--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never wanted to be well-rounded. I do…" description: "\"I never wanted to be well-rounded. I do not admire well-rounded people nor their work. So far as I can see, nothing good in the world has ever been don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/harry-crews-17383_admire_i-never-wanted-to-be-well-rounded-i-do-n_2055929.png" --- # I never wanted to be well-rounded. I do not admire… ![“I never wanted to be well-rounded. I do not admire well-rounded people nor their work. So far as I can see, nothing good in the world has ever been done by well-rounded people. The good work is done by people with jagged, broken edges, because those edges cut things and leave an imprint, a design.” quote by Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/harry-crews-17383_admire_i-never-wanted-to-be-well-rounded-i-do-n_2055929.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/harry-crews-17383_admire_i-never-wanted-to-be-well-rounded-i-do-n_2055929.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/617/harry-crews-17383_admire_i-never-wanted-to-be-well-rounded-i-do-n_2055929.png) > “I never wanted to be well-rounded. I do not admire well-rounded people nor their work. So far as I can see, nothing good in the world has ever been done by well-rounded people. The good work is done by people with jagged, broken edges, because those edges cut things and leave an imprint, a design.” [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author rejects the value of being well‑rounded, favoring specialized, edgy talents that leave a lasting impact. **In simple terms:** Specialized, edgy talent creates lasting work. Key Takeaway Cultivate unique strengths. Themes creativity individualism talent Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic creation - career development - personal branding Key Concepts specialization edge impact Questions to Reflect On - What unique edge do you bring? - How can specialization enhance your contributions? A Different Perspective Being well‑rounded can dilute focus and originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativeness/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Essayists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essayists/) [Good in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-in-the-world/) [Imprinting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprinting/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounded/) [Well rounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-rounded/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Don't become a well rounded person. Well rounded people are smooth and ull. Become a thoroughly spiky person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/don-t-become-a-well-rounded-person-well-rounded-people-are-smooth-and/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [I wanted to become a well-rounded player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-koepka/i-wanted-to-become-a-well-rounded-player/) [Brooks Koepka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-koepka/) > [In mysticism we have to take all the imprinting that has occurred to us and wash it. Then we need to be re-imprinted but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-mysticism-we-have-to-take-all-the-imprinting-that-has-occurred-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Emotions are the keys to learning, the keys to imprinting. The stronger the emotion, the more clearly the experience is learned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clotaire-rapaille/emotions-are-the-keys-to-learning-the-keys-to-imprinting-the-stronger/) Clotaire Rapaille > [God's Providence controls the universe. It is present everywhere. Providence is the sovereign Logos of God, imprinting form on the unformed materiality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-the-great/god-s-providence-controls-the-universe-it-is-present-everywhere/) [Anthony the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-the-great/) > [Most people don't get out of childhood, or adolescence, without being wounded for telling the truth. Someone says 'you can't say that' or 'you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/most-people-don-t-get-out-of-childhood-or-adolescence-without-being/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Whoever a werewolf imprints on can’t be harmed.  It’s their most absolute law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breaking-dawn-part-1/whoever-a-werewolf-imprints-on-can-t-be-harmed-it-s-their-most/) Breaking Dawn Part 1 > [The people who imprinted us are not completely happy and they are not completely powerful. So naturally, we have to fight our whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-people-who-imprinted-us-are-not-completely-happy-and-they-are-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Those who have read history with discrimination know the fallacy of those panegyrics and invectives which represent individuals as effecting great moral and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-have-read-history-with-discrimination-know-the-fallacy-of/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The general direction of evolution is to produce a serially imprinting, multibrained creature able to decipher its own program, create the technology to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-general-direction-of-evolution-is-to-produce-a-serially/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [All propaganda must be confined to a few bare necessities and then must be expressed in a few stereotyped formulas . . . Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/all-propaganda-must-be-confined-to-a-few-bare-necessities-and-then/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I was born into a working class Irish Catholic family at the brutal bottom of the Great Depression. I suppose this early imprinting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-was-born-into-a-working-class-irish-catholic-family-at-the-brutal/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Imprinting isn't a life sentence. Our people thrive with our significant by our side. We all know the importance of what has happened since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/imprinting-isn-t-a-life-sentence-our-people-thrive-with-our/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [Memory is the power to revive again in our minds those ideas which after imprinting have disappeared, or have been laid aside out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/memory-is-the-power-to-revive-again-in-our-minds-those-ideas-which/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [I would advise you to read with a pen in your hand and enter in a little book short hints of what you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-would-advise-you-to-read-with-a-pen-in-your-hand-and-enter-in-a/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Harry Crews > [Alcohol whipped me. Alcohol and I had many, many marvelous times together. We laughed, we talked, we danced at the party together; then one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/alcohol-whipped-me-alcohol-and-i-had-many-many-marvelous-times/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [I've never enjoyed myself. I'm incapable of enjoying myself. There's just some people who don't enjoy themselves very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/i-ve-never-enjoyed-myself-i-m-incapable-of-enjoying-myself-there-s/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [If you wait until you got time to write a novel, or time to write a story, or time to read the hundred thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/if-you-wait-until-you-got-time-to-write-a-novel-or-time-to-write-a/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [Teaching, real teaching, is - or ought to be - a messy business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/teaching-real-teaching-is-or-ought-to-be-a-messy-business/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [The writer's job is to get naked...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/the-writer-s-job-is-to-get-naked/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [Men to whom God is dead worship one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/men-to-whom-god-is-dead-worship-one-another/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [There ought to be a law against the sun rising and setting for you in somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/there-ought-to-be-a-law-against-the-sun-rising-and-setting-for-you-in/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [“If you love something/Set it free/If it loves you/It will come back to you/ If it doesn't--hunt it down and kill it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/if-you-love-something-set-it-free-if-it-loves-you-it-will-come-back/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [That was the only decision there was once upon a time: what to do with the night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/that-was-the-only-decision-there-was-once-upon-a-time-what-to-do-with/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [“everybody he knew was going quietly mad from being tied on a leash that was too short.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/everybody-he-knew-was-going-quietly-mad-from-being-tied-on-a-leash/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [“Survival is truimph enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/survival-is-truimph-enough/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [“She felt the snake between her breasts, felt him there, and loved him there, coiled, the deep tumescent S held rigid, ready to strike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/she-felt-the-snake-between-her-breasts-felt-him-there-and-loved-him/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [I am not perfect." It came out in a rush of breath. "See I thought I was. Thank God I ain't. See a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/i-am-not-perfect-it-came-out-in-a-rush-of-breath-see-i-thought-i-was/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [Writing a book is like torture that you don't know, but after it's done and there it is. It's a joy like unlike anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/writing-a-book-is-like-torture-that-you-don-t-know-but-after-it-s/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [Survival is triumph enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/survival-is-triumph-enough/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) [Explore all 36 Harry Crews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) ## 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": "I never wanted to be well-rounded. 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