--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Careers are funny things. They begin…" description: "\"Careers are funny things. They begin mysteriously and, just as mysteriously, they can end; and I am at just the very beginning of what I hope will be a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/edward-albee-1684_career_careers-are-funny-things-they-begin-myst_3105777.png" --- # Careers are funny things. They begin mysteriously and… ![“Careers are funny things. They begin mysteriously and, just as mysteriously, they can end; and I am at just the very beginning of what I hope will be a long and satisfying life in the theater. But, whatever happens, I am grateful to have had my novice work received so well, and so quickly.” quote by Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/edward-albee-1684_career_careers-are-funny-things-they-begin-myst_3105777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/edward-albee-1684_career_careers-are-funny-things-they-begin-myst_3105777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/edward-albee-1684_career_careers-are-funny-things-they-begin-myst_3105777.png) > “Careers are funny things. They begin mysteriously and, just as mysteriously, they can end; and I am at just the very beginning of what I hope will be a long and satisfying life in the theater. But, whatever happens, I am grateful to have had my novice work received so well, and so quickly.” [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A career unfolds unpredictably, with mysterious beginnings and endings, yet early success can be encouraging. **In simple terms:** Careers start and end mysteriously; early success feels rewarding. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and appreciate early achievements. Themes career theater uncertainty gratitude Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - first productions - career planning - audience reception - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism artistic journey Questions to Reflect On - How will you sustain fulfillment beyond early praise? - What defines a satisfying life in your field? A Different Perspective Success may be fleeting; future challenges can arise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Careers Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers-funny-1102233/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Grateful Novice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful-novice-5403035/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-theater-251192/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Satisfying Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfying-life-975396/) [Theater Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater-happens-3624525/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Whatever happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whatever-happens/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Careers are funny things. They begin mysteriously and, just as mysteriously, they can end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/careers-are-funny-things-they-begin-mysteriously-and-just-as/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I sort of fell in love with it when I was in high school doing theater. And so, as sometimes happens when kids -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/i-sort-of-fell-in-love-with-it-when-i-was-in-high-school-doing/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [Theater in New York is nearer to the street. In London, you have to go deep into the building, usually, to reach the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/theater-in-new-york-is-nearer-to-the-street-in-london-you-have-to-go/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The time that Ted and I spend talking about our careers is almost infinitesimally small. We mostly talk about our kids and our grandkids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-steenburgen/the-time-that-ted-and-i-spend-talking-about-our-careers-is-almost/) [Mary Steenburgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-steenburgen/) > [Since I was 19, I've had the most fun possible every single day, even when I had a rough life. It was the army…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/since-i-was-19-i-ve-had-the-most-fun-possible-every-single-day-even/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [Everything in life is theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-jones/everything-in-life-is-theater/) [Margo Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-jones/) > [It's hard to kind of marry your personal life with the theater. It always works so well for my life, and then I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-shor/it-s-hard-to-kind-of-marry-your-personal-life-with-the-theater-it/) [Miriam Shor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-shor/) > [There's theater in life, obviously, and there's life in theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/there-s-theater-in-life-obviously-and-there-s-life-in-theater/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [I like melodrama because it is situated just at the meeting point between life and theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luchino-visconti/i-like-melodrama-because-it-is-situated-just-at-the-meeting-point/) [Luchino Visconti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luchino-visconti/) > [Let's just say I can never be cast again after Ron Swanson. 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Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [The way to experience ultimate happiness is to let go of all worries and regrets, and to know that being happy is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshitsugu-takamatsu/the-way-to-experience-ultimate-happiness-is-to-let-go-of-all-worries/) [Toshitsugu Takamatsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toshitsugu-takamatsu/) > [I felt compelled to venture forth and explore the true face of the world. Leading a satisfying life of plenty had blinded many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-bischof/i-felt-compelled-to-venture-forth-and-explore-the-true-face-of-the/) [Werner Bischof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-bischof/) ## More by Edward Albee > [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people don't like the way a play ends, they're likely to blame the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-don-t-like-the-way-a-play-ends-they-re-likely-to-blame/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [In a democracy you cannot stop public access to that art that will most misinform the people. You cannot stop people from being misinformed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/in-a-democracy-you-cannot-stop-public-access-to-that-art-that-will/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Creativity is magic. Don't examine it too closely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/creativity-is-magic-don-t-examine-it-too-closely/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When people can't abide things as they are, when they can't abide the present, they do one of two things ... either they ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-people-can-t-abide-things-as-they-are-when-they-can-t-abide-the/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [“Lady, you can’t fuck a metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/lady-you-can-t-fuck-a-metaphor/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I write to find out what I'm talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-write-to-find-out-what-i-m-talking-about/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I know playwrights who like to kid themselves into saying that their characters are so well formed that they just take over. They determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-know-playwrights-who-like-to-kid-themselves-into-saying-that-their/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The greatest problem with Irish Wolfhounds, though, is that they don't live very long: their great hearts give out. A good deal of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/the-greatest-problem-with-irish-wolfhounds-though-is-that-they-don-t/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/dashed-hopes-and-good-intentions-good-better-best-bested/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Writing has got to be an act of discovery…I write to find out what I'm thinking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/writing-has-got-to-be-an-act-of-discovery-i-write-to-find-out-what-i/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'm back in fashion again for a while now. But I imagine that three or four years from now I'll be out again. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-m-back-in-fashion-again-for-a-while-now-but-i-imagine-that-three-or/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [What people really want in the theater is fantasy involvement and not reality involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/what-people-really-want-in-the-theater-is-fantasy-involvement-and-not/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Art should never try to be popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/art-should-never-try-to-be-popular/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) [Explore all 216 Edward Albee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## More Career quotes > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) [Alison James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-james/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [There are so many things you can do with your life, you can go to school and study toward your career, you can become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/there-are-so-many-things-you-can-do-with-your-life-you-can-go-to/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [I am a very big fan of Brian Eno, of his work as an artist and making his music, and as a producer. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/i-am-a-very-big-fan-of-brian-eno-of-his-work-as-an-artist-and-making/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [If I can beat a proven champion like Canelo, that will take my career to a different level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennady-golovkin/if-i-can-beat-a-proven-champion-like-canelo-that-will-take-my-career/) [Gennady Golovkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennady-golovkin/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [“The vocation of a man lies in his vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-vocation-of-a-man-lies-in-his-vision/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. 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