--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything is valuable under the right…" description: "\"Everything is valuable under the right conditions. To a man dying of thirst, water be more precious than gold. To a drowning man, water be of little wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/terry-goodkind-924_drowning_everything-is-valuable-under-the-right-c_3097335.jpg" --- # Everything is valuable under the right conditions. To a… ![“Everything is valuable under the right conditions. To a man dying of thirst, water be more precious than gold. To a drowning man, water be of little worth and great trouble.” quote by Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/terry-goodkind-924_drowning_everything-is-valuable-under-the-right-c_3097335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/terry-goodkind-924_drowning_everything-is-valuable-under-the-right-c_3097335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bb/terry-goodkind-924_drowning_everything-is-valuable-under-the-right-c_3097335.jpg) > “Everything is valuable under the right conditions. To a man dying of thirst, water be more precious than gold. To a drowning man, water be of little worth and great trouble.” [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Value depends on context; what is precious for one may be useless for another. **In simple terms:** Value is relative to need. Key Takeaway Assess context before assigning worth. Themes relativity need value perception survival Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - resource management - emergency response - marketing - personal priorities Key Concepts contextual value subjectivity resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - When have you misjudged something’s worth? - How can you better gauge value in different situations? A Different Perspective Assuming universal value can lead to misallocation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Drowning Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning-man-255415/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Dying Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-thirst-296432/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-drowning-5352032/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Water Precious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-precious-2907543/) ## Related quotes > [We must treat water as if it were the most precious thing in the world, the most valuable natural resource. Be economical with water!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/we-must-treat-water-as-if-it-were-the-most-precious-thing-in-the/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [Water is more precious than oil. Both are more precious than music. Music won't heat a house or help a plant to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-townshend/water-is-more-precious-than-oil-both-are-more-precious-than-music/) [Pete Townshend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-townshend/) > [Monsieur' to a convict is a glass of water to a man dying of thirst at sea; ignominy thirsts for respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/monsieur-to-a-convict-is-a-glass-of-water-to-a-man-dying-of-thirst-at/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion. "I am dying of thirst," said Jill. "Then drink," said the Lion. "May I — could I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/are-you-not-thirsty-said-the-lion-i-am-dying-of-thirst-said-jill-then/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [You forget what it was like. You'd swear on your life you never will, but year by year it falls away. How your temperature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/you-forget-what-it-was-like-you-d-swear-on-your-life-you-never-will/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [And if I get a shy smile, then I must give back a big bright smile. 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I could have given him a key, offered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/sometimes-i-d-see-my-father-walking-past-my-building-on-his-way-to/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [“Never put your have out to a drowning man. I saw that on an HV special once. If you do, they grab onto you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-kauffman/never-put-your-have-out-to-a-drowning-man-i-saw-that-on-an-hv-special/) [May Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-kauffman/) > [I never had a lot of drive, but because I had family responsibilities, I had a lot of tenacity - the tenacity of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-never-had-a-lot-of-drive-but-because-i-had-family-responsibilities/) [Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/) > [It's only water," she said. "Tell that to a drowning man," Giddon said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/it-s-only-water-she-said-tell-that-to-a-drowning-man-giddon-said/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [He kissed me desperately, like a drowning man and I was his oxygen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/he-kissed-me-desperately-like-a-drowning-man-and-i-was-his-oxygen/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [“There is a major difference between a scuba diver and a drowning man. One is in control of his experiences, the other is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laren-grey-umphlett/there-is-a-major-difference-between-a-scuba-diver-and-a-drowning-man/) [Laren Grey Umphlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laren-grey-umphlett/) > [“Shame isn't a quiet grey cloud, shame is a drowning man who claws his way on top of you, scratching and tearing your skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-eagar/shame-isn-t-a-quiet-grey-cloud-shame-is-a-drowning-man-who-claws-his/) [Kirsty Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-eagar/) ## More by Terry Goodkind > [Sometimes, it is necessary to step beyond what you have known and to reach for something more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/sometimes-it-is-necessary-to-step-beyond-what-you-have-known-and-to/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“It should hurt, shouldn’t it? Shouldn’t it hurt to be ripped in half? But it didn’t. It didn’t hurt the least little bit. Cold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/it-should-hurt-shouldn-t-it-shouldn-t-it-hurt-to-be-ripped-in-half/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Dancing with death meant being committed to killing, committed with your heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/dancing-with-death-meant-being-committed-to-killing-committed-with/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“Sometimes it's more important to seize the chance and do what you can even knowing that it won't likely account for everything, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/sometimes-it-s-more-important-to-seize-the-chance-and-do-what-you-can/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“While it was understandable to be afraid, and no one would expect you not to be, the worst thing you could do was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/while-it-was-understandable-to-be-afraid-and-no-one-would-expect-you/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“Leadership is a nurturing of those under your command.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/leadership-is-a-nurturing-of-those-under-your-command/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“To question me once is a simple mistake, Lieutenant. Twice is treason. We execute traitors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/to-question-me-once-is-a-simple-mistake-lieutenant-twice-is-treason/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Fate does not seek our consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/fate-does-not-seek-our-consent/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Wizard's Third Rule Passion rules reason, For better or for worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/wizard-s-third-rule-passion-rules-reason-for-better-or-for-worse/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“Nicci looked up at Kahlan. “Knives are not my talent.” “It’s not hard,” Kahlan said as she pressed the handle into Nicci’s hand. “When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/nicci-looked-up-at-kahlan-knives-are-not-my-talent-it-s-not-hard/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“This was why he couldn’t let Richard know it was the chimes themselves that were loose. Richard would not have accepted what Zedd intended,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/this-was-why-he-couldn-t-let-richard-know-it-was-the-chimes/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“price. There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/price-there-is-no-such-thing-as-pure-good-or-pure-evil-least-of-all/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [The first step to believing something is true is wanting to believe it is true... or being afraid it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/the-first-step-to-believing-something-is-true-is-wanting-to-believe/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [...you'll find that being a friend is to like a person for who they are, even the parts you don't understand. You don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/you-ll-find-that-being-a-friend-is-to-like-a-person-for-who-they-are/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) [Explore all 323 Terry Goodkind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) ## More Drowning quotes > [Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/our-world-is-drowning-in-a-sea-of-self-centeredness-you-can-make/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Here is the boy, drowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/here-is-the-boy-drowning/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [You cannot sink someone else's end of the boat and still keep your own afloat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bower/you-cannot-sink-someone-else-s-end-of-the-boat-and-still-keep-your/) [Charles Bower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bower/) > [You can swim in life and seawater, but both are hard to swallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/you-can-swim-in-life-and-seawater-but-both-are-hard-to-swallow/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [Why all these signs around us that make me doubt language and submerge me in meanings, drowning reality instead of extracting it from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/why-all-these-signs-around-us-that-make-me-doubt-language-and/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [There are many ways to drown, only the most obvious wave their arms as they're going under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/there-are-many-ways-to-drown-only-the-most-obvious-wave-their-arms-as/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [I know that look, Blake. 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Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“Shame isn't a quiet grey cloud, shame is a drowning man who claws his way on top of you, scratching and tearing your skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-eagar/shame-isn-t-a-quiet-grey-cloud-shame-is-a-drowning-man-who-claws-his/) [Kirsty Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-eagar/) > [You are not drowned when u fall into the water but u are when you stay in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalmgreat/you-are-not-drowned-when-u-fall-into-the-water-but-u-are-when-you/) [Psalmgreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalmgreat/) > [“Sure, I wouldn’t be in range to do more than dial 911 if she slipped and hit her head and fell into the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-monroe/sure-i-wouldn-t-be-in-range-to-do-more-than-dial-911-if-she-slipped/) [Max Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-monroe/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. 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