# Heinlein quote about abandoning possessions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 11, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514 "2016-11-11T17:19:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514/41 "2016-11-15T22:40:42Z")

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> [@E-DUB](#):
>
> It is from Heinlein, but I’ve read so much of his work that I can’t recall which specific work. Maybe “Number of the Beast” which, because it wasn’t his best work, tends to be overlooked. I do recall that the people in that work had to flee their home universe.

Sort of what the OP wanted but not that quotable- Lazarus in reference to Slayton Ford in “Methuselah’s Children”, with the abrupt departure from Earth.:

“Go for broke” took courage and character that most people didn’t have. Don’t grab a toothbrush, don’t wind the cat - just do it!

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**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514/42 "2016-11-16T17:34:56Z")

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> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#):
>
> It’s from Heinlein but may be itself an embedded quote. My once-eidetic recall of the RAH canon is now just I.D.etic (as in “I Dunno…”) and my backup resource had the discourtesy to drop dead a couple of years ago. Pretty sure it’s from one of the first two Lazarus stories, but I will check with my remaining co-brains to see.

Darn. Now I’ll have to read Time Enough for Love again. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514/43 "2016-11-16T17:50:04Z")

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Just in case everyone missed it, see post #38, above. AB ID’d the quote and the article it was from.

Heinlein used the theme of the quote several times, but the “How To Be A Survivor” article is almost certainly what the OP was looking for.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514/44 "2016-11-17T16:45:30Z")

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And it can be found in Heinlein’s _Expanded Universe_ collection.

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**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-quote-about-abandoning-possessions/771514/45 "2016-11-19T18:52:40Z")

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Having been inspired to reread it, I wanted to report that in addition to the passage Fenris quoted, _Door into Summer_ includes an even closer paraphrase to what the OP mentioned.

[QUOTE=Heinlein]  
But he also used to say that a wise man should be prepared to abandon his baggage at any time. I wondered how often I was going to have to do it to qualify as "wise.’  
[/QUOTE]

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