--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have survived so long because I've been…" description: "\"I have survived so long because I've been blessed with talented and gracious colleagues and with a top brass who let me choose my topics every week and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/frank-deford-3856_blessed_i-have-survived-so-long-because-i-ve-bee_1938990.png" --- # I have survived so long because I've been blessed with… ![“I have survived so long because I've been blessed with talented and gracious colleagues and with a top brass who let me choose my topics every week and then allowed me to express opinions that were not always popular. Well, someone had to stand up to the yackety-yak soccer cult.” quote by Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/frank-deford-3856_blessed_i-have-survived-so-long-because-i-ve-bee_1938990.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/frank-deford-3856_blessed_i-have-survived-so-long-because-i-ve-bee_1938990.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/frank-deford-3856_blessed_i-have-survived-so-long-because-i-ve-bee_1938990.png) > “I have survived so long because I've been blessed with talented and gracious colleagues and with a top brass who let me choose my topics every week and then allowed me to express opinions that were not always popular. Well, someone had to stand up to the yackety-yak soccer cult.” [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker credits personal success to supportive, talented coworkers and freedom to choose topics, despite occasional unpopular opinions, and to confronting a dominant culture. **In simple terms:** Supportive colleagues and autonomy helped success, even when challenging the status quo. Key Takeaway Seek supportive environments and speak up against oppressive cultures. Themes collaboration autonomy leadership culture integrity Mood grateful defiant reflective Type testimonial professional When to use this quote - team meetings - project selection - policy debates - media criticism Key Concepts organizational behavior personal agency courage Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal autonomy with collective responsibility? - What risks arise when challenging entrenched cultures? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic issues by focusing on individual relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/) [Blessed Talented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed-talented-3078865/) [Blessed With Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed-with-talent-218785/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Colleagues Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues-brass-3078863/) [Gracious Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gracious-colleagues-3078861/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Stand up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-up/) [Stand Yackety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-yackety-3078864/) [Talented Gracious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talented-gracious-3078862/) ## Related quotes > [“I want to beat them. Even though I'm not cool, or strong, or just, or beautiful, or cute, or pretty, I want to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nisio-isin/i-want-to-beat-them-even-though-i-m-not-cool-or-strong-or-just-or/) [Nisio Isin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nisio-isin/) > [I've been blessed with talents to play this game and been put on a stage to impact a lot of people. 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Get off the dime, Europe, and play to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/the-dollar-is-a-winner-the-euro-is-a-tie-get-off-the-dime-europe-and/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [I grew up in Baltimore and that's why I root for the Orioles. I'm very suspicious of people who move and take on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-grew-up-in-baltimore-and-that-s-why-i-root-for-the-orioles-i-m-very/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [I remember one time I wrote something very, very critical about Wilt Chamberlain. The next time I saw him - and Wilt was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-remember-one-time-i-wrote-something-very-very-critical-about-wilt/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [If the players aren't getting paid, there's something terribly, terribly wrong, and that's true only in the United States. Everywhere else, where money is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/if-the-players-aren-t-getting-paid-there-s-something-terribly/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [Johnny U was an American original, a piece of work like none other, excepting maybe Paul Bunyan and Horatio Alger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/johnny-u-was-an-american-original-a-piece-of-work-like-none-other/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [If there ever was an 'America's team,' it would be itty-bitty, little Green Bay, stuck way up there somewhere, owned by the salt-of-the-Earth citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/if-there-ever-was-an-america-s-team-it-would-be-itty-bitty-little/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [That's the greatest compliment I can get: when somebody from Key West says, 'Hey, Bubba.' That means I'm in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/that-s-the-greatest-compliment-i-can-get-when-somebody-from-key-west/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [To see the glory in sport, where somebody comes from behind and does something, sinks a shot in the last second or throws a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/to-see-the-glory-in-sport-where-somebody-comes-from-behind-and-does/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [When Juan Antonio Samaranch said the Olympics are more important than the Catholic Church, I just couldn't believe it. I said to myself, 'Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/when-juan-antonio-samaranch-said-the-olympics-are-more-important-than/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) [Explore all 120 Frank Deford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) ## More Blessed quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [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/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [Literally every person in my life is so amazing. I even don't understand how I am so blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/literally-every-person-in-my-life-is-so-amazing-i-even-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [You know, I'm blessed. 'Blessed' is a better way of saying 'rich.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/you-know-i-m-blessed-blessed-is-a-better-way-of-saying-rich/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I've been blessed to have a body that's durable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-millsap/i-ve-been-blessed-to-have-a-body-that-s-durable/) [Paul Millsap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-millsap/) > [I feel that I'm very blessed. But with great blessings come great responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-feel-that-i-m-very-blessed-but-with-great-blessings-come-great/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/benny-carter-came-up-to-me-and-said-to-me-you-know-in-the-whole/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“The blood of Jesus Christ is as blessed and divine a payment for the transgressions of blaspheming Peter as for the shortcomings of loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/the-blood-of-jesus-christ-is-as-blessed-and-divine-a-payment-for-the/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Browse all 4,183 Blessed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have survived so long because I've been blessed with talented and gracious colleagues and with a top brass who let me choose my topics every week and then allowed me to express opinions that were not always popular. 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