--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was working a corporate job for years…" description: "\"I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt restrictive, it felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing.\" — Fred Foster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg" --- # I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt… ![“I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt restrictive, it felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing.” quote by Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg) > “I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt restrictive, it felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing.” [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) ## 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 felt trapped in a corporate role that conflicted with personal values and purpose. **In simple terms:** Corporate work felt restrictive and misaligned. Key Takeaway Seek work that aligns with your purpose. Themes career dissatisfaction authenticity purpose workplace culture Mood reflective determined hopeful Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career transition - entrepreneurship - personal development - finding passion - leaving a job Key Concepts misalignment self‑actualization identity freedom Questions to Reflect On - What values are you compromising? - How could you reshape your current role to fit your purpose? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook benefits of stability and financial security in corporate jobs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corporate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporate/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) ## Related quotes > [With Klaxons I had an instrument, so I had a job to play keys. Everyone's roles get defined early in bands, so you're 'that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/with-klaxons-i-had-an-instrument-so-i-had-a-job-to-play-keys-everyone/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [You're working not for the corporate interest, not for the government interest, not for your own self-interest. You have a higher calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-stewart/you-re-working-not-for-the-corporate-interest-not-for-the-government/) [Lynne Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-stewart/) > [In the entertainment industry, especially, is a total different environment then working in a corporate setting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghann-fahy/in-the-entertainment-industry-especially-is-a-total-different/) [Meghann Fahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghann-fahy/) > [I hope to goodness I would not still be working in the corporate world - the money is OK but it is no life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-dennis/i-hope-to-goodness-i-would-not-still-be-working-in-the-corporate/) [Nigel Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-dennis/) > [Honestly, I can't tell you what I what I would be doing if I wasn't chairman of GM, because this is all I've done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wagoner/honestly-i-can-t-tell-you-what-i-what-i-would-be-doing-if-i-wasn-t/) [Rick Wagoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wagoner/) > [“I had stuff that needed doing. It wasn’t my fault that none of it mattered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-davis/i-had-stuff-that-needed-doing-it-wasn-t-my-fault-that-none-of-it/) [Aric Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-davis/) > [I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't fun. It's just a whole different thing these days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kreutzmann/i-wouldn-t-be-doing-this-if-it-wasn-t-fun-it-s-just-a-whole-different/) [Bill Kreutzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kreutzmann/) > [I would feel pretty embarrassed if I was doing what I do and I wasn't at least attempting the eloquent translation of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/i-would-feel-pretty-embarrassed-if-i-was-doing-what-i-do-and-i-wasn-t/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [I think for a couple of years I was believing that I was doing it all on my own and I wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-jones/i-think-for-a-couple-of-years-i-was-believing-that-i-was-doing-it-all/) [Star Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-jones/) > [When I left I knew I was gonna go back to WWE. But I needed to go because whatever I was doing wasn't working.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cage/when-i-left-i-knew-i-was-gonna-go-back-to-wwe-but-i-needed-to-go/) [Christian Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cage/) > [“I can tell you what I wasn’t doing when I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to: I was doing what I was supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-can-tell-you-what-i-wasn-t-doing-when-i-wasn-t-doing-what-i-was/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“And if it wasn’t as good as before, what was the point of doing it? There wasn’t a point, as far as I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/and-if-it-wasn-t-as-good-as-before-what-was-the-point-of-doing-it/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [I believed that we had to answer the question: Why are we doing this? And it wasn’t until we started to articulate, internally as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/i-believed-that-we-had-to-answer-the-question-why-are-we-doing-this/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [By now he had learned enough to know that when he was getting annoyed at somebody else, it was usually because there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/by-now-he-had-learned-enough-to-know-that-when-he-was-getting-annoyed/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [ \[Early on,\] the attitude was that what I was doing wasn't music. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/early-on-the-attitude-was-that-what-i-was-doing-wasn-t-music/) [Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/) ## More by Fred Foster > [I want to be recognized but I don't seek it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-want-to-be-recognized-but-i-don-t-seek-it-out/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I wasn't able to afford high-end brands or any of that, so I grew up on streetwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-wasn-t-able-to-afford-high-end-brands-or-any-of-that-so-i-grew-up/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I was at work but my soul wasn't there, my body was there but I wasn't connecting to what I was doing. Eventually I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-was-at-work-but-my-soul-wasn-t-there-my-body-was-there-but-i-wasn-t/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I believe that if you work hard enough and do things the right way recognition will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-believe-that-if-you-work-hard-enough-and-do-things-the-right-way/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [Somebody once told me if you're doing what you're supposed to you don't have to force it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/somebody-once-told-me-if-you-re-doing-what-you-re-supposed-to-you-don/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [If you don't have customers to sell to, you can't commit to anything with textile factories or manufacturing factories because you don't know if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/if-you-don-t-have-customers-to-sell-to-you-can-t-commit-to-anything/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I started out doing everything on a custom scale and when that started paying the bills I started making more pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-started-out-doing-everything-on-a-custom-scale-and-when-that/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [Even though I wasn't making a lot of money I was enjoying what I was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/even-though-i-wasn-t-making-a-lot-of-money-i-was-enjoying-what-i-was/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I started designing and getting into cutting and sewing, I also started learning how to do patterns and tech packs. From there I transitioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-started-designing-and-getting-into-cutting-and-sewing-i-also/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I want to represent the street, not in a negative sense, but in the sense that when I was growing up, that's what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-want-to-represent-the-street-not-in-a-negative-sense-but-in-the/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I didn't go to school for fashion, I didn't have anybody to teach me anything about fashion - that's all I knew how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-didn-t-go-to-school-for-fashion-i-didn-t-have-anybody-to-teach-me/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [Even when I was just designing T-shirts people really gravitated to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/even-when-i-was-just-designing-t-shirts-people-really-gravitated-to/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I don't just want to put a price tag on pieces because I can. I don't want put a price tag on pieces that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-don-t-just-want-to-put-a-price-tag-on-pieces-because-i-can-i-don-t/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [Starting out is very difficult if you don't have a clientele.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/starting-out-is-very-difficult-if-you-don-t-have-a-clientele/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) > [I'm based in Atlanta so there weren't a lot of people to talk to about fashion because no one was really doing it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-m-based-in-atlanta-so-there-weren-t-a-lot-of-people-to-talk-to/) [Fred Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) [Explore all 18 Fred Foster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/) ## More Corporate quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think we have to take a look at corporate law. We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I don't think we should reduce the corporate tax rate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-don-t-think-we-should-reduce-the-corporate-tax-rate/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I put a lot of emphasis on how to treat people. The reason for this is simple. The real success of our personal lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/i-put-a-lot-of-emphasis-on-how-to-treat-people-the-reason-for-this-is/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [I'm less concerned about whether being a good corporate citizen burnishes a company's reputation. That's just an added benefit. I believe it's a responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-burns/i-m-less-concerned-about-whether-being-a-good-corporate-citizen/) [Ursula Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-burns/) > [The spinning wheel for us is the foundation for all public corporate life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spinning-wheel-for-us-is-the-foundation-for-all-public-corporate/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I truly believe that one of the things that has been lacking in America is a spirit of repentance about the injustices of slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-truly-believe-that-one-of-the-things-that-has-been-lacking-in/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [I think, honestly, that the word 'indie' is a false gimmick. 'Independent' used to mean a movie that was financed outside corporate Hollywood, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-think-honestly-that-the-word-indie-is-a-false-gimmick-independent/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [Higher projected corporate and personal income tax receipts and lower public debt charges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-goodale/higher-projected-corporate-and-personal-income-tax-receipts-and-lower/) Ralph Goodale > [For us, my wife and I and all of my partners believe that corporations have to be corporate citizens, and individuals who benefit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walter/for-us-my-wife-and-i-and-all-of-my-partners-believe-that-corporations/) [Mark Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walter/) [Browse all 1,460 Corporate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt restrictive, it felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Foster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years-and-it-always-felt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corporate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years-and-it-always-felt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/fred-foster-29732_corporate_i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years_2501640.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was working a corporate job for years and it always felt restrictive, it felt like I was doing something I…” — Fred Foster", "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": "Fred Foster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-foster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was working a corporate job...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years-and-it-always-felt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-foster/i-was-working-a-corporate-job-for-years-and-it-always-felt/#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 } } ] } ```