--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word career is a divisive word. It's…" description: "\"The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that divides the normal life from business or professional life.\" — Grace Paley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png" --- # The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that… ![“The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that divides the normal life from business or professional life.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png) > “The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that divides the normal life from business or professional life.” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “career” separates ordinary life from professional pursuits, creating a division. **In simple terms:** Career splits life from work. Key Takeaway Recognize the fluidity between life and work. Themes identity society work Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - job search - career planning - life balance Key Concepts social constructs role expectations Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel divided by your work? - How can you integrate life and career? A Different Perspective Not everyone wants a distinct career path. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Normal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-life/) [Professional life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-life/) ## Related quotes > [No, scratch the word "career." Careers are for people who wish to advance. I only want to survive, draw a paycheck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/no-scratch-the-word-career-careers-are-for-people-who-wish-to-advance/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [The word 'career' and 'actor' really don't fit in the same paragraph, let alone sentence. There is no career structure for actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/the-word-career-and-actor-really-don-t-fit-in-the-same-paragraph-let/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [Rather than the word career, I prefer to discuss how you make a positive I pact on the world. This could mean raising your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-kaplan/rather-than-the-word-career-i-prefer-to-discuss-how-you-make-a/) [Robert S. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-kaplan/) > [No scratch the word "career". Careers are people who wish to advance. I only want to survive, draw a paycheck. This is merely a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/no-scratch-the-word-career-careers-are-people-who-wish-to-advance-i/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Do not keep company with people who speak of careers. Not only are such people uninteresting in themselves; they also have no interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rosenblatt/do-not-keep-company-with-people-who-speak-of-careers-not-only-are/) [Roger Rosenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rosenblatt/) > [“All powerful and lasting change, whether in your personal life or your business, comes from the heart, not the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonya-sheridan/all-powerful-and-lasting-change-whether-in-your-personal-life-or-your/) [Tonya Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonya-sheridan/) > [You just never know what's around the next corner in life or business or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brown/you-just-never-know-what-s-around-the-next-corner-in-life-or-business/) [Paul Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brown/) > [Don't forget until too late that the business of life is not business but living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-forget-until-too-late-that-the-business-of-life-is-not-business/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drugs have been in the game for a long time. They were there when I was in college, and even in high school. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/drugs-have-been-in-the-game-for-a-long-time-they-were-there-when-i/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [In life and business, there are two cardinal sins. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-icahn/in-life-and-business-there-are-two-cardinal-sins-the-first-is-to-act/) [Carl Icahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-icahn/) > [The fact of the matter is that I've enjoyed the competition in life and the business of life; I've enjoyed all that goes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-schreyer/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-i-ve-enjoyed-the-competition-in-life/) [William Schreyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-schreyer/) > [My life is my business and you're fired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/my-life-is-my-business-and-you-re-fired/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [My life is not my own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/my-life-is-not-my-own-business/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [Spirituality permeates all aspects of your life and business is just one part of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajay-piramal/spirituality-permeates-all-aspects-of-your-life-and-business-is-just/) [Ajay Piramal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajay-piramal/) > [Tough times are inevitable in life and in business. But how you compose yourself during those times defines your spirit and will define your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/tough-times-are-inevitable-in-life-and-in-business-but-how-you/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that divides the normal life from business or professional life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grace Paley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s-a-word-that-divides-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s-a-word-that-divides-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/grace-paley-3243_business_the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s_956777.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The word career is a divisive word. It's a word that divides the normal life from business or professional…” — Grace Paley", "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": "Grace Paley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The word career is a divisive...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s-a-word-that-divides-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-word-career-is-a-divisive-word-it-s-a-word-that-divides-the/#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 } } ] } ```