--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had gone ahead and died ten years…" description: "\"If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably be a cult figure today.\" — Andy Warhol" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg" --- # If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably… ![“If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably be a cult figure today.” quote by Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg) > “If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably be a cult figure today.” [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating early death suggests fame could arise from tragic narratives. **In simple terms:** Early death might create a cult status. Key Takeaway Reflect on legacy and mortality. Themes mortality fame culture Mood reflective philosophical Type thought‑provoking critical When to use this quote - artistic circles - media coverage - historical figures - personal introspection Key Concepts celebrity myth existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you want? - How does fame affect authenticity? A Different Perspective Romanticizing death can be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [I've become completely well adjusted to being a cult figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-ve-become-completely-well-adjusted-to-being-a-cult-figure/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [I don't think I'm a celebrity. Maybe I'm a cult figure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-don-t-think-i-m-a-celebrity-maybe-i-m-a-cult-figure/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [To be a cult figure in one's own lifetime is most unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/to-be-a-cult-figure-in-one-s-own-lifetime-is-most-unpleasant/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I'd become a cult figure to a certain extent because of my movies, but unfortunately it was because of how bad they were!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-zadora/i-d-become-a-cult-figure-to-a-certain-extent-because-of-my-movies-but/) [Pia Zadora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-zadora/) > [I like being a cult figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-azzarello/i-like-being-a-cult-figure/) [Brian Azzarello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-azzarello/) > [Hillary Clinton is, I think, a cult figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/hillary-clinton-is-i-think-a-cult-figure/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“The people closest to RBG find her entrance to the zeitgeist hilarious, if perplexing. “It’s hard for me to think of someone less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irin-carmon/the-people-closest-to-rbg-find-her-entrance-to-the-zeitgeist/) [Irin Carmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irin-carmon/) > [“I must have no fear of failure. It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the Master Work. Now, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-must-have-no-fear-of-failure-it-was-my-fear-of-failure-that-first/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I have been a vegetarian for forty-two years. I did it because I didn't want animals to die so I could eat. Then, eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-simon/i-have-been-a-vegetarian-for-forty-two-years-i-did-it-because-i-didn/) [Sam Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-simon/) > [What we did ten years ago with the Playstation was a phenomenal success story for the company. That product had a ten year life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-jackson/what-we-did-ten-years-ago-with-the-playstation-was-a-phenomenal/) [Ian Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-jackson/) > [If someone had said to me ten years ago "Yo, we have this role of this pimp who wants to be a rapper, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-chestnut/if-someone-had-said-to-me-ten-years-ago-yo-we-have-this-role-of-this/) [Morris Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-chestnut/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“Ten years ago, he was the hard­work­ing salt of the earth. All he want­ed was to go to Heav­en. Sit­ting here to­day, ev­ery­thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/ten-years-ago-he-was-the-hard-work-ing-salt-of-the-earth-all-he-want/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I open journal, I look at the picture and I remember where I was. And I remember the time of day, the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/i-open-journal-i-look-at-the-picture-and-i-remember-where-i-was-and-i/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) ## More by Andy Warhol > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Kiss me with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/kiss-me-with-your-eyes/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I used to cut out paper dolls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-used-to-cut-out-paper-dolls/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Years later, I figured out why he (Ivan Karp) was such a successful art dealer-this may sound strange, but I believe it was because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/years-later-i-figured-out-why-he-ivan-karp-was-such-a-successful-art/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [“I think everybody should be nice to everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-think-everybody-should-be-nice-to-everybody/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I don't believe people die. They just go uptown. To Bloomingdales. They just take longer to get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-don-t-believe-people-die-they-just-go-uptown-to-bloomingdales-they/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [So today if you see a person who looks like your teenage fantasy walking down the street, it's probably not your fantasy, but someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/so-today-if-you-see-a-person-who-looks-like-your-teenage-fantasy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I can't give parties. It's so hard. When I want to call somebody up for dinner they think I'm using them or something. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-can-t-give-parties-it-s-so-hard-when-i-want-to-call-somebody-up-for/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Sometimes the little times you don't think are anything while they're happening turn out to be what marks a whole period of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/sometimes-the-little-times-you-don-t-think-are-anything-while-they-re/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I never fall apart, because I never fall together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-never-fall-apart-because-i-never-fall-together/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I believe in low lights and trick mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-believe-in-low-lights-and-trick-mirrors/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Human beings are born solitary, but everywhere they are in chains - daisy chains - of interactivity. Social actions are makeshift forms, often courageous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/human-beings-are-born-solitary-but-everywhere-they-are-in-chains/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [So many people seem to prefer my silver-screenings of movie stars to the rest of my work. It must be the subject matter that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/so-many-people-seem-to-prefer-my-silver-screenings-of-movie-stars-to/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) [Explore all 380 Andy Warhol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## More Cult quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Koch believed that what the famed economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction" was so critical to the health of the capitalist system that empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/koch-believed-that-what-the-famed-economist-joseph-schumpeter-called/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [I really hate those Internet freaks who take each thirty minute bundle of joy and turn it into a cult game of Where's Wally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/i-really-hate-those-internet-freaks-who-take-each-thirty-minute/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [I didn't read about it for school. It was just for myself. I was interested in cults in general but Jonestown was the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/i-didn-t-read-about-it-for-school-it-was-just-for-myself-i-was/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [The star system, the idol, the cult of personality is not the only way to be in entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/the-star-system-the-idol-the-cult-of-personality-is-not-the-only-way/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [“since she would never have practised the cult of these things, she would take no impious delight in their profanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/since-she-would-never-have-practised-the-cult-of-these-things-she/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I don't think it takes much for a cult to be a cult. Many parts of our society are cultish, and you only need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-flynn/i-don-t-think-it-takes-much-for-a-cult-to-be-a-cult-many-parts-of-our/) [Jerome Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-flynn/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Once I knew what I was doing I was there and with it; I had the total knowing. I Googled God and orgasmed At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/once-i-knew-what-i-was-doing-i-was-there-and-with-it-i-had-the-total/) Initially NO > [“Ms Brennan is telling the very few people who attended an educational event: "You are warriors against the cult of stupidity that is taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/ms-brennan-is-telling-the-very-few-people-who-attended-an-educational/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [Hinduism... gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/hinduism-gave-itself-no-name-because-it-set-itself-no-sectarian/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) [Browse all 750 Cult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably be a cult figure today.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Warhol" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-ago-i-d-probably-be-a-cult/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-ago-i-d-probably-be-a-cult/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/andy-warhol-746_cult_if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-a_528755.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I had gone ahead and died ten years ago, I'd probably be a cult figure today.” — Andy Warhol", "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": "Andy Warhol", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I had gone ahead and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-ago-i-d-probably-be-a-cult/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/if-i-had-gone-ahead-and-died-ten-years-ago-i-d-probably-be-a-cult/#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 } } ] } ```