--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It took me a long time to be able to…" description: "\"It took me a long time to be able to write for the 'New Yorker,' and for me, that has been the best job. I live a very conventional life, but reporting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/david-grann-2569_best_it-took-me-a-long-time-to-be-able-to-wri_1831805.jpg" --- # It took me a long time to be able to write for the 'New… ![“It took me a long time to be able to write for the 'New Yorker,' and for me, that has been the best job. I live a very conventional life, but reporting for the magazine has allowed me to do things I would never otherwise do, such as investigating a criminal conspiracy in Guatemala or trekking…” quote by David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/david-grann-2569_best_it-took-me-a-long-time-to-be-able-to-wri_1831805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/david-grann-2569_best_it-took-me-a-long-time-to-be-able-to-wri_1831805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/david-grann-2569_best_it-took-me-a-long-time-to-be-able-to-wri_1831805.jpg) > “It took me a long time to be able to write for the 'New Yorker,' and for me, that has been the best job. I live a very conventional life, but reporting for the magazine has allowed me to do things I would never otherwise do, such as investigating a criminal conspiracy in Guatemala or trekking through the Amazon looking for a lost city.” [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing for a prestigious magazine expands horizons beyond a conventional life, enabling investigative and adventurous work. **In simple terms:** Writing for a top magazine opens new experiences. Key Takeaway Embrace opportunities that push you beyond routine. Themes career adventure journalism exploration growth Mood inspired curious reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - investigative journalism - travel writing - personal development - storytelling - networking Key Concepts investigative reporting creative writing cultural immersion Questions to Reflect On - How can you seek similar opportunities within your field? - What limits your willingness to step outside comfort zones? A Different Perspective Success may depend on access and resources, not just talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Magazine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magazine/) [Magazine Allowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magazine-allowed-2280014/) [New yorker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-yorker/) [Reporting Magazine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporting-magazine-2280012/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Yorker Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yorker-best-2280013/) ## Related quotes > [ If \[Bill Shawn\] liked the piece, then he would run it. But he wanted the magazine to be something that was more than just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/if-bill-shawn-liked-the-piece-then-he-would-run-it-but-he-wanted-the/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Most magazines have peak moments. They live on, they do just okay, or they die. 'The New Yorker' has had a very different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/most-magazines-have-peak-moments-they-live-on-they-do-just-okay-or/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [It was actually an Israeli cartoonist, Nurit Karlin, who made me think that I could draw for 'The New Yorker.' I saw her work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-donnelly/it-was-actually-an-israeli-cartoonist-nurit-karlin-who-made-me-think/) [Liza Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-donnelly/) > [I just so desperately wanted to be published in New Yorker, and I'd so desperately try to get something in it. But I'd always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-just-so-desperately-wanted-to-be-published-in-new-yorker-and-i-d-so/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ My chronology is terrible. \[Work with William Shawn\] must have some ago. It was after he was fired by Newhouse. After New - when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-chronology-is-terrible-work-with-william-shawn-must-have-some-ago/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > ['The New Yorker' didn't invent the magazine cartoon, but it did really establish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/the-new-yorker-didn-t-invent-the-magazine-cartoon-but-it-did-really/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [One of the nice things about 'The New Yorker' is they let you write stories that sometimes end up almost half a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/one-of-the-nice-things-about-the-new-yorker-is-they-let-you-write/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [To every New Yorker in Kensington and Midwood and Hunts Point, know this: This city is your city, and this democracy is yours too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zohran-mamdani/to-every-new-yorker-in-kensington-and-midwood-and-hunts-point-know/) [Zohran Mamdani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zohran-mamdani/) > [“Every time you hear a car alarm, Ruby said, another New Yorker has gone to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/every-time-you-hear-a-car-alarm-ruby-said-another-new-yorker-has-gone/) [Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/) > [I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-have-no-credentials-i-have-no-money-i-literally-come-from-a-poor/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [A true New Yorker never backs down, and I'm no exception. Holla!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-thomson/a-true-new-yorker-never-backs-down-and-i-m-no-exception-holla/) [Heather Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-thomson/) > [I aspired from early on to write a novel, to be in the 'New Yorker,' to be on Broadway, and at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-donnell/i-aspired-from-early-on-to-write-a-novel-to-be-in-the-new-yorker-to/) [Mark O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-donnell/) > [I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I belong here. Everytime I leave it's like losing a leg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-holliday/i-m-a-born-and-bred-new-yorker-i-belong-here-everytime-i-leave-it-s/) [Judy Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-holliday/) > [Yes, Im a New Yorker, born and bred. While Im not quite the L.A. snob that Woody Allen is, I do find myself happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/yes-im-a-new-yorker-born-and-bred-while-im-not-quite-the-l-a-snob/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## More by David Grann > [“To believe that the Osages survived intact from their ordeal is a delusion of the mind. What has been possible to salvage has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/to-believe-that-the-osages-survived-intact-from-their-ordeal-is-a/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Over the next two decades, the Osage were forced to cede nearly a hundred million acres of their ancestral land, ultimately finding refuge in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/over-the-next-two-decades-the-osage-were-forced-to-cede-nearly-a/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Only in the mid-nineteenth century, after the growth of industrial cities and a rash of urban riots—after dread of the so-called dangerous classes surpassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/only-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-after-the-growth-of-industrial/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [I look for stories everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-look-for-stories-everywhere/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Emmett White became a firm, even unyielding, sheriff. 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Our lives are messy and chaotic and bewildering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/the-way-we-live-history-is-not-the-way-historians-tell-history-our/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Fawcett, who had always found refuge in the natural world, no longer recognized the wilderness of bombed-out villages, denuded trees, craters, and sunbaked skeletons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/fawcett-who-had-always-found-refuge-in-the-natural-world-no-longer/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Does God think that, because it is raining, I am not going to destroy the world? - Lope de Aguirre after going mad in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/does-god-think-that-because-it-is-raining-i-am-not-going-to-destroy/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“In 1804, a delegation of Osage chiefs met with Jefferson at the White House. He told the navy secretary that the Osage, whose warriors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/in-1804-a-delegation-of-osage-chiefs-met-with-jefferson-at-the-white/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [A lot of the stuff I tweet is out of childlike curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-tweet-is-out-of-childlike-curiosity/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Instead, the terrain looked like Nebraska—perpetual plains that faded into the horizon. 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