---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't waste time collecting other…"
description: "\"Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth collecting.\" — George Bernard Shaw"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png"
---

#  Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs…

![“Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth collecting.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png)

> “Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth collecting.”

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote suggests focusing on building personal value rather than chasing others' recognition.

**In simple terms:** Create your own worth instead of seeking fame.

Key Takeaway

Invest in self‑development to earn genuine respect.

Themes

self‑worth authenticity legacy

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- career building
- artistic pursuits
- social media
- public image

Key Concepts

personal branding achievement

Questions to Reflect On

- What steps can you take to improve your own reputation?
- How do you measure personal success?

A Different Perspective

External validation can still be tempting.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Autograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autograph/) [Autographs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autographs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wasting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasting-time/)

## Related quotes

> [Everything from a lifetime's worth of collecting things. You know as we go through life, and something stays and ends up on your shelf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/everything-from-a-lifetime-s-worth-of-collecting-things-you-know-as/)

[PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/)

> [Don't waste time asking God to keep you from doing things. Don't do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/don-t-waste-time-asking-god-to-keep-you-from-doing-things-don-t-do/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [Evaluate. Long experience had taught me to evaluate and assess. When the unexpected gets dumped on you, don’t waste time. Don’t figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/evaluate-long-experience-had-taught-me-to-evaluate-and-assess-when/)

[Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/)

> [Do you love life? Then don't waste time, because time is life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/do-you-love-life-then-don-t-waste-time-because-time-is-life/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [I met Indira Gandhi in her office in the government palace. The same office that had been her father's - large, cold and plain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-met-indira-gandhi-in-her-office-in-the-government-palace-the-same/)

[Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/)

> [I wish my fans will always be nice to one another. Don't waste time & enjoy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-jung/i-wish-my-fans-will-always-be-nice-to-one-another-don-t-waste-time/)

[Jessica Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-jung/)

> [You can't even trade a single fart with the next guy. Each and every one of us has to live out his own life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodo-sawaki/you-can-t-even-trade-a-single-fart-with-the-next-guy-each-and-every/)

[Kodo Sawaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodo-sawaki/)

> [ \[M\]an has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to having a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/m-an-has-been-accustomed-ever-since-he-was-a-boy-to-having-a-dozen/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Remember that setbacks are only challenges in disguise. Look at them as lessons . . . don't waste time beating yourself up. Just gt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-cruise/remember-that-setbacks-are-only-challenges-in-disguise-look-at-them/)

[Jorge Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-cruise/)

> [“Why would you waste a second of your life, when that's one less second you get to live?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jean-ouellette/why-would-you-waste-a-second-of-your-life-when-that-s-one-less-second/)

Anna Jean Ouellette

> [Don't waste time on what's not important. Don't get sucked into the drama. Get on with it: don't dwell on the past. Be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-huston/don-t-waste-time-on-what-s-not-important-don-t-get-sucked-into-the/)

[Allegra Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-huston/)

> [You are far more than your personality, more than your habits, more than your achievements. You are an infinitely complex human being with stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/you-are-far-more-than-your-personality-more-than-your-habits-more/)

[Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/)

> [Draw, Antonio; draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/draw-antonio-draw-antonio-draw-and-don-t-waste-time/)

[Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/)

> [Go ahead with your life, your plans… Don't waste time by stopping before the interruptions have started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-evans/go-ahead-with-your-life-your-plans-don-t-waste-time-by-stopping/)

[Richard L. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-evans/)

> [Do good work and let that speak for itself. Don't waste time arguing with someone. Instead, show them in your work. That's easier said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-alexander/do-good-work-and-let-that-speak-for-itself-don-t-waste-time-arguing/)

[Megan Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-alexander/)

## More by George Bernard Shaw

> [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

[Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## More Autograph quotes

> [I've been so lucky with the people I've worked with, but I'm such a fan girl. When I moved to London at 16, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-smith/i-ve-been-so-lucky-with-the-people-i-ve-worked-with-but-i-m-such-a/)

[Sheridan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-smith/)

> [It almost hurts me to walk down a road and have people grab my hand and ask for my autograph and not sit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-fox/it-almost-hurts-me-to-walk-down-a-road-and-have-people-grab-my-hand/)

[Terry Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-fox/)

> [Autographs and pictures do get a little old, but I don't mind if the people want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-moceanu/autographs-and-pictures-do-get-a-little-old-but-i-don-t-mind-if-the/)

[Dominique Moceanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-moceanu/)

> [Every job is a self portrait of a person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-job-is-a-self-portrait-of-a-person-who-does-it-autograph-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Doing autograph sessions all day is not what I signed up for. But that’s just all part of not being famous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/doing-autograph-sessions-all-day-is-not-what-i-signed-up-for-but-that/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [Why did Autograph Magazine list me as one of the worst autograph signers? Oh, I don't know. It's probably because I punched some 8-year-old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/why-did-autograph-magazine-list-me-as-one-of-the-worst-autograph/)

[Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/)

> [I usually don't mind giving autographs, but when hundreds of folks with paper and pen start coming at you, it's time to seek shelter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lou-retton/i-usually-don-t-mind-giving-autographs-but-when-hundreds-of-folks/)

[Mary Lou Retton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lou-retton/)

> [Keep a smile on your face and let your personality be your autograph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-a-smile-on-your-face-and-let-your-personality-be-your-autograph/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The day after Emily and I appeared on television together in 'New Tricks' for the first time, someone approached us when we were out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/the-day-after-emily-and-i-appeared-on-television-together-in-new/)

[Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/)

> [I have been sought out by a number of people who would have felt uncomfortable coming to a large public meditation. They don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-have-been-sought-out-by-a-number-of-people-who-would-have-felt/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Hey, over here! Have your picture taken with a reclusive author! Today only, we'll throw in a free autograph! But wait, there's more!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/hey-over-here-have-your-picture-taken-with-a-reclusive-author-today/)

[Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/)

> [People don't ask me for my autograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-furnish/people-don-t-ask-me-for-my-autograph/)

[David Furnish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-furnish/)

> [I've signed babies' arms. I wanted to pull a 'Ricky Bobby' and sign a baby's forehead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-chestnut/i-ve-signed-babies-arms-i-wanted-to-pull-a-ricky-bobby-and-sign-a/)

[Joey Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-chestnut/)

> [Somebody will come up to me after a show and have me sign their arm, and the next time I see them my autograph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/somebody-will-come-up-to-me-after-a-show-and-have-me-sign-their-arm/)

[Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/)

> [Pretty good, you know it's nice when you get people coming up to you saying 'Can I have a photo or an autograph'; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-pasqualino/pretty-good-you-know-it-s-nice-when-you-get-people-coming-up-to-you/)

[Luke Pasqualino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-pasqualino/)

[Browse all 283 Autograph quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autograph/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth collecting.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Bernard Shaw"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people-s-autographs-rather-devote/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Autograph"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people-s-autographs-rather-devote/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/george-bernard-shaw-68_autograph_don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people_2005993.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Don't waste time collecting other people's autographs; rather devote it to making your own autograph worth…” — George Bernard Shaw",
                "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": "George Bernard Shaw",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Don't waste time collecting other people's...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people-s-autographs-rather-devote/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/don-t-waste-time-collecting-other-people-s-autographs-rather-devote/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```