--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had to fight the intellectual label…" description: "\"I had to fight the intellectual label when I started in television, because, first of all, it's not going to help you commercially, and also, it wasn't..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/dick-cavett-3310_also_i-had-to-fight-the-intellectual-label-wh_2980621.jpg" --- # I had to fight the intellectual label when I started in… ![“I had to fight the intellectual label when I started in television, because, first of all, it's not going to help you commercially, and also, it wasn't particularly true of me. I mean, if anybody thought I was an intellectual, they probably had never really seen one.” quote by Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/dick-cavett-3310_also_i-had-to-fight-the-intellectual-label-wh_2980621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/dick-cavett-3310_also_i-had-to-fight-the-intellectual-label-wh_2980621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/dick-cavett-3310_also_i-had-to-fight-the-intellectual-label-wh_2980621.jpg) > “I had to fight the intellectual label when I started in television, because, first of all, it's not going to help you commercially, and also, it wasn't particularly true of me. I mean, if anybody thought I was an intellectual, they probably had never really seen one.” [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He resisted being labeled an intellectual in TV because it seemed commercially harmful and inaccurate for him. **In simple terms:** He avoided the intellectual label in TV. Key Takeaway Don't let labels limit your career choices. Themes career identity media selfperception Mood defiant reflective Type advice personal narrative When to use this quote - television work - public speaking - personal branding - career transitions Key Concepts branding authenticity commercial pressure Questions to Reflect On - How have labels shaped your professional path? - Can you thrive without conforming to industry stereotypes? A Different Perspective Labels can be self‑fulfilling prophecies if internalized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Also](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/also/) [Anybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anybody/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Commercially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commercially/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Fight Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-intellectual-1311570/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [First of all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-of-all/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Label](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-label-4432778/) [Intellectual Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-probably-4634245/) [Label](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/label/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Particularly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particularly/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-intellectual-1604873/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [It's easier to fight your intellectual and ideological opponents than people you consider intellectual and ideological friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/it-s-easier-to-fight-your-intellectual-and-ideological-opponents-than/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [I don't like the intellectual label.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-like-the-intellectual-label/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“To be an original human, you must die to all labels. 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There's not a lot of movies that are commercially made that I dig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-garlin/i-like-independent-movies-documentaries-there-s-not-a-lot-of-movies/) [Jeff Garlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-garlin/) > [I didn't become a commercially successful artist by design, and actually I think that commercially successful just means, if you analyse it, that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/i-didn-t-become-a-commercially-successful-artist-by-design-and/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [We're not trying to be esoteric. There is that about what we do, but we like to be there at the table with everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-mael/we-re-not-trying-to-be-esoteric-there-is-that-about-what-we-do-but-we/) [Ron Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-mael/) > [There was a mission: To match the cover of 'Extraordinary' to the cover of the paperback 'Impossible,' which was commercially successful. Consider the outdoor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-werlin/there-was-a-mission-to-match-the-cover-of-extraordinary-to-the-cover/) [Nancy Werlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-werlin/) > [You have to learn to overcome those feelings when somebody is negative about a production you love or if that production doesn't do well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-paice/you-have-to-learn-to-overcome-those-feelings-when-somebody-is/) [Jill Paice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-paice/) > [That's the reason support for the National Endowment of the Arts is so important. It enables those ventures that aren't viable commercially to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-selby/that-s-the-reason-support-for-the-national-endowment-of-the-arts-is/) [David Selby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-selby/) > [I have cut four albums so far, and all of them have been trendsetters and commercially successful. 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I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I'm not all that enthralled by show business, and I'm not that much of a highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-all-that-enthralled-by-show-business-and-i-m-not-that-much-of/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I know what it feels like to be a gun lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-a-gun-lover/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Meryl Streep belongs on anybody's list of greats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/meryl-streep-belongs-on-anybody-s-list-of-greats/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Radio, which was a much better medium than television will ever be, was easy and pleasant to listen to. Your mind filled automatically with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/radio-which-was-a-much-better-medium-than-television-will-ever-be-was/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I guess the best advice I ever got or anyone could get for doing a talk show, though it has not been easy very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-guess-the-best-advice-i-ever-got-or-anyone-could-get-for-doing-a/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [William F. Buckley was a man who had a great capacity for fun and for amusing himself by amazing others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/william-f-buckley-was-a-man-who-had-a-great-capacity-for-fun-and-for/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Just think of all the billions of coincidences that don't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/just-think-of-all-the-billions-of-coincidences-that-don-t-happen/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I eat at this German-Chinese restaurant and the food is delicious. The only problem is that an hour later you're hungry for power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-eat-at-this-german-chinese-restaurant-and-the-food-is-delicious-the/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I have a long list of things that make me mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-have-a-long-list-of-things-that-make-me-mad/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [“The idea that hunting is one against one is ludicrous. It's one animal versus the hunter, the manufacturer of the rifle, the bullet maker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/the-idea-that-hunting-is-one-against-one-is-ludicrous-it-s-one-animal/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Chris Matthews can't start any sentence without 'Let me ask you this... ' And I love Chris Matthews! 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Probably a reluctance to give away anything you might conceivably use yourself caused a block.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-sure-why-writing-for-others-became-harder-probably-a/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) [Explore all 134 Dick Cavett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## More Also quotes > [I'm a workaholic, but I also like to vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrueche-tran/i-m-a-workaholic-but-i-also-like-to-vacation/) [Karrueche Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrueche-tran/) > [I've also directed, shot, and edited several music videos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-king/i-ve-also-directed-shot-and-edited-several-music-videos/) [Richard King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-king/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. 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