat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sexyy-red/true-religion-has-always-been-about-being-bold-and-staying-real-and-i/) [Sexyy Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sexyy-red/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [I don't know where this glamorous image and all came from. I don't find myself glamorous or bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riya-sen/i-don-t-know-where-this-glamorous-image-and-all-came-from-i-don-t/) [Riya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riya-sen/) > [House Republican women are trailblazers in their own right, and we are focused on a bold, forward-looking agenda to restore a confident America, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/house-republican-women-are-trailblazers-in-their-own-right-and-we-are/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [Be bold in your caring, and be bold in your dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/be-bold-in-your-caring-and-be-bold-in-your-dreaming/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [I was brought up in a Christian home in Australia with a father who was very bold about his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/i-was-brought-up-in-a-christian-home-in-australia-with-a-father-who/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) > [“Be calm; yet assertive. Be meek; yet courageous. Be gentle; yet bold. Be kind; yet strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman-2/be-calm-yet-assertive-be-meek-yet-courageous-be-gentle-yet-bold-be/) [Charles F Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman-2/) > [“In your darkest times, never be afraid. The Lord's presence is always with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-your-darkest-times-never-be-afraid-the-lord-s-presence-is-always/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Well, I am bold and very opinionated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/well-i-am-bold-and-very-opinionated/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [We need more bold fighters like Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/we-need-more-bold-fighters-like-donald-trump/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/you-can-do-right-or-you-can-do-what-you-are-told-and-the-prize-of-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/often-in-the-real-world-it-s-not-the-smart-who-get-ahead-but-the-bold/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [We need bold leadership to bring America back to its first principles of diversity inclusion and opportunity for everyone in every ZIP Code, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/we-need-bold-leadership-to-bring-america-back-to-its-first-principles/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) Browse all 680 Bold quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid-never-live-at-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid-never-live-at-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-louis-stevenson-289_bold_the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid_279667.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The bold may not live long, but the timid never live at all.” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "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": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The bold may not live long,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid-never-live-at-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-bold-may-not-live-long-but-the-timid-never-live-at-all/#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 } } ] } ```