--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to work for yourself alone. You do…" description: "\"Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and follow your own ideas, you admire yourself and please yourself: isn’t that the main thing? An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/gustave-flaubert-354_admire_better-to-work-for-yourself-alone-you-do_1617235.jpg" --- # Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and… ![“Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and follow your own ideas, you admire yourself and please yourself: isn’t that the main thing? And then the public is so stupid. Besides, who reads? And what do they read? And what do they admire?” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/gustave-flaubert-354_admire_better-to-work-for-yourself-alone-you-do_1617235.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/gustave-flaubert-354_admire_better-to-work-for-yourself-alone-you-do_1617235.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f14/gustave-flaubert-354_admire_better-to-work-for-yourself-alone-you-do_1617235.jpg) > “Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and follow your own ideas, you admire yourself and please yourself: isn’t that the main thing? And then the public is so stupid. Besides, who reads? And what do they read? And what do they admire?” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values personal autonomy and self‑satisfaction over public opinion, questioning societal relevance. **In simple terms:** Work for yourself, ignore the public. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal fulfillment. Themes individualism self‑reliance skepticism of mass culture Mood reflective philosophical Type literary motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - creative writing - personal branding - media consumption Key Concepts philosophy literature existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does personal success mean to you? - How do you balance self‑satisfaction with societal impact? A Different Perspective Public opinion can still impact success and resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Work For Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-for-yourself/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Dad has great ideas and I admire him as a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshara-haasan/dad-has-great-ideas-and-i-admire-him-as-a-politician/) [Akshara Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshara-haasan/) > [A book is a collaboration between the one who reads and what is read and, at its best, that coming together is a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/a-book-is-a-collaboration-between-the-one-who-reads-and-what-is-read/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“She reads, and I read her. And that's how I spend the next few weeks. Each day, she speaks a few more words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mclean/she-reads-and-i-read-her-and-that-s-how-i-spend-the-next-few-weeks/) [Jay McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mclean/) > [Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-yourself-unto-reading-the-man-who-never-reads-will-never-be-read-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People are losing the capacity to listen to words or follow ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/people-are-losing-the-capacity-to-listen-to-words-or-follow-ideas/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/do-not-follow-the-ideas-of-others-but-learn-to-listen-to-the-voice/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [I just want to follow my own ideas, and I'm uncomfortable doing it any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/i-just-want-to-follow-my-own-ideas-and-i-m-uncomfortable-doing-it-any/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [A writer decides to follow some ideas and not others for reasons that aren't always clear to him. It's often a matter of intuition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/a-writer-decides-to-follow-some-ideas-and-not-others-for-reasons-that/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Sometimes when you start writing a song, you dont know where theyre going to lead you. You just kind of follow the ideas that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-campbell/sometimes-when-you-start-writing-a-song-you-dont-know-where-theyre/) [Mike Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-campbell/) > [ “I want to get enough \[money\] to take off the hardships of life and leave me free to follow the ideas that interest me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bell/i-want-to-get-enough-money-to-take-off-the-hardships-of-life-and/) Alexander Bell > [You make you work for yourself. It's the feeling of, 'If nobody ever saw it, that'd be fine, too.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/you-make-you-work-for-yourself-it-s-the-feeling-of-if-nobody-ever-saw/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“Reconsider your life and see how you can make things work for yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/reconsider-your-life-and-see-how-you-can-make-things-work-for-yourself/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I think it is the easiest mentality for a human being to be either colonized or to colonize. The structure of either the slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/i-think-it-is-the-easiest-mentality-for-a-human-being-to-be-either/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [You never work for someone else. The truth is someone is paying you to work for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-meyer/you-never-work-for-someone-else-the-truth-is-someone-is-paying-you-to/) [Paul J. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-meyer/) > [On the quality of life: #1. Realize that each human being has a built-in capacity for recuperation and repair. #2. Recognize that the quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/on-the-quality-of-life-1-realize-that-each-human-being-has-a-built-in/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better to work for yourself alone. 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