--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only by risking our persons from…" description: "\"It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png" --- # It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another… ![“It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png) > “It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living fully requires embracing risk and change from moment to moment. **In simple terms:** Risk is essential to truly live. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty daily. Themes risk change existence Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - creative projects - health choices Key Concepts existentialism psychology personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you avoiding? - How does risk shape your identity? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to loss or harm if unmanaged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour/) [Hour Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour-live-1192677/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Permanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanence/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Persons Hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons-hour-4496993/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Risk taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk-taking/) [Risking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risking/) [Risking Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risking-persons-901916/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-one-hour-to-another-that-we-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [If you ever find that you only have an hour to live … spend it with a liberal and it will seem like a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/if-you-ever-find-that-you-only-have-an-hour-to-live-spend-it-with-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Almost every day I wrap up my two-hour live broadcast and I say to myself as I'm driving home, 'I wish I would've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-blitzer/almost-every-day-i-wrap-up-my-two-hour-live-broadcast-and-i-say-to/) [Wolf Blitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-blitzer/) > [I rarely come away from presenting the 'Today' programme without some sense of regret. There is always some question that I should have asked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/i-rarely-come-away-from-presenting-the-today-programme-without-some/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [Every dream has a premium price to pay for and an equal amount of risk associated with acting upon it,however the future price for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/every-dream-has-a-premium-price-to-pay-for-and-an-equal-amount-of/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [But how will I know who my Soulmate is? By taking the risk - risking failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never ceasing in you search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin/but-how-will-i-know-who-my-soulmate-is-by-taking-the-risk-risking/) [Alvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin/) > [“Will you, Eva? WIll you risk everything to see David? Because that's what you'll be doing" "I'm not risking anything. Theres nothing here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-k-pickett/will-you-eva-will-you-risk-everything-to-see-david-because-that-s/) [Michelle K. Pickett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-k-pickett/) > [“Gaining control isn't the exciting part. Sleeping with a minor isn't exciting because you get to boss them around. It's exciting because you're risking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/gaining-control-isn-t-the-exciting-part-sleeping-with-a-minor-isn-t/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Am I more afraid Of taking a chance and learning I'm somebody I don't know, or of risking new territory, only to find I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/am-i-more-afraid-of-taking-a-chance-and-learning-i-m-somebody-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [“You are risking your life!" "Monsieur le maire," said the Bishop, "is that really all? I am not in the world to guard my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/you-are-risking-your-life-monsieur-le-maire-said-the-bishop-is-that/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Rather than risking feeling disappointed, they’re choosing to live disappointed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/rather-than-risking-feeling-disappointed-they-re-choosing-to-live/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [I've said before, the number one thing that we have to work on is protecting the gay community from sharia law. Now, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foster-friess/i-ve-said-before-the-number-one-thing-that-we-have-to-work-on-is/) [Foster Friess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foster-friess/) > [Risking your life is not an easy thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/risking-your-life-is-not-an-easy-thing-to-do/) [Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/) > [I firmly believe that you can't get a good movie without risking a bad movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-firmly-believe-that-you-can-t-get-a-good-movie-without-risking-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-one-hour-to-another-that-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-one-hour-to-another-that-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/william-james-228_change_it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-o_536846.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.” — William James", "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 James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is only by risking our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-one-hour-to-another-that-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-only-by-risking-our-persons-from-one-hour-to-another-that-we/#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 } } ] } ```