--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have to get out once a week and speak…" description: "\"I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.\" — Graham Joyce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg" --- # I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I… ![“I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.” quote by Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg) > “I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.” [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regular social interaction prevents isolation and inflated self‑importance. **In simple terms:** Talk to people weekly to stay grounded. Key Takeaway Stay connected, avoid ego. Themes social connection humility mental health Mood reflective balanced Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - weekly coffee meetups - team meetings - community events - therapy groups Key Concepts psychology self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - How often do you truly listen? - What habits keep you humble? A Different Perspective May still feel lonely despite occasional contact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) ## Related quotes > [At synods, I usually wait about a week before I speak. First I listen. I feel the temperature. I listen to what has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfried-danneels/at-synods-i-usually-wait-about-a-week-before-i-speak-first-i-listen-i/) [Godfried Danneels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfried-danneels/) > [I was thinking, "So, I’m Emperor, am I? What nonsense! But at least I'll be able to make people read my books now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/i-was-thinking-so-i-m-emperor-am-i-what-nonsense-but-at-least-i-ll-be/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“And what thoughts or memories, would you guess, were passing through my mind on this extraordinary occasion? Was I thinking of the Sibyl's prophecy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/and-what-thoughts-or-memories-would-you-guess-were-passing-through-my/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [The King of Abyssinia always dines alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-crawley/the-king-of-abyssinia-always-dines-alone/) Ernest Crawley > [Born in 1910, Wilfrid Thesiger spent his childhood in Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, as it was then called, where his father was an important and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/born-in-1910-wilfrid-thesiger-spent-his-childhood-in-ethiopia-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [When the facts of history are written Haile Selassie of Abyssinia will go down as a great coward who ran away from his country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/when-the-facts-of-history-are-written-haile-selassie-of-abyssinia/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [“An emperor walks with his court through many fields of roses until they come to a barren spot. There he sees one rose. "It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-flinn/an-emperor-walks-with-his-court-through-many-fields-of-roses-until/) [Kathleen Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-flinn/) > [There was living in the palace at this time a brother of the great Germanicus, and consequently an uncle of the late emperor, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-living-in-the-palace-at-this-time-a-brother-of-the-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“Better a king in the gutter,' he said, 'than a slave in an emperor's place”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/better-a-king-in-the-gutter-he-said-than-a-slave-in-an-emperor-s-place/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-the-treasured-wealth-of-the-world-and-the-fit-inheritance/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Emperor Sid Caesar is gone to eternity himself now. He takes with him the gratitude of every one of us who first learned the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/emperor-sid-caesar-is-gone-to-eternity-himself-now-he-takes-with-him/) [Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/) > [“They are the Emperor's spies, his eyes and ears. And occasionally his assassins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-moeller/they-are-the-emperor-s-spies-his-eyes-and-ears-and-occasionally-his/) [Jonathan Moeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-moeller/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) ## More by Graham Joyce > [“He looked like a once-green leaf that had begun to dry and to reveal the structure of its veins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/he-looked-like-a-once-green-leaf-that-had-begun-to-dry-and-to-reveal/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Why can’t our job here on earth be simply to inspire each other?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/why-can-t-our-job-here-on-earth-be-simply-to-inspire-each-other/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Perhaps living souls had greater phantom powers than the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/perhaps-living-souls-had-greater-phantom-powers-than-the-dead/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“The most extraordinary thing about it all was how simple it was just to carry on. There were meals to be prepared and eaten;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-most-extraordinary-thing-about-it-all-was-how-simple-it-was-just/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“Someone said that thirty was a significant birthday, and everyone around the table agreed. Someone else said it was the first time you heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/someone-said-that-thirty-was-a-significant-birthday-and-everyone/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The blood in my veins is frozen but it sings of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-blood-in-my-veins-is-frozen-but-it-sings-of-love/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [If critics of 'readable fiction' want literature to change the ways people dream, they need first to come down from the mountain and speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/if-critics-of-readable-fiction-want-literature-to-change-the-ways/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“And there was Tara, again with that shy half-smile and her burgundy lips slightly puckered, that shy kink, an incomplete curlicue at the corner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/and-there-was-tara-again-with-that-shy-half-smile-and-her-burgundy/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“The sun was up and I want to say that it was golden, but it wasn't golden, it was the color of treacle. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-sun-was-up-and-i-want-to-say-that-it-was-golden-but-it-wasn-t/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The mist hung in the air like a prancing unicorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-mist-hung-in-the-air-like-a-prancing-unicorn/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“There is no "mid" about it. Life is a crisis from the cradle to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/there-is-no-mid-about-it-life-is-a-crisis-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [The overintellectualization of surrealism can be a bromide. A dream interpreted is a deflated dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/the-overintellectualization-of-surrealism-can-be-a-bromide-a-dream/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [Because two people in love don't make a hive mind. Neither should they want to be a hive mind, to think the same, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/because-two-people-in-love-don-t-make-a-hive-mind-neither-should-they/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [What I mean is this: you meet someone, you think about them. You're already changing because of the way you think about them. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/what-i-mean-is-this-you-meet-someone-you-think-about-them-you-re/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [But there are times in life when a door opens and you are offered a glimpse of the light on the water, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/but-there-are-times-in-life-when-a-door-opens-and-you-are-offered-a/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) [Explore all 58 Graham Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) ## More Emperor quotes > [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“They are the Emperor's spies, his eyes and ears. And occasionally his assassins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-moeller/they-are-the-emperor-s-spies-his-eyes-and-ears-and-occasionally-his/) [Jonathan Moeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-moeller/) > [Emperor Sid Caesar is gone to eternity himself now. He takes with him the gratitude of every one of us who first learned the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/emperor-sid-caesar-is-gone-to-eternity-himself-now-he-takes-with-him/) [Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/) > [Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-the-treasured-wealth-of-the-world-and-the-fit-inheritance/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Better a king in the gutter,' he said, 'than a slave in an emperor's place”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/better-a-king-in-the-gutter-he-said-than-a-slave-in-an-emperor-s-place/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [There was living in the palace at this time a brother of the great Germanicus, and consequently an uncle of the late emperor, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-living-in-the-palace-at-this-time-a-brother-of-the-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“An emperor walks with his court through many fields of roses until they come to a barren spot. There he sees one rose. "It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-flinn/an-emperor-walks-with-his-court-through-many-fields-of-roses-until/) [Kathleen Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-flinn/) > [When the king asked him what he meant by infesting the sea, the pirate defiantly replied: The same as you do when you infest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/when-the-king-asked-him-what-he-meant-by-infesting-the-sea-the-pirate/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“That valiant Macedonian supreme commander and emperor Alexander, in his thirties and the future Indian captain-general and emperor Chandragupta just on the threshold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savarkar/that-valiant-macedonian-supreme-commander-and-emperor-alexander-in/) Savarkar > [I feel like an emperor only when I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balachandra-menon/i-feel-like-an-emperor-only-when-i-m-writing/) [Balachandra Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balachandra-menon/) > [ It becomes an emperor to die standing (i.e., "in harness"). \[Lat., Decet imperatorem statem mori.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vespasian/it-becomes-an-emperor-to-die-standing-i-e-in-harness-lat-decet/) [Vespasian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vespasian/) > [They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-do-not-depend-upon-mere-legends-and-myths-they-are-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [News flash, lady. There are no queens anymore,” Shane said. He loaded shells in a shotgun and snapped it shut, then searched for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/news-flash-lady-there-are-no-queens-anymore-shane-said-he-loaded/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) [Browse all 434 Emperor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak-with-people-or-i-start/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emperor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak-with-people-or-i-start/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/graham-joyce-11733_emperor_i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak_776260.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have to get out once a week and speak with people or I start thinking I'm the emperor of Abyssinia.” — Graham Joyce", "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": "Graham Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have to get out once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak-with-people-or-i-start/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-have-to-get-out-once-a-week-and-speak-with-people-or-i-start/#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 } } ] } ```