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On A Long Enough Time Line, The Survival Rate For Everyone Drops To Zero.
-Chuck Palahniuk
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On A Long Enough

Chuck Palahniuk
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On A Long Enough Time Line, The Survival Rate For Everyone Drops To Zero.

Understanding the Quote: "on a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops..."

This quote by Chuck Palahniuk reflects deeply on the theme of death. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Death, Wisdom, Zero, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Chuck Palahniuk interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk is celebrated for insightful thoughts on death and wisdom. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Death
Wisdom
Zero
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Next
From Famous Artists To Building Contractors, We All Want To Leave Our Signature. Our Lasting Effect. Your Life After Death. We All Want To Explain Ourselves. Nobody Wants To Be Forgotten.
Artist
Signatures
Want
Maybe It's Just A Daughter's Job To Piss Off Her Mother.
Daughter
Mother
Jobs
What We Call Chaos Is Just Patterns We Haven’t Recognized. What We Call Random Is Just Patterns We Can't Decipher.
Patterns
Chaos
Havens
Everything Is Still Falling Apart.
Fall
Falling Apart
Stills
Isn't A Kid Alive Who Doesn't Dream About Rewarding Her Folks, Or Punishing Them.
Dream
Kids
Alive
I Suppose It’s Comfort, Perhaps A Sense Of Self-control, Doing Worse Things To Yourself Than The World Will Ever Dare Inflict.
Self
World
Comfort
Unless We Have That Moment Of Chaos, Followed By The Emotional Release Of Realization, Nothing Will Be Remembered.
Emotional
Realization
Chaos
Life's Greatest Comfort Is Being Able To Look Over Your Shoulder And See People Worse Off, Waiting In Line Behind You.
Waiting In Line
People
Looks
Reject The Basic Assumptions Of Civilization, Especially The Importance Of Material Possessions.
Civilization
Assumption
Importance
I Want Out Of The Labels. I Don't Want My Whole Life Crammed Into A Single Word. A Story. I Want To Find Something Else, Unknowable, Some Place To Be That's Not On The Map. A Real Adventure.' A Spinx. A Mystery. A Blank. Unknown. Undefined.
Single
Real
Adventure
Rant Said That View Of Time Was Set Up So Folks Won't Live Forever. It's The Planned Obsolescence We've All Agreed To...'nothing Says You Have To Swallow This,' Rant Told Me. 'you Can Always Just Die.
Views
Forever
Obsolescence
At This Rate, We'll Never Get To The Future.
Rate
The Best Way Is Not To Fight It, Just Go. Don't Be Trying All The Time To Fix Things. What You Run From Only Stays With You Longer. When You Fight Something, You Only Make It Stronger.
Change
Running
Fighting
Today Is Just One Of Those Days The Sun Comes Out To Really Humiliate You.
Today
Sun
One Of Those Days
We Have Pain And Hate And Love And Joy And War In The World Because We Want Them.
Pain
Hate
War
It's Funny How The Beauty Of Art Has So Much More To Do With The Frame Than The Artwork Itself.
Art
Artwork
No, It's Not Fair, But What Makes Earth Feel Like Hell Is Our Expectation That It Should Feel Like Heaven. Earth Is Earth. Dead Is Dead. You'll Find Out For Yourself Soon Enough. It Won't Help The Situation For You To Get All Upset.
Soon Enough
Expectations
Heaven
Only After Disaster Can We Be Resurrected.
Fight Club Book
Disaster
Destruction
The Bad News Is We Don't Have Any Control. The Good News Is We Can't Make Any Mistakes.
Mistake
News
Good News
I Like To Get People Moving And Jumping. I Think It's Good To Add More Emotion And Chaos.
Moving
Thinking
Jumping
Trust Me, The Being-dead Part Is Much Easier Than The Dying Part. If You Can Watch Much Television, Then Being Dead Will Be A Cinch. Actually, Watching Television And Surfing The Internet Are Really Excellent Practice For Being Dead.
Practice
Surfing
Dying
Skinny Guys Fight Till They're Burger.
Fighting
Men
Guy
I Could Imagine Myself Becoming One Of Marla's Stories.
Becoming One
Stories
Becoming
For Sure, Even The Worst Blow Job Is Better Than, Say, Sniffing The Best Rose ... Watching The Greatest Sunset. Hearing Children Laugh.
Jobs
Children
Sunset
This Wasn't Any Mere Song And Dance; Here Was A Bold, Blaring Declaration Howling Itself Into The Empty Face Of Death.
Song
Faces
Empty
No Fear. No Distractions. The Ability To Let That Which Does Not Matter Truly Slide.
Fighting
Doe
Clubs
We Thought All This Teaching Was To Make Us Smart. What It Did Was Make Us Stupid. With All The Little Facts We Learned, We Never Had The Time To Think.
Smart
Stupid
Teaching
If You Haven't Already Noticed, All My Books Are About A Lonely Person Looking For Some Way To Connect With Other People.in A Way, That Is The Opposite Of The American Dream: To Get So Rich You Can Rise Above The Rabble, All Those People On The Freeway Or, Worse, The Bus.
Dream
Lonely
Book
Honest Is How I Want To Look. The Truth Doesn't Glitter And Shine.
Truth
Shining
Looks
You Know How They Say You Only Hurt The Ones You Love? Well, It Works Both Ways.
Love
Hurt
Way
They Assume She Was Once Gorgeously Beautiful. Because Now She Looks So—bad.
Beautiful
Looks
Assuming
Fathers. Mothers. With All Their Caring And Attention. They Will Fuck You Up, Every Time.
Mother
Father
Caring
It's All Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Because Beauty Is Power The Same Way Money Is Power The Same Way A Gun Is Power.
Beauty
Wall
Gun
Every Masterpiece Is Just Dirt And Ash Put Together In Some Perfect Way.
Perfect
Together
Ashes
It's Because We're So Trapped In Our Culture, In The Being Of Being Human On This Planet With The Brains We Have, And The Same Two Arms And Legs Everybody Has. We're So Trapped That Any Way We Could Imagine To Escape Would Be Just Another Part Of The Trap. Anything We Want, We're Trained To Want.
Two
Brain
Would Be
I Tiger Can Smile A Snake Will Say It Loves You Lies Make Us Evil
Lying
Love You
Snakes
The Little Boy Smiled Back At All The Angry Faces Glaring In At Him. And The Little Boy Blew Kisses.
Kissing
Boys
Littles
I Think America Is Just So In Love With Conflict.
Thinking
America
Conflict
Sometimes The Past Seems Too Big For The Present To Hold.
Past
Chaos
Sometimes
How Everything You Ever Love Will Reject You Or Die. Everything You Ever Create Will Be Thrown Away. Everything You're Proud Of Will End Up As Trash.
Rejects You
Proud
Trash
There's No Escaping Fate, It Just Keeps Going. Day And Night, The Future Just Keeps Coming At You.
Fate
Night
Escaping
The Only Thing I Shy Away From Is Non-consensual Violence. I Can't Write A Story Where Someone Is A Simple Victim Because It's Boring.
Writing
Simple
Shy
To Hell With Housework, Our Top Priority Has Always Been Between Our Legs.
Priorities
Legs
Hell
The World Will Always Punish The Few People With Special Talents The Rest Of Us Don’t Recognize As Real.
Real
People
Special
Every Time I Write Something, I Think, This Is The Most Offensive Thing I Will Ever Write. But No. I Always Surprise Myself.
Writing
Thinking
Offensive
You Can Spend Your Whole Life Building A Wall Of Facts Between You And Anything Real.
Wall
Real
Facts
We All Die. The Goal Isn't To Live Forever, The Goal Is To Create Something That Will.
Inspirational
Life
Inspiring
I'm Really Glad That I Made A Lot Of Mistakes, Poorly Chose My Friends Throughout My Twenties, And Didn't Have A Rocket Trajectory That Set Me On One Path Without Making Any Mistakes Or Having Any Setbacks. The Older I Get, The More I Realize That It's All Of These Failed, Horrible Things From My Past, And The Stories That They Generated, That Are The Things I Will Draw On For The Rest Of My Life.
Mistake
Past
Stories
If Marilyn Monroe Was Alive Right Now, What Would She Be Doing?' Clawing At The Roof Of Her Coffin.
Coffins
Alive
Roof
You Can Only Hold A Smile For So Long, After That It's Just Teeth.
Smile
Long
Teeth
Intellectual Culture Seems To Separate High Art From Low Art. Low Art Is Horror Or Pornography Or Anything That Has A Physical Component To It And Engages The Reader On A Visceral Level And Evokes A Strong Sympathetic Reaction. High Art Is People Driving In Volvos And Talking A Lot. I Just Don't Want To Keep Those Things Separate. I Think You Can Use Visceral Physical Experiences To Illustrate Larger Ideas, Whether They're Emotional Or Spiritual. I'm Trying To Not Exclude High And Low Art Or Separate Them.
Spiritual
Strong
Art
The Career Of A Movie Star Consists Of Helping Everyone Else Forget Their Troubles. Using Charm And Beauty And Good Cheer To Make Life Look Easy.
Stars
Cheer
Careers
My Point Is, That If I'm Honest, My Life Is All About Me.
Honest
Life Is
Ifs
Who You Are Moment To Moment Is Just A Story.
Stories
Moments
Who You Are
I Let Go. Lost In Oblivion. Dark And Silent And Complete. I Found Freedom. Losing All Hope Was Freedom.
Letting Go
Dark
Losing
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