---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing I did when I decided that…"
description: "\"The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to dive into the world of poop was look at who was doing stuff in that world. The first I came ac..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg"
---

#  The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to…

![“The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to dive into the world of poop was look at who was doing stuff in that world. The first I came across was the World Toilet Organization. So one of the first things I did was to go to their annual show in Moscow.” quote by Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg)

> “The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to dive into the world of poop was look at who was doing stuff in that world. The first I came across was the World Toilet Organization. So one of the first things I did was to go to their annual show in Moscow.”

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

## About This Quote

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

Research began by studying existing leaders in sanitation, attending a key conference.

**In simple terms:** Studied leaders, attended conference.

Key Takeaway

Learn from pioneers before acting.

Themes

research sanitation leadership

Mood

curious analytical

Type

educational strategic

When to use this quote

- policy making
- field research
- conference networking
- project planning

Key Concepts

public health innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- What can be learned from existing models?
- How to balance study and implementation?

A Different Perspective

May delay direct action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Across](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/across/) [Annual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annual/) [Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did/) [Dive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dive/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [First thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-thing/) [First things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [I came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-came/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Moscow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moscow/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Poop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poop/) [Poop Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poop-look-1769307/) [Show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/show/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [The first thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-first-thing/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Toilet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilet/) [Toilet Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilet-organization-1769306/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Poop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-poop-1769305/) [World Toilet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-toilet-314588/)

## Related quotes

> [My country is in the toilet. And when my country is in the toilet, the world is in the toilet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/my-country-is-in-the-toilet-and-when-my-country-is-in-the-toilet-the/)

[Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/)

> [The whole purpose of annual reviews is to keep you abreast of whether or not you are fulfilling the requirements of tenure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/the-whole-purpose-of-annual-reviews-is-to-keep-you-abreast-of-whether/)

[Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/)

> [The nation did not begin to realize the extraordinary possibilities of the vast Western territory until its attention was thus suddenly and definitely concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-moody/the-nation-did-not-begin-to-realize-the-extraordinary-possibilities/)

[John Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-moody/)

> [My interest in Women in Film came from attending the Crystal Awards in 1998 where Meryl Streep and producers Gale Anne Hurd and Lucy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lawrence/my-interest-in-women-in-film-came-from-attending-the-crystal-awards/)

[Sharon Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lawrence/)

> [Lawmakers have good reason to want a healthy broadcast industry. Broadcast TV stations provide more than 186,000 jobs on an annual basis, which directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-smith/lawmakers-have-good-reason-to-want-a-healthy-broadcast-industry/)

[Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-smith/)

> [The West begins where the average annual rainfall drops below twenty inches. Water is important to people who do not have it, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-west-begins-where-the-average-annual-rainfall-drops-below-twenty/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Many people think that buying a fake product is harmless, but counterfeiting is estimated to result in annual losses of over $20 billion dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/many-people-think-that-buying-a-fake-product-is-harmless-but/)

[Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/)

> [I am extremely devoted to Amazon Prime - which offers speedier free deliveries, free movie streaming and other benefits for an annual fee -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/i-am-extremely-devoted-to-amazon-prime-which-offers-speedier-free/)

[Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/)

> [I am for making of terms annual, and for sending an entire new set every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/i-am-for-making-of-terms-annual-and-for-sending-an-entire-new-set/)

[John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/)

> [All cultures are different. Some commit genocide. Some are uniquely peaceful. Some frequent bathhouses in groups. Some don't show each other the soles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/all-cultures-are-different-some-commit-genocide-some-are-uniquely/)

[Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/)

> [Even as global warming increases the frequency of El Nino and the Atlantic event, their effects are being amplified by the annual loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/even-as-global-warming-increases-the-frequency-of-el-nino-and-the/)

[Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/)

> [Serious drama in a significant degree began at Harvard in the 1880s. In 1881, the Cercle Francais initiated the annual French play, and shortly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-lukas/serious-drama-in-a-significant-degree-began-at-harvard-in-the-1880s/)

[J. Anthony Lukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-lukas/)

> [Cape Cod baseball dates back to the time of the Civil War. A poster at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown touts a round-trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-leavy/cape-cod-baseball-dates-back-to-the-time-of-the-civil-war-a-poster-at/)

[Jane Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-leavy/)

> [We've been paying for 100 percent of preventive care. But if you're not getting annual physicals, then you're not going to gain a financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-burd/we-ve-been-paying-for-100-percent-of-preventive-care-but-if-you-re/)

[Steven Burd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-burd/)

> [You do something annual every year, don't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-noory/you-do-something-annual-every-year-don-t-you/)

[George Noory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-noory/)

## More by Rose George

> [I went down to the sewers in London and looked at a campaigning group in London called RATS, Rowers Against Thames Sewage, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/i-went-down-to-the-sewers-in-london-and-looked-at-a-campaigning-group/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), which controls the living environment on shuttles and on the International Space Station, doesn't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-environmental-control-and-life-support-system-eclss-which/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Diarrhoea is the reason you can have a malnourished child in a well-fed family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/diarrhoea-is-the-reason-you-can-have-a-malnourished-child-in-a-well/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [“Mr. Wang had found my interest in fen, the Mandarin word for excrement, peculiar. Nonetheless, he tried to be helpful. He would point out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/mr-wang-had-found-my-interest-in-fen-the-mandarin-word-for-excrement/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Sending a container from Shanghai to Le Havre emits fewer greenhouse gases than the truck that takes the container on to Lyon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/sending-a-container-from-shanghai-to-le-havre-emits-fewer-greenhouse/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Seafaring can be lucrative - the elite, such as gas-tanker captains, can earn $100,000 for six months' work - but the isolation is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/seafaring-can-be-lucrative-the-elite-such-as-gas-tanker-captains-can/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Before containers, transport costs ate up 25 percent of the value of whatever was being shipped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/before-containers-transport-costs-ate-up-25-percent-of-the-value-of/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [A humpback can transmit a sound across a whole ocean. But a supertanker can also be heard coming across a whole ocean, and because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/a-humpback-can-transmit-a-sound-across-a-whole-ocean-but-a/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [The days of languorous shore leave are long gone. Overnight stays are unheard of and sailor towns a distant memory. In better ports, seafarers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-days-of-languorous-shore-leave-are-long-gone-overnight-stays-are/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Rules governing defecation, hygiene, and pollution exist in every culture at every period in history. It may in fact be the foundation of civilization:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/rules-governing-defecation-hygiene-and-pollution-exist-in-every/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [Light doesn't penetrate beneath the surface of the water, so ocean creatures like whales and dolphins and even 800 species of fish communicate by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/light-doesn-t-penetrate-beneath-the-surface-of-the-water-so-ocean/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [My mother watched her loving husband look at her with blankness or contempt and sometimes hatred. And yet dementia is classed as a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/my-mother-watched-her-loving-husband-look-at-her-with-blankness-or/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [I find Suez astonishing for the first hour. It is a ditch in a desert, but a stunning one. The sensation of being hemmed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/i-find-suez-astonishing-for-the-first-hour-it-is-a-ditch-in-a-desert/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [There are few industries as defiantly opaque as shipping. Even offshore bankers have not developed a system as intricately elusive as the flag of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/there-are-few-industries-as-defiantly-opaque-as-shipping-even/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

> [ I'd grown up thinking that a \[sanitary toilet\] was my right, when in fact it's a privilege - 2.5 billion people worldwide have no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/i-d-grown-up-thinking-that-a-sanitary-toilet-was-my-right-when-in/)

[Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

[Explore all 82 Rose George quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/)

## More Across quotes

> [I realized I couldn't be a journalist because I like to take a side, to have an opinion and a point a view; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-realized-i-couldn-t-be-a-journalist-because-i-like-to-take-a-side/)

[Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/)

> [Many of us believe that we need health care reform. That being said - Americans felt like they weren't being listened to. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-of-us-believe-that-we-need-health-care-reform-that-being-said/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you only go once. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/what-happens-is-this-sort-of-bleed-over-from-the-tabloids-across-your/)

[Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/)

> [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/)

[Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/)

> [Realizing that they can't get their agenda across: against religious liberty, against a culture of life, they can't get those issues across through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/realizing-that-they-can-t-get-their-agenda-across-against-religious/)

[Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/)

> [I think if you look all across the country, the so-called Blue Dogs are all gone to kennel. There are no more Blue Dogs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-if-you-look-all-across-the-country-the-so-called-blue-dogs/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't know how 'X Factor' works. I was only there as a guest judge for a day. But I watched 'The Voice' a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-don-t-know-how-x-factor-works-i-was-only-there-as-a-guest-judge-for/)

[Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/)

> [I'm liking the Bundesliga. There's a lot of top, top defenders that you come across.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reiss-nelson/i-m-liking-the-bundesliga-there-s-a-lot-of-top-top-defenders-that-you/)

[Reiss Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reiss-nelson/)

> [In my district, I have a very clear mandate to work across the aisle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-slotkin/in-my-district-i-have-a-very-clear-mandate-to-work-across-the-aisle/)

[Elissa Slotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-slotkin/)

> [Mahindra's brand strategy is about niches across areas of mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-mahindra/mahindra-s-brand-strategy-is-about-niches-across-areas-of-mobility/)

[Anand Mahindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-mahindra/)

> [When I was in Greenough, Montana, I came across a bear cub. I was off this path, and I thought, If there's a bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/when-i-was-in-greenough-montana-i-came-across-a-bear-cub-i-was-off/)

[Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/)

> [Extreme weather threatens our energy and electric grid, federal buildings, transportation infrastructure, access to natural resources, public health, our relationships across the globe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cartwright/extreme-weather-threatens-our-energy-and-electric-grid-federal/)

[Matt Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cartwright/)

> [We have a workforce crisis across the NHS with around 100,000 vacancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-javid/we-have-a-workforce-crisis-across-the-nhs-with-around-100-000/)

[Sajid Javid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-javid/)

> [It's time for all of us to unite across the state of Washington to build a working Washington. Let's get to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/it-s-time-for-all-of-us-to-unite-across-the-state-of-washington-to/)

[Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/)

[Browse all 722 Across quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/across/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to dive into the world of poop was look at who was doing stuff in that world. The first I came across was the World Toilet Organization. So one of the first things I did was to go to their annual show in Moscow.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rose George"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-that-i-was-going-to-dive-into/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Across"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-that-i-was-going-to-dive-into/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/381/rose-george-8313_across_the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-tha_2580070.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The first thing I did when I decided that I was going to dive into the world of poop was look at who was…” — Rose George",
                "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": "Rose George",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The first thing I did when...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-that-i-was-going-to-dive-into/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-decided-that-i-was-going-to-dive-into/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
