--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I was going to be a little boy about…" description: "\"If I was going to be a little boy about it, I'd go into hiding for one or two years. But if I was going to be a man about it, it'd be 20 or 30 years.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/andy-kaufman-19052_be-a-man_if-i-was-going-to-be-a-little-boy-about_256951.png" --- # If I was going to be a little boy about it, I'd go into… ![“If I was going to be a little boy about it, I'd go into hiding for one or two years. But if I was going to be a man about it, it'd be 20 or 30 years.” quote by Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/andy-kaufman-19052_be-a-man_if-i-was-going-to-be-a-little-boy-about_256951.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/andy-kaufman-19052_be-a-man_if-i-was-going-to-be-a-little-boy-about_256951.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/andy-kaufman-19052_be-a-man_if-i-was-going-to-be-a-little-boy-about_256951.png) > “If I was going to be a little boy about it, I'd go into hiding for one or two years. But if I was going to be a man about it, it'd be 20 or 30 years.” [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts childish avoidance with adult responsibility, noting longer commitment when mature. **In simple terms:** Maturity demands longer effort. Key Takeaway Commit fully when grown. Themes responsibility growth commitment Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - financial planning Key Concepts psychology of maturity long‑term planning Questions to Reflect On - What does “being a man about it” mean to you? - How can short‑term fixes be harmful? A Different Perspective Might oversimplify complex adult choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) ## Related quotes > [Weather patterns over the next 20 or 30 years are going to be determined by the amount of CO2 that is up there now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-beddington/weather-patterns-over-the-next-20-or-30-years-are-going-to-be/) [John Beddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-beddington/) > [Restaurants are like having children: it's fun to make them, maybe, but then you have them for good and bad. You are going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-puck/restaurants-are-like-having-children-it-s-fun-to-make-them-maybe-but/) [Wolfgang Puck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-puck/) > [What is the use of being a little boy if you are growing up to be a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/what-is-the-use-of-being-a-little-boy-if-you-are-growing-up-to-be-a/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [The way to be a man if you're a little boy is to be willing to throw your weight around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-ireland/the-way-to-be-a-man-if-you-re-a-little-boy-is-to-be-willing-to-throw/) [Patricia Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-ireland/) > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [One of the tricks that you have to learn, with episodic TV, is you don't know how many years you're going to be blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-heller/one-of-the-tricks-that-you-have-to-learn-with-episodic-tv-is-you-don/) [Bruno Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-heller/) > [The next 10 years are either going to happen to us, or because of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-solis/the-next-10-years-are-either-going-to-happen-to-us-or-because-of-us/) [Brian Solis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-solis/) > ['Coriolanus' has been around for 400 years, and it's going to be around for another 400 years, and nothing I can do is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-logan/coriolanus-has-been-around-for-400-years-and-it-s-going-to-be-around/) [John Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-logan/) > [I doubt anybody gets taken seriously for very long. I'll be on some reality show in about six years going, Hey, I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-doubt-anybody-gets-taken-seriously-for-very-long-i-ll-be-on-some/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [I never look forward, because I have no idea about how any of it happened to getting here. I've no idea how the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-never-look-forward-because-i-have-no-idea-about-how-any-of-it/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [The World Cup is every four years, so it's going to be a perennial problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/the-world-cup-is-every-four-years-so-it-s-going-to-be-a-perennial/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [“I will be alive in ten years, and I’m going to be happy. I’m going to be strong. And I don’t need anyone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-will-be-alive-in-ten-years-and-i-m-going-to-be-happy-i-m-going-to/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [No matter if I have a job for one weekend or for the next year, or three years, I'm going to drive the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-rice/no-matter-if-i-have-a-job-for-one-weekend-or-for-the-next-year-or/) [Buddy Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-rice/) > [I've been working for so many years and I'm going to continue doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-draper/i-ve-been-working-for-so-many-years-and-i-m-going-to-continue-doing/) [Jack Draper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-draper/) > [I've been saying for about 20 years, 'When am I going to get my cop show?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/i-ve-been-saying-for-about-20-years-when-am-i-going-to-get-my-cop-show/) [Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/) ## More by Andy Kaufman > [While all the other kids were out playing ball and stuff, I used to stay in my room and imagine that there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/while-all-the-other-kids-were-out-playing-ball-and-stuff-i-used-to/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Clifton and I don't even look alike. He smokes and drinks, and I do neither. He's a big fat guy, and if it weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/clifton-and-i-don-t-even-look-alike-he-smokes-and-drinks-and-i-do/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [The more they hate you, the better you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/the-more-they-hate-you-the-better-you-re-doing/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Pure entertainment is not an egotistical lady singing boring songs onstage for two hours and people in tuxes clapping whether they like it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/pure-entertainment-is-not-an-egotistical-lady-singing-boring-songs/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Theres no drama like wrestling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/theres-no-drama-like-wrestling/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Whenever I play a role, whether it's good or bad, an evil person or nice person, I believe in being a purist and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/whenever-i-play-a-role-whether-it-s-good-or-bad-an-evil-person-or/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Every time my manager approached big network executives or even cable, they told him I was too dangerous. They couldn't trust me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/every-time-my-manager-approached-big-network-executives-or-even-cable/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [My mother sent me to psychiatrists since the age of four because she didnt think little boys should be sad. When my brother was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/my-mother-sent-me-to-psychiatrists-since-the-age-of-four-because-she/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [I just want the audience to have a wonderful, happy feeling inside them and leave with big smiles on their faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/i-just-want-the-audience-to-have-a-wonderful-happy-feeling-inside/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [Any wrestler who will piledrive Lawler and injure him like he did me gets five thousand dollars from me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/any-wrestler-who-will-piledrive-lawler-and-injure-him-like-he-did-me/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [As they say in my country, the only thing that separates us from the animals is mindless superstition and pointless ritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/as-they-say-in-my-country-the-only-thing-that-separates-us-from-the/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [I see the world as an illusion, and we shouldn't take ourselves so seriously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/i-see-the-world-as-an-illusion-and-we-shouldn-t-take-ourselves-so/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [I'm from Hollywood. That's where we make movies and TV shows... I'm not from down here in men-fus ten-uh-see, okay?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/i-m-from-hollywood-that-s-where-we-make-movies-and-tv-shows-i-m-not/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [We're hoping that this will also be the key to starting community events in a place where the whole community can come together. We've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/we-re-hoping-that-this-will-also-be-the-key-to-starting-community/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [That was part of the whole original concept. We were thinking, it's off-season, let's do a really fun, local-oriented event, raise money for good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/that-was-part-of-the-whole-original-concept-we-were-thinking-it-s-off/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) [Explore all 33 Andy Kaufman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) ## More Be a man quotes > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I closed my own jazz bar so I could be a man who can write novels as I like. I was pleased about that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-closed-my-own-jazz-bar-so-i-could-be-a-man-who-can-write-novels-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Just leaving the brotherhood I have made at Georgia, the staff and all my coaches. They've prepared me for the real world. I'm really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-green/just-leaving-the-brotherhood-i-have-made-at-georgia-the-staff-and-all/) [A. J. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-green/) > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [I think transwomen, and transpeople in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laverne-cox/i-think-transwomen-and-transpeople-in-general-show-everyone-that-you/) [Laverne Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laverne-cox/) > [Feminist theory has left an indelible mark on my own critical—and creative—thinking . . . For me, everything I questioned about what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/feminist-theory-has-left-an-indelible-mark-on-my-own-critical-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Men will cease to be fools only when they cease to be men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/men-will-cease-to-be-fools-only-when-they-cease-to-be-men/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Losing my dad made me more mature. Being an only child, I didn't have the right to act childish. I had to step up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaza-pachulia/losing-my-dad-made-me-more-mature-being-an-only-child-i-didn-t-have/) [Zaza Pachulia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaza-pachulia/) > [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/) [Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/) > [I want to be a man's man-not a kid actor or a glitzy pop star but a no-bullshit leading man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-eastwood/i-want-to-be-a-man-s-man-not-a-kid-actor-or-a-glitzy-pop-star-but-a/) [Scott Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-eastwood/) > [I have decided to make a personal message to David Haye. I want him to fight me, to be a man. I wish there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladimir-klitschko/i-have-decided-to-make-a-personal-message-to-david-haye-i-want-him-to/) [Wladimir Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladimir-klitschko/) > [All are to be men of genius in their degree,--rivulets or rivers, it does not matter, so that the souls be clear and pure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-are-to-be-men-of-genius-in-their-degree-rivulets-or-rivers-it/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-cannot-be-a-man-with-wishing-therefore-i-will-die-a-woman-with/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't think anyone can teach you how to be a man but a woman. You only learn by learning what they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-gosling/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-teach-you-how-to-be-a-man-but-a-woman-you/) [Ryan Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-gosling/) Browse all 402 Be a man quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I was going to be a little boy about it, I'd go into hiding for one or two years. 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