--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Existence was really very simple when you…" description: "\"Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.\" — William Goldman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png" --- # Existence was really very simple when you did what you… ![“Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.” quote by William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png) > “Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.” [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights how obedience simplifies life, implying that following instructions removes complexity. **In simple terms:** Following orders makes life easy. Key Takeaway Consider the value of questioning authority. Themes obedience simplicity authority Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - parenting - workplace - education - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you find comfort in being told what to do? - What are the costs of not questioning? A Different Perspective Blind obedience can limit personal development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-really-802178/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Really Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-simple-388629/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-did-1210978/) ## Related quotes > [During a very busy life I have often been asked, "How did you manage to do it all?" The answer is very simple. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-tangye/during-a-very-busy-life-i-have-often-been-asked-how-did-you-manage-to/) [Richard Tangye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-tangye/) > [Her formula was simple, but simple did not apply that this would be easy or had it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-grant/her-formula-was-simple-but-simple-did-not-apply-that-this-would-be/) [Cary Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-grant/) > [Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose-that-s-all-that-s-the/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You've got to kind of speak things into existence if you really want them to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmer-fredette/you-ve-got-to-kind-of-speak-things-into-existence-if-you-really-want/) [Jimmer Fredette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmer-fredette/) > [My existence is such that "I" do not really exist. At the end of understanding so much I understand that I know nothing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/my-existence-is-such-that-i-do-not-really-exist-at-the-end-of/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sometimes, I wonder if you've ever noticed my existence, and if you really did, would you have came to me and said hi?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-wonder-if-you-ve-ever-noticed-my-existence-and-if-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because you're not thinking about existence and being, you're not really thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tsarion/because-you-re-not-thinking-about-existence-and-being-you-re-not/) [Michael Tsarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tsarion/) > [Existence really is an imperfect tense that never becomes a present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/existence-really-is-an-imperfect-tense-that-never-becomes-a-present/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I'm really simple and I'm extremely ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/y-lan-noel/i-m-really-simple-and-i-m-extremely-ambitious/) [Y'lan Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/y-lan-noel/) > [“Once you leave out all the bullshit they teach you in school, life gets really simple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/once-you-leave-out-all-the-bullshit-they-teach-you-in-school-life/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I like food to be really simple but have a lot of technique all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-guarnaschelli/i-like-food-to-be-really-simple-but-have-a-lot-of-technique-all-the/) [Alex Guarnaschelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-guarnaschelli/) > [I am really simple with diets. I say feed your frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/i-am-really-simple-with-diets-i-say-feed-your-frame/) [Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/) > [I'm a big guy, but I'm really simple with the food. I'll hit the In-N-Out or just the regular buffets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/i-m-a-big-guy-but-i-m-really-simple-with-the-food-i-ll-hit-the-in-n/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) > [I'm not happy unless I have a pen in my hand, it's really that simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-m-not-happy-unless-i-have-a-pen-in-my-hand-it-s-really-that-simple/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [I just wanted a really simple, dramatic way so that fans, people who were reading my comic, would be like, "This is something different."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-just-wanted-a-really-simple-dramatic-way-so-that-fans-people-who/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) ## More by William Goldman > [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“INIGO WAS IN Despair. Hard to find on the map (this was after maps) not because cartographers didn't know of its existence, but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/inigo-was-in-despair-hard-to-find-on-the-map-this-was-after-maps-not/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“You thought I was answering "As you wish" but that's only because you were hearing wrong. "I love you" was what it was, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-thought-i-was-answering-as-you-wish-but-that-s-only-because-you/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [One way an author dies a little each day is when his books go out of print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/one-way-an-author-dies-a-little-each-day-is-when-his-books-go-out-of/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“And when she at last came out, her eyes were dry. Her parents stared up from their silent breakfast at her. They both started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/and-when-she-at-last-came-out-her-eyes-were-dry-her-parents-stared-up/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“En mi cuerpo no hay sitio más que para tí.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/en-mi-cuerpo-no-hay-sitio-m-s-que-para-t/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“any experience is profitable if you allow it to be, all actions are profitable, no matter how badly you may suffer from them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/any-experience-is-profitable-if-you-allow-it-to-be-all-actions-are/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [You have a dizzying intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-have-a-dizzying-intellect/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“Buttercup could picture Westley rounding the final corner. There were four guards outside waiting. At ten seconds per guard, she began figuring, but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/buttercup-could-picture-westley-rounding-the-final-corner-there-were/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“Well, you haven’t once said you loved me.’ ‘That’s all you need? Easy. I love you. Okay? Want it louder? I love you. Spell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/well-you-haven-t-once-said-you-loved-me-that-s-all-you-need-easy-i/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [You think this is a trap then?" the Count asked. "I always think everything is a trap until proven otherwise," the Prince answered. "Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-think-this-is-a-trap-then-the-count-asked-i-always-think/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“He nodded, took a step away. “I’ll send for you soon. Believe me." “Would my Westley ever lie?” He took another step. “I’m late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/he-nodded-took-a-step-away-i-ll-send-for-you-soon-believe-me-would-my/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“This was not before doctors, but in Turkey they hadn't gotten around to claiming the bone business yet; milkmen still were in charge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/this-was-not-before-doctors-but-in-turkey-they-hadn-t-gotten-around/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“Sonny, don't you tell me what's worthwhile--true love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops. Everybody knows that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/sonny-don-t-you-tell-me-what-s-worthwhile-true-love-is-the-best-thing/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Explore all 281 William Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [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. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Goldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/existence-was-really-very-simple-when-you-did-what-you-were-told/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/existence-was-really-very-simple-when-you-did-what-you-were-told/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/william-goldman-1095_existence_existence-was-really-very-simple-when-yo_1878968.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.” — William Goldman", "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": "William Goldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Existence was really very simple when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/existence-was-really-very-simple-when-you-did-what-you-were-told/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/existence-was-really-very-simple-when-you-did-what-you-were-told/#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 } } ] } ```