--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People keep asking what I do for a living…" description: "\"“People keep asking what I do for a living and I keep saying that I don’t believe in making a living. That it’s a concept that has been twisted. I tell..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/charlotte-eriksson-3235_berlin_people-keep-asking-what-i-do-for-a-livin_1014985.jpg" --- # People keep asking what I do for a living and I keep… ![“People keep asking what I do for a living and I keep saying that I don’t believe in making a living. That it’s a concept that has been twisted. I tell them I believe in making a life and money is a distracting object if there’s anything left at the end of the day and I just want to go on well…” quote by Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/charlotte-eriksson-3235_berlin_people-keep-asking-what-i-do-for-a-livin_1014985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/charlotte-eriksson-3235_berlin_people-keep-asking-what-i-do-for-a-livin_1014985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/470/charlotte-eriksson-3235_berlin_people-keep-asking-what-i-do-for-a-livin_1014985.jpg) > ““People keep asking what I do for a living and I keep saying that I don’t believe in making a living. That it’s a concept that has been twisted. I tell them I believe in making a life and money is a distracting object if there’s anything left at the end of the day and I just want to go on well. Make it through the day. So I smile and raise my glass and they laugh and take my hand, saying ”here’s to the youth”, pointing at me. And I might just be young and naive for I still believe in the freedom of choice of how to spend your life. So they toast to the youth, who still think she’s free, and that’s all fine by me.”” [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values living a meaningful life over merely earning money, seeing money as a distraction. **In simple terms:** Life over money; money distracts. Key Takeaway Focus on purpose, not profit. Themes values life philosophy money freedom youth Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - financial planning - personal development - social interactions Key Concepts existentialism personal fulfillment social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance financial needs with personal values? - What defines a fulfilling life for you? A Different Perspective Money is necessary for survival, not sole purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [End of the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-day/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-choice/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Making a living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-a-living/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Nomadic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nomadic/) [Self reliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-reliance/) [Songwriter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriter/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Vagabond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vagabond/) [Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanderer/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“Am I making something worth while? I’m not sure. I write and I sing and I hear words from time to time about my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/am-i-making-something-worth-while-i-m-not-sure-i-write-and-i-sing-and/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [Every night I go day by hand, saying: Take this man - it just recently died after a long time but it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/every-night-i-go-day-by-hand-saying-take-this-man-it-just-recently/) Mak\_786 > [I hate saying that youth is wasted on the young since it's so f\*\*king stupid, but I think you realize if you're fortunate enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dirnt/i-hate-saying-that-youth-is-wasted-on-the-young-since-it-s-so-f-king/) [Mike Dirnt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dirnt/) > [She danced because she needed to. 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Make them count instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/no-story-is-worth-telling-without-the-twists-and-turns-make-them/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“There’s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/there-s-something-about-arriving-in-new-cities-wandering-empty/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“Freedom can choke you if you don't know how to handle it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/freedom-can-choke-you-if-you-don-t-know-how-to-handle-it/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [ I've spent more time than many will believe \[making microscopic observations\], but I've done them with joy, and I've taken no notice those who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/i-ve-spent-more-time-than-many-will-believe-making-microscopic/) [Antonie van Leeuwenhoek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/) > [I don't believe in making mistakes. I just see them as an opportunity presented to me, to do something the right way; or better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/i-don-t-believe-in-making-mistakes-i-just-see-them-as-an-opportunity/) [Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/) > [Some believe in love and some believe in friends but Niggas like me believe in making ends 'Cause even when your bitch wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-quik/some-believe-in-love-and-some-believe-in-friends-but-niggas-like-me/) [Dj Quik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-quik/) ## More by Charlotte Eriksson > [“And so you live like this, day after day, striving and fighting simply to become, or even better - to be. Something better, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/and-so-you-live-like-this-day-after-day-striving-and-fighting-simply/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“You need to belong to yourself, and let others belong to themselves too. 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But it only took one night with someone new who looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-was-still-sad-and-heartbroken-desperately-trying-to-get-him-back/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“It’s the beating of my heart. The way I lie awake, playing with shadows slowly climbing up my wall. The gentle moonlight slipping through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/it-s-the-beating-of-my-heart-the-way-i-lie-awake-playing-with-shadows/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“You will never see me surrender, never see me cry, but you will often see me walk away. Turn around and just leave, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-will-never-see-me-surrender-never-see-me-cry-but-you-will-often/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“What is this thing? trading passions for a tiny bit of acceptance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/what-is-this-thing-trading-passions-for-a-tiny-bit-of-acceptance/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“You smoked another cigarette and we shared another coffee and it was just another morning that made me realise that this is all it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-smoked-another-cigarette-and-we-shared-another-coffee-and-it-was/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“Horizons, cheap whisky straight from the bottle and your hands in mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/horizons-cheap-whisky-straight-from-the-bottle-and-your-hands-in-mine/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“I don’t need anyone else to distract me from myself anymore, like I always thought I would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-don-t-need-anyone-else-to-distract-me-from-myself-anymore-like-i/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“I want to learn how to speak to anyone at any time and make us both feel a little bit better, lighter, richer, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-want-to-learn-how-to-speak-to-anyone-at-any-time-and-make-us-both/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) [Explore all 136 Charlotte Eriksson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) ## More Berlin quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [...what happened in New York and Washington is the same thing that England and America did to Berlin every day for three years during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/what-happened-in-new-york-and-washington-is-the-same-thing-that/) [Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [God bless America, land that I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/god-bless-america-land-that-i-love/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [I wouldn't want to live in Berlin. It's bombed out and there's a lot of techno.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-wouldn-t-want-to-live-in-berlin-it-s-bombed-out-and-there-s-a-lot/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Berlin is still a very edgy place, a very cosmopolitan place. 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Talent is only a starting point in this business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/the-toughest-thing-about-success-is-that-you-ve-got-to-keep-on-being/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) [Browse all 438 Berlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People keep asking what I do for a living and I keep saying that I don’t believe in making a living. That it’s a concept that has been twisted. I tell them I believe in making a life and money is a distracting object if there’s anything left at the end of the day and I just want to go on well. Make it through the day. So I smile and raise my glass and they laugh and take my hand, saying ”here’s to the youth”, pointing at me. And I might just be young and naive for I still believe in the freedom of choice of how to spend your life. 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