--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It pays to be obvious, especially if you…" description: "\"It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.\" — Isaac Asimov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg" --- # It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation… ![“It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg) > “It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being obvious can be advantageous, especially when known for subtlety. **In simple terms:** Obviousness can be strategically useful. Key Takeaway Leverage obvious strengths. Themes strategy reputation subtlety visibility Mood strategic insightful Type advisory analytical When to use this quote - career advancement - public speaking - product launches Key Concepts marketing psychology branding Questions to Reflect On - When is subtlety more effective? - How can you balance both? A Different Perspective Overreliance on obviousness may reduce nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Obvious Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious-especially-3591318/) [Pays Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pays-obvious-3591316/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) [Reputation Subtlety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation-subtlety-3591317/) [Subtlety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtlety/) ## Related quotes > [I’m I really working on the right thing, or once I put the solution in place I’m I going to get the benefit out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-evans/i-m-i-really-working-on-the-right-thing-or-once-i-put-the-solution-in/) [Dave Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-evans/) > [Johnny Winter doesn't know the word 'subtlety.' But it works, it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-trucks/johnny-winter-doesn-t-know-the-word-subtlety-but-it-works-it-works/) [Butch Trucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-trucks/) > [In Kerala, people are more educated, so you can have subtlety in Malayalam films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/in-kerala-people-are-more-educated-so-you-can-have-subtlety-in/) [Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/) > [Some have said there is no subtlety to destruction. You know what? They're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaya/some-have-said-there-is-no-subtlety-to-destruction-you-know-what-they/) [Jaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaya/) > [The American capitalists are richer and stronger than their counterparts in other lands. They are also younger and more ignorant, and therefore more inclined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-cannon/the-american-capitalists-are-richer-and-stronger-than-their/) [James P. 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I liked the different voicings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dweezil-zappa/the-silvertop-and-the-goldtop-both-had-subtlety-where-it-was-needed/) [Dweezil Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dweezil-zappa/) > [A small garden, accordingly, gives its owner a far greater opportunity to express himself ... in a garden any man may be an artist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/a-small-garden-accordingly-gives-its-owner-a-far-greater-opportunity/) [Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/) > [Spiritual wisdom consists in finding out the subtleties, policies, and depths of any indwelling sin... to trace this serpent in all its turnings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/spiritual-wisdom-consists-in-finding-out-the-subtleties-policies-and/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [I share this view, that Hillary Clinton did not get a fair chance with both media perspectives and the subtleties on the gender discrimination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-echaveste/i-share-this-view-that-hillary-clinton-did-not-get-a-fair-chance-with/) [Maria Echaveste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-echaveste/) > [Sometimes men present a swagger that suggests a prowess, whether it's sexual or financial. 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It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/spirit-of-place-it-is-for-this-we-travel-to-surprise-its-subtlety-and/) [Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/) > [If we do not appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the human heart, how can we appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/if-we-do-not-appreciate-the-sensitivity-and-subtlety-of-the-human/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [It is said that Windham, when he came to the end of a speech, often found himself so perplexed by his own subtlety that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/it-is-said-that-windham-when-he-came-to-the-end-of-a-speech-often/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Obvious quotes > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [When you look around the room during meetings and practice, you see that everyone has the same goal. It's obvious by the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kendricks/when-you-look-around-the-room-during-meetings-and-practice-you-see/) [Eric Kendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kendricks/) > [Angela Merkel has been focused on the right things. She has focused on the interests of her citizens - and not just in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/angela-merkel-has-been-focused-on-the-right-things-she-has-focused-on/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate, and glorify the obvious - because the obvious is what people need to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/i-deal-with-the-obvious-i-present-reiterate-and-glorify-the-obvious/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The less obvious hurdle is that of preparing parents emotionally and putting forward realistic images of parenthood and motherhood. There also needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/the-less-obvious-hurdle-is-that-of-preparing-parents-emotionally-and/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [“Believe me when I tell you that there is no lie quite so obvious as the one where you try to protest that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-slater/believe-me-when-i-tell-you-that-there-is-no-lie-quite-so-obvious-as/) [nigel slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-slater/) > [We are like creatures so dazzled with our own technological prowess that we no longer think it necessary to consider the obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/we-are-like-creatures-so-dazzled-with-our-own-technological-prowess/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The best way to counter-attack a hater is to make it blatantly obvious that their attack has had no impact on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/the-best-way-to-counter-attack-a-hater-is-to-make-it-blatantly/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [It should be obvious that I wasn't no honor roll student in high school. My favorite class was boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-should-be-obvious-that-i-wasn-t-no-honor-roll-student-in-high/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm a registered Independent. But my brother says it's obvious that I'm a Republican sympathizer. Once I get in the voting booth, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-baldwin/i-m-a-registered-independent-but-my-brother-says-it-s-obvious-that-i/) [Stephen Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-baldwin/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Browse all 2,523 Obvious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Asimov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you-have-a-reputation-for-subtlety/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Obvious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you-have-a-reputation-for-subtlety/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/isaac-asimov-309_obvious_it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you_400449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.” — Isaac Asimov", "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": "Isaac Asimov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It pays to be obvious, especially...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you-have-a-reputation-for-subtlety/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-pays-to-be-obvious-especially-if-you-have-a-reputation-for-subtlety/#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 } } ] } ```