--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't ever forget the words on a postcard…" description: "\"Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: \"If you win the rat race, you're still a rat.\" — Anna Quindlen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg" --- # Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father… ![“Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: "If you win the rat race, you're still a rat.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg) > “Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: "If you win the rat race, you're still a rat.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success in competition does not guarantee personal fulfillment; winning the “rat race” still leaves one feeling trapped. **In simple terms:** Winning doesn’t equal happiness. Key Takeaway Prioritize meaning over status. Themes success competition fulfillment Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - sports - personal relationships - financial goals Key Concepts existentialism identity materialism Questions to Reflect On - What does success mean to you? - How can you find purpose beyond external validation? A Different Perspective It ignores systemic barriers that limit true choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Last year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-year/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Postcard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcard/) [Postcard Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcard-father-4190907/) [Postcards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcards/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Rat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-rat-3362631/) [Rat race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rat-race/) [Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Words Postcard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-postcard-4190906/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [You can only fit so many words in a postcard, only so many in a phone call, only so many into space before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/you-can-only-fit-so-many-words-in-a-postcard-only-so-many-in-a-phone/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [The problem with winning the rat race is you're still a rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/the-problem-with-winning-the-rat-race-is-you-re-still-a-rat/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [You can win the rat race but you're still a rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/you-can-win-the-rat-race-but-you-re-still-a-rat/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [I shot many scenes of Hamburg, albums full of postcard motifs, and I discarded almost all of them. I ride my bike through Hamburg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatih-ak-n/i-shot-many-scenes-of-hamburg-albums-full-of-postcard-motifs-and-i/) [Fatih Ak?n](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatih-ak-n/) > [What goes by the name of love is banishment, with now and then a postcard from the homeland, such is my considered opinion, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-goes-by-the-name-of-love-is-banishment-with-now-and-then-a/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [That's why when I send a postcard I quiz people. "Hey, did you get that postcard?" "Yeah, yeah yeah." "Well what'd I say?" "Uh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/that-s-why-when-i-send-a-postcard-i-quiz-people-hey-did-you-get-that/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [Why do you have to be out of town to write a postcard? I want a to write a postcard to my neighbor: "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/why-do-you-have-to-be-out-of-town-to-write-a-postcard-i-want-a-to/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [A postcard. Neat handwriting fills the rectangle. Half my days I cannot bear to touch you. The rest of my time I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/a-postcard-neat-handwriting-fills-the-rectangle-half-my-days-i-cannot/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [The world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/the-world-before-us-is-a-postcard-and-i-imagine-the-story-we-are/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [I'm pretty satisfied with how 'Postcard' turned out. I think everybody did a great job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jardine/i-m-pretty-satisfied-with-how-postcard-turned-out-i-think-everybody/) [Al Jardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jardine/) > [For email, the old postcard rule applies. Nobody else is supposed to read your postcards, but you'd be a fool if you wrote anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/for-email-the-old-postcard-rule-applies-nobody-else-is-supposed-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [I once got a postcard from a French poet who wrote - "you don't know me but I'm always very grumpy when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graves/i-once-got-a-postcard-from-a-french-poet-who-wrote-you-don-t-know-me/) [Michael Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graves/) > [I've never seen a postcard of my work in a museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-guyton/i-ve-never-seen-a-postcard-of-my-work-in-a-museum/) [Wade Guyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-guyton/) > [Just as in writing, there are novelistic and sort of pedestrian ways of telling a story, to write a postcard with your little pocket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/just-as-in-writing-there-are-novelistic-and-sort-of-pedestrian-ways/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. 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They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: \"If you win the rat race, you're still a rat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcard-that-my-father-sent-me-last/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcard-that-my-father-sent-me-last/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/anna-quindlen-467_father_don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcar_1288675.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: \"If you win the rat race, you're…” — Anna Quindlen", "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": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don't ever forget the words on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcard-that-my-father-sent-me-last/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/don-t-ever-forget-the-words-on-a-postcard-that-my-father-sent-me-last/#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 } } ] } ```