--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've given up wanting to make a killing…" description: "\"I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a little roadside cafe in Idaho.\" — Douglas Co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg" --- # I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I… ![“I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a little roadside cafe in Idaho.” quote by Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg) > “I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a little roadside cafe in Idaho.” [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author shifts from chasing wealth to seeking simple happiness and a modest, grounded life. **In simple terms:** Choosing simple happiness over big ambitions. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal fulfillment over status. Themes happiness simplicity career change Mood thoughtful hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - career transition - small business - personal goals Key Concepts life satisfaction minimalism Questions to Reflect On - What does happiness look like for you? - How can you integrate simplicity into daily life? A Different Perspective Success is subjective and may not align with societal expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cafes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cafes/) [Finding happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-happiness/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) ## Related quotes > [“I've been trying not to think about the things I wanted but couldn't have. I figured life must be about what you can't have.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoneda-kou/i-ve-been-trying-not-to-think-about-the-things-i-wanted-but-couldn-t/) Yoneda Kou > [It is possible, you know, to drift off to an unknown world and find happiness there. Maybe even more happiness than you've ever known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/it-is-possible-you-know-to-drift-off-to-an-unknown-world-and-find/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [The thing that really matters to me is well-being and happiness. Maybe it comes from knowing people who have tortured themselves trying to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/the-thing-that-really-matters-to-me-is-well-being-and-happiness-maybe/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [You forget all about me…! I don't want to miss the past that is sad n don't think the future is will happy, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hourbebe/you-forget-all-about-me-i-don-t-want-to-miss-the-past-that-is-sad-n/) Hourbebe > [Don't let what you don't have cloud over your happiness; maybe you don't have that something because you are not meant to do so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-what-you-don-t-have-cloud-over-your-happiness-maybe-you-don/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don’t know if I can stand hearing about your happiness with him, but maybe it’ll help me understand you better. Maybe it’ll help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/i-don-t-know-if-i-can-stand-hearing-about-your-happiness-with-him-but/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [“After what I’ve been through, I think saying goodbye to your things is more than an exercise in tidying up. I think it’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-sasaki/after-what-i-ve-been-through-i-think-saying-goodbye-to-your-things-is/) [Fumio Sasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-sasaki/) > [“I thought about the screws and their happiness. Maybe they were glad to be free of the eggbeater, to be independent screws, to luxuriate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-thought-about-the-screws-and-their-happiness-maybe-they-were-glad/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I was wanting to make things, but I felt as if no one was letting me. And I was like, 'That's not fair, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/i-was-wanting-to-make-things-but-i-felt-as-if-no-one-was-letting-me/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [Someone had an eye on me as I was leaving high school. I had a chance to record demos, but they were kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/someone-had-an-eye-on-me-as-i-was-leaving-high-school-i-had-a-chance/) [Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/) > [“My heart has been wanting to make that phone call for a long time. Maybe next year...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/my-heart-has-been-wanting-to-make-that-phone-call-for-a-long-time/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [I'm a songwriter and producer, so I'm always wanting to make my own stuff, and not use anybody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-blue/i-m-a-songwriter-and-producer-so-i-m-always-wanting-to-make-my-own/) [Jonas Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-blue/) > [I mean I have a project that I have been wanting to make for quite a while now; and basically, it's a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/i-mean-i-have-a-project-that-i-have-been-wanting-to-make-for-quite-a/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [I just remember always wanting to make things. That was what was really interesting to me, but I had no career goal in sight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramy-youssef/i-just-remember-always-wanting-to-make-things-that-was-what-was/) [Ramy Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramy-youssef/) > [The more producers I talked to, the more I got looked at like I was crazy for wanting to make a live-sounding album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prine/the-more-producers-i-talked-to-the-more-i-got-looked-at-like-i-was/) [John Prine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prine/) ## More by Douglas Coupland > [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/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [The future and eternity are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-future-and-eternity-are-two-entirely-different-things/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But Dag, for all of his efforts, might as well have been talking to a cat. Our parents’ generation seems neither able nor interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/but-dag-for-all-of-his-efforts-might-as-well-have-been-talking-to-a/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Negative? Moi? I think realistic might be a better word. You mean to tell me we can drive all the way here from L.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/negative-moi-i-think-realistic-might-be-a-better-word-you-mean-to/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It was pivotal in making you but you don't remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/it-was-pivotal-in-making-you-but-you-don-t-remember-it-or-do-you-do/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-ability-to-rationalize-your-own-bad-deeds-makes-you-believe-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-like-to-go-beach-combing-and-i-like-to-find-interestingly-shaped/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“You know, Dag and Claire smile a lot, as do many people I know. But I always wondered if there is something either mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-know-dag-and-claire-smile-a-lot-as-do-many-people-i-know-but-i/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/brain-research-tells-us-that-only-twenty-percent-of-human-beings-have/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I keep vampire hours, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at about 10:30-11 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-keep-vampire-hours-going-to-bed-at-2-a-m-and-waking-up-at-about-10/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Anna-Louise leans over and whispers in my ear. "This is so surreal," she says, "I think I'm turning into a melting clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/anna-louise-leans-over-and-whispers-in-my-ear-this-is-so-surreal-she/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When you grow up these days, you're told you're going to have four or five different careers during your lifetime. But what they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-you-grow-up-these-days-you-re-told-you-re-going-to-have-four-or/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) [Explore all 704 Douglas Coupland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More Cafes quotes > [Cafe society is as old as the hills. Starbucks and its imitators are the coffee face of the new man in a hurry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anderson/cafe-society-is-as-old-as-the-hills-starbucks-and-its-imitators-are/) [Ian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anderson/) > [I'm never bored, never ever bored. If I've got a day off I'll sit in a cafe and watch and observe. I'm a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suchet/i-m-never-bored-never-ever-bored-if-i-ve-got-a-day-off-i-ll-sit-in-a/) [David Suchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suchet/) > [All of the people who are using their BlackBerries or their iPhones, Facebook, all of the people who are sitting in cafes and hotels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/all-of-the-people-who-are-using-their-blackberries-or-their-iphones/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [The majority of people imagine a chess master as being a townsman who passes his life in an atmosphere of smoke and play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-reti/the-majority-of-people-imagine-a-chess-master-as-being-a-townsman-who/) [Richard Reti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-reti/) > [A girl came in the cafe and sat by herself at a table near the window. She was very pretty with a face fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-girl-came-in-the-cafe-and-sat-by-herself-at-a-table-near-the-window/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I hate solitude, but I'm afraid of intimacy. The substance of my life is a private conversation with myself which to turn into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-hate-solitude-but-i-m-afraid-of-intimacy-the-substance-of-my-life/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I listen to the things people want out of love these days and they blow my mind. I go to the pub with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-listen-to-the-things-people-want-out-of-love-these-days-and-they/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [Jumping off that cliff in Jamaica.It was years ago. It was at this place called Rick's Cafe. Actually, it was two cliffs. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/jumping-off-that-cliff-in-jamaica-it-was-years-ago-it-was-at-this/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [There was something about being in the vicinity of Grahame Coats that always made Fat Charlie (a) speak in cliches and (b) begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-was-something-about-being-in-the-vicinity-of-grahame-coats-that/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [My mum and dad ran a family cafe in Sligo for 35 years and worked long hours. We grew up in a very hard-working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-filan/my-mum-and-dad-ran-a-family-cafe-in-sligo-for-35-years-and-worked/) [Shane Filan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-filan/) > [Cafe De Flore speaks of love, its joys, its pains and its dramas - to love and to lose. This story upset me, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-paradis/cafe-de-flore-speaks-of-love-its-joys-its-pains-and-its-dramas-to/) [Vanessa Paradis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-paradis/) > [But we must take other steps, such as increasing conservation, developing an ethanol industry, and increasing CAFE standards if we are to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-costa/but-we-must-take-other-steps-such-as-increasing-conservation/) [Jim Costa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-costa/) > ['The Night Cafe' and 'The Starry Night' still emit such pathos, density, and intensity that they send shivers down the spine. Whether Van Gogh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-night-cafe-and-the-starry-night-still-emit-such-pathos-density/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [When I'm gone, you'll be sitting in a cafe and say, "Do you remember Agnes?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-denes/when-i-m-gone-you-ll-be-sitting-in-a-cafe-and-say-do-you-remember/) [Agnes Denes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-denes/) > [Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/do-we-really-want-to-travel-in-hermetically-sealed-popemobiles/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) [Browse all 138 Cafes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cafes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a little roadside cafe in Idaho.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Coupland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing-or-be-a-bigshot-i-just-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cafes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing-or-be-a-bigshot-i-just-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/douglas-coupland-305_cafes_i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing_271965.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've given up wanting to make a killing or be a bigshot. I just want to find happiness and maybe open up a…” — Douglas Coupland", "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": "Douglas Coupland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've given up wanting to make...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing-or-be-a-bigshot-i-just-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-ve-given-up-wanting-to-make-a-killing-or-be-a-bigshot-i-just-want/#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 } } ] } ```