--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Years from now, when I'm successful and…" description: "\"Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's in prison... I hope I'm not too mature to gloat.\" — Bill Watterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png" --- # Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's… ![“Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's in prison... I hope I'm not too mature to gloat.” quote by Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png) > “Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's in prison... I hope I'm not too mature to gloat.” [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker imagines future success and happiness, juxtaposed with a friend’s imprisonment, feeling a conflicted pride. **In simple terms:** Future success is imagined while a friend is in prison, causing mixed feelings. Key Takeaway Reflect on how success affects relationships. Themes success friendship pride morality reflection Mood conflicted thoughtful Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal growth - writing Key Concepts ethical conflict social comparison Questions to Reflect On - How would you support a friend in difficulty? - What does true success mean to you? A Different Perspective Gloating can harm empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Gloat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloat/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) ## Related quotes > [I am happy in my prison of passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-happy-in-my-prison-of-passion/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I was most happy when pen and paper were taken from me and I was forbidden from doing anything. I had no anxiety about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniil-kharms/i-was-most-happy-when-pen-and-paper-were-taken-from-me-and-i-was/) [Daniil Kharms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniil-kharms/) > [“Show me a man who though sick is happy, who though in danger is happy, who though in prison is happy, and I'll show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/show-me-a-man-who-though-sick-is-happy-who-though-in-danger-is-happy/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Maman used to say that you can always find something to be happy about. In my prison, when the sky turned red and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/maman-used-to-say-that-you-can-always-find-something-to-be-happy/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I think of all the things that I've gotten to do, all the wonderful people that I've played with, being in the recording studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shaffer/i-think-of-all-the-things-that-i-ve-gotten-to-do-all-the-wonderful/) [Paul Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shaffer/) > [I went to AA meetings when I was in prison. And I hope I've gone some way to turning my life around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-barton/i-went-to-aa-meetings-when-i-was-in-prison-and-i-hope-i-ve-gone-some/) [Joey Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-barton/) > [It was in prison that we found the hope of salvation for the Communists. It was there that we developed a sense of responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wurmbrand/it-was-in-prison-that-we-found-the-hope-of-salvation-for-the/) [Richard Wurmbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wurmbrand/) > [Over the years I've learned how to lock myself up in a prison of hope, knowing that God has nothing but His best planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/over-the-years-i-ve-learned-how-to-lock-myself-up-in-a-prison-of-hope/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [The Bible is a window in this prison of hope, through which we look into eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sullivan-dwight/the-bible-is-a-window-in-this-prison-of-hope-through-which-we-look/) John Sullivan Dwight > [“Oh no, I do not gloat over my own person, I do not get all hot wrestling with my soul in a darkened room;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/oh-no-i-do-not-gloat-over-my-own-person-i-do-not-get-all-hot/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Many gloat over their own troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/many-gloat-over-their-own-troubles/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Much of someone's real character lies in what they don't say about themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/much-of-someone-s-real-character-lies-in-what-they-don-t-say-about/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [A final word of advice: don't gloat about how well you have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-raiffa/a-final-word-of-advice-don-t-gloat-about-how-well-you-have-done/) [Howard Raiffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-raiffa/) > [I mean, I hate to gloat, but I'm extremely satisfied with my position in life and the way things have worked out for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-mean-i-hate-to-gloat-but-i-m-extremely-satisfied-with-my-position/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [Yeah what were you doing at Wrestlemania? Ohhhh yeeeeah I'd like to know. You weren't there to gloat were you? No I guess you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-savage/yeah-what-were-you-doing-at-wrestlemania-ohhhh-yeeeeah-i-d-like-to/) [Randy Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-savage/) ## More by Bill Watterson > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I think most of us would be horrified to meet ourselves and discover what everyone else already knows about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-think-most-of-us-would-be-horrified-to-meet-ourselves-and-discover/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/as-a-kid-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-either-a-cartoonist-or-an-astronaut/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Miss Wormwood: Calvin, your test was an absolute disgrace! It's obvious you haven't read any of the material. Our first president was not Chef…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/miss-wormwood-calvin-your-test-was-an-absolute-disgrace-it-s-obvious/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [United Features had given me a development contract, which meant I was to work exclusively with them and rather than completing everything on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/united-features-had-given-me-a-development-contract-which-meant-i-was/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/what-assurance-do-i-have-that-your-parenting-isn-t-screwing-me-up/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [In the right hands, a comic strip attains a beauty and elegance that, really, I would put against any other art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-the-right-hands-a-comic-strip-attains-a-beauty-and-elegance-that/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-tell-you-all-this-because-it-s-worth-recognizing-that-there-is-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-secret-to-enjoying-your-job-is-to-have-a-hobby-that-s-even-worse/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [By golly, life's too darn short to waste time trying to please every meddlesome moron who's got an idea how I ought to be!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/by-golly-life-s-too-darn-short-to-waste-time-trying-to-please-every/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-m-yet-another-resource-consuming-kid-in-an-overpopulated-planet/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) [Explore all 389 Bill Watterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## More Envy quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Who would have thought you had so many supporters?" she whispered. "Not mine, my love. Yours. I had not a one till you started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-sinclair/who-would-have-thought-you-had-so-many-supporters-she-whispered-not/) [Michele Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-sinclair/) > [“Treachery is always a hairy caterpillar bred of a small butterfly called envy, no matter how lofty the principles involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fazil-iskander/treachery-is-always-a-hairy-caterpillar-bred-of-a-small-butterfly/) Fazil Iskander > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Browse all 2,111 Envy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's in prison... I hope I'm not too mature to gloat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Watterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-happy-and-he-s-in-prison-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-happy-and-he-s-in-prison-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a5/bill-watterson-728_envy_years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-h_131998.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Years from now, when I'm successful and happy, ...and he's in prison... I hope I'm not too mature to gloat.” — Bill Watterson", "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": "Bill Watterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Years from now, when I'm successful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-happy-and-he-s-in-prison-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/years-from-now-when-i-m-successful-and-happy-and-he-s-in-prison-i/#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 } } ] } ```