--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People don't understand the virtue of…" description: "\"People don't understand the virtue of time, until their clock stops ticking.\" — Steve Goodman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg" --- # People don't understand the virtue of time, until their… ![“People don't understand the virtue of time, until their clock stops ticking.” quote by Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg) > “People don't understand the virtue of time, until their clock stops ticking.” [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time’s value is invisible until it ceases, revealing regrets and missed chances. **In simple terms:** We only realize time’s worth when it ends. Key Takeaway Cherish each moment now. Themes time mortality regret Mood thoughtful urgent Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - health decisions - relationships - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What would you change if you knew your time was limited? - How can you honor time daily? A Different Perspective People may ignore time’s flow despite awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Clock Stops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock-stops-998599/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-don/) [Ticking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ticking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-time-2716278/) ## Related quotes > [The clock never stops, never stops, never waits. We're growing old. It's getting late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/the-clock-never-stops-never-stops-never-waits-we-re-growing-old-it-s/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [“For most of the day and night, time oppresses me. It is only when I am at work on the innards of a clock-or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/for-most-of-the-day-and-night-time-oppresses-me-it-is-only-when-i-am/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I've got to make some decisions just like any other player that has ever played this game, that eventually the clock stops, their basketball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-mourning/i-ve-got-to-make-some-decisions-just-like-any-other-player-that-has/) [Alonzo Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-mourning/) > [Only when the clock stops does time come to life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/only-when-the-clock-stops-does-time-come-to-life/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [There are some who write, talk, and think, so much about vice and virtue, that they have no time to practice either the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/there-are-some-who-write-talk-and-think-so-much-about-vice-and-virtue/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Patience is a virtue but time is gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-monterde/patience-is-a-virtue-but-time-is-gold/) [Dexter Monterde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-monterde/) > [He that is good will infallibly become better, and he that is bad will as certainly become worse; for vice, virtue, and time are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/he-that-is-good-will-infallibly-become-better-and-he-that-is-bad-will/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [They say patience is a virtue but time doesn't wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-patience-is-a-virtue-but-time-doesn-t-wait/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Patience is a virtue, but time is a commodity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/patience-is-a-virtue-but-time-is-a-commodity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is your life and the clock is ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/this-is-your-life-and-the-clock-is-ticking/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/you-have-to-cherish-things-in-a-different-way-when-you-know-the-clock/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-suppose-it-s-like-the-ticking-crocodile-isn-t-it-time-is-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You get 15 minutes of fame, I hear, and I've had 14 minutes. The clock's ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/you-get-15-minutes-of-fame-i-hear-and-i-ve-had-14-minutes-the-clock-s/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [“I'm not sure why, but when a person expects something to last forever, they don't notice the little things. It's only when the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-wiersbitzky/i-m-not-sure-why-but-when-a-person-expects-something-to-last-forever/) [Shannon Wiersbitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-wiersbitzky/) > [If 1 had 1 life to live why would he wait to the last second to live it !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/militon-munney/if-1-had-1-life-to-live-why-would-he-wait-to-the-last-second-to-live/) [Militon Munney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/militon-munney/) ## More by Steve Goodman > [The Mandolin is the bottom four strings of the guitar, backwards...so a person with dyslexia has no problem learning to play the Mandolin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/the-mandolin-is-the-bottom-four-strings-of-the-guitar-backwards-so-a/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [If the Cubs were to win (The World Series) it would be a coronary event for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/if-the-cubs-were-to-win-the-world-series-it-would-be-a-coronary-event/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [You better get it while you can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/you-better-get-it-while-you-can/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [Bought the Vegematic and Pocket Fisherman, too, illuminated illustrated history of Life, and Boxcar Willie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/bought-the-vegematic-and-pocket-fisherman-too-illuminated-illustrated/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [You know the law of averages says: Anything will happen that can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/you-know-the-law-of-averages-says-anything-will-happen-that-can/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [But the last time the Cubs won a National League pennant Was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/but-the-last-time-the-cubs-won-a-national-league-pennant-was-the-year/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) > [There they were sitting at the bar, these two Luscious babes, and they were Siamese twins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/there-they-were-sitting-at-the-bar-these-two-luscious-babes-and-they/) [Steve Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) [Explore all 8 Steve Goodman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) [Levi Keely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-keely/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People don't understand the virtue of time, until their clock stops ticking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Goodman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-time-until-their-clock-stops/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-time-until-their-clock-stops/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f28/steve-goodman-47682_clock_people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-ti_2230725.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People don't understand the virtue of time, until their clock stops ticking.” — Steve Goodman", "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": "Steve Goodman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People don't understand the virtue of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-time-until-their-clock-stops/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodman/people-don-t-understand-the-virtue-of-time-until-their-clock-stops/#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 } } ] } ```