--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel shabby - because I've made a name…" description: "\"I feel shabby - because I've made a name, quite a good name, out of photography. And I still find myself asking the same questions: Who am I? What am I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/don-mccullin-27351_asking_i-feel-shabby-because-i-ve-made-a-name-q_636741.jpg" --- # I feel shabby - because I've made a name, quite a good… ![“I feel shabby - because I've made a name, quite a good name, out of photography. And I still find myself asking the same questions: Who am I? What am I supposed to be? What have I done?” quote by Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/don-mccullin-27351_asking_i-feel-shabby-because-i-ve-made-a-name-q_636741.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/don-mccullin-27351_asking_i-feel-shabby-because-i-ve-made-a-name-q_636741.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bf/don-mccullin-27351_asking_i-feel-shabby-because-i-ve-made-a-name-q_636741.jpg) > “I feel shabby - because I've made a name, quite a good name, out of photography. And I still find myself asking the same questions: Who am I? What am I supposed to be? What have I done?” [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on identity crisis despite professional success, questioning his purpose and achievements. **In simple terms:** Success doesn’t guarantee self‑knowledge. Key Takeaway Explore personal values beyond fame. Themes identity purpose self‑reflection Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - creative work - career retrospection - personal crisis - philosophical Key Concepts existentialism career fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What defines you beyond your career? - How can you align actions with inner values? A Different Perspective Personal success can mask deeper doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-name/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) ## Related quotes > [There's nothing like undeserved credit to make you feel shabby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-weir/there-s-nothing-like-undeserved-credit-to-make-you-feel-shabby/) Charlene Weir > [I gravitate toward the larger worldview questions such as, Why are we here? What are we supposed to be doing? What does it mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-belz/i-gravitate-toward-the-larger-worldview-questions-such-as-why-are-we/) [Aaron Belz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-belz/) > [I think that all comics or humorists, or whatever we are, ask questions. That's what we're supposed to do. But I not only ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-think-that-all-comics-or-humorists-or-whatever-we-are-ask-questions/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [“It has been said,” Jackson continued, beginning to pace slowly around the room, “that there is no such thing as a stupid question. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/it-has-been-said-jackson-continued-beginning-to-pace-slowly-around/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [It is a wonderful advantage to a man, in every pursuite or avocation, to secure an adviser in a sensible woman. In woman there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/it-is-a-wonderful-advantage-to-a-man-in-every-pursuite-or-avocation/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Wise kings wear shabby clothes, and leave the gold lace to the drum major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/wise-kings-wear-shabby-clothes-and-leave-the-gold-lace-to-the-drum/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The evening before my departure for Blithedale, I was returning to my bachelor-apartments, after attending the wonderful exhibition of the Veiled Lady, when an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-evening-before-my-departure-for-blithedale-i-was-returning-to-my/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [It is curious, isn't it, that things you know well never look dirty and dilapidated-other people's old furniture looks shabby and moth-eaten. “I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/it-is-curious-isn-t-it-that-things-you-know-well-never-look-dirty-and/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [“Inside the girl’s room it was dank and shabby.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/inside-the-girl-s-room-it-was-dank-and-shabby/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [Drop this mean and sordid and selfish devotion to the saving of your shabby little souls, and hunt up something to do that's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/drop-this-mean-and-sordid-and-selfish-devotion-to-the-saving-of-your/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Most of our love is shabby stuff, but there is always a thin line of gold, the bit of pure love on which all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/most-of-our-love-is-shabby-stuff-but-there-is-always-a-thin-line-of/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [In other countries, art and literature are left to a lot of shabby bums living in attics and feeding on booze and spaghetti, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/in-other-countries-art-and-literature-are-left-to-a-lot-of-shabby/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [I never have held death in contempt, though in the course of my explorations I have oftentimes felt that to meet one's fate on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-never-have-held-death-in-contempt-though-in-the-course-of-my/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Humor is widely used by Indians to deal with life. Indian gatherings are marked by laughter and jokes, many directed at the horrors of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gunn-allen/humor-is-widely-used-by-indians-to-deal-with-life-indian-gatherings/) [Paula Gunn Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gunn-allen/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Don McCullin > [I am sometimes accused by my peers of printing my pictures too dark. All I can say is that it goes with the mood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/i-am-sometimes-accused-by-my-peers-of-printing-my-pictures-too-dark/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [I don't want to die for a few pictures. I want to live for every sunrise I can clap my eyes on; I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/i-don-t-want-to-die-for-a-few-pictures-i-want-to-live-for-every/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Photography has been very, very generous to me, but at the same time has damaged me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/photography-has-been-very-very-generous-to-me-but-at-the-same-time/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [I think, the more of a student I am, the better it will be for my work because it means once you have too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/i-think-the-more-of-a-student-i-am-the-better-it-will-be-for-my-work/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Photography is the truth if it’s being handled by a truthful person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/photography-is-the-truth-if-it-s-being-handled-by-a-truthful-person/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [The real truth of life is on the streets. Photograph the daily lives of people, and how they exist, and how they fight for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/the-real-truth-of-life-is-on-the-streets-photograph-the-daily-lives/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Photography isn't about seeing, it's about feeling. If I don't have some kind of feeling for what I'm shooting, how can I expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/photography-isn-t-about-seeing-it-s-about-feeling-if-i-don-t-have/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Photography for me is not looking, it's feeling. If you can't feel what you're looking at, then you're never going to get others to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/photography-for-me-is-not-looking-it-s-feeling-if-you-can-t-feel-what/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [I am a professed atheist, until I find myself in serious circumstances. Then I quickly fall on my knees, in my mind if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/i-am-a-professed-atheist-until-i-find-myself-in-serious-circumstances/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Beauty is a dangerous word. Beauty becomes slightly indulgent for me. It's a snatched kind of moment for me because I'm entitled to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/beauty-is-a-dangerous-word-beauty-becomes-slightly-indulgent-for-me/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Seeing, looking at what others cannot bear to see is what my life is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/seeing-looking-at-what-others-cannot-bear-to-see-is-what-my-life-is/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [There's always a threat surrounding the things you love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/there-s-always-a-threat-surrounding-the-things-you-love/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [Photography's a case of keeping all the pores of the skin open, as well as the eyes. A lot of photographers today think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/photography-s-a-case-of-keeping-all-the-pores-of-the-skin-open-as/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [You cannot walk on the water of hunger, misery, and death. You have to wade through to record them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/you-cannot-walk-on-the-water-of-hunger-misery-and-death-you-have-to/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) > [I want to be the toughest photographer in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mccullin/i-want-to-be-the-toughest-photographer-in-the-world/) [Don McCullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) [Explore all 20 Don McCullin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mccullin/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel shabby - because I've made a name, quite a good name, out of photography. 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