--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret to a successful career in…" description: "\"The secret to a successful career in virtually any field is good public relations. Forget results. Forget the facts. Perception is all that matters.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/jack-mcdevitt-8429_career_the-secret-to-a-successful-career-in-vir_2278489.jpg" --- # The secret to a successful career in virtually any field… ![“The secret to a successful career in virtually any field is good public relations. Forget results. Forget the facts. Perception is all that matters.” quote by Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/jack-mcdevitt-8429_career_the-secret-to-a-successful-career-in-vir_2278489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/jack-mcdevitt-8429_career_the-secret-to-a-successful-career-in-vir_2278489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/jack-mcdevitt-8429_career_the-secret-to-a-successful-career-in-vir_2278489.jpg) > “The secret to a successful career in virtually any field is good public relations. Forget results. Forget the facts. Perception is all that matters.” [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public perception outweighs actual results in most careers, making image crucial. **In simple terms:** Image matters more than facts. Key Takeaway Cultivate a strong personal brand. Themes public relations image management career strategy Mood cautious strategic Type motivational pragmatic When to use this quote - job hunting - political campaigns - entrepreneurship Key Concepts perception bias social influence Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to improve perception ethically? - How do you ensure substance supports image? A Different Perspective Neglecting substance can lead to credibility loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Perception Matters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception-matters-5308262/) [Public relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-relations/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-successful-1071252/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-career/) ## Related quotes > [My view is different. Public relations are a key component of any operation in this day of instant communications and rightly inquisitive citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-adams/my-view-is-different-public-relations-are-a-key-component-of-any/) [Alvin Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-adams/) > [ I think that President \[Dwight\] Eisenhower was... did the most marvelous job in the war, not really a military job: a public relations job,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-that-president-dwight-eisenhower-was-did-the-most-marvelous/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Public Relations is the management of communication between an organization and its publics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-grunig/public-relations-is-the-management-of-communication-between-an/) [James E. Grunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-grunig/) > [And certainly when I reached La Chorerra in 1971 I had a price on my head by the FBI, I was running out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-certainly-when-i-reached-la-chorerra-in-1971-i-had-a-price-on-my/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What's sort of interesting about the whole public relations disaster that is the Net, in some ways, is that the fundamentals are really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-whitman/what-s-sort-of-interesting-about-the-whole-public-relations-disaster/) [Meg Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-whitman/) > [As actors, we need public relations to campaign for our next possible role, and any media promoting our work seems positive in nature; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-grant/as-actors-we-need-public-relations-to-campaign-for-our-next-possible/) [Carson Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-grant/) > [“The secret of successful education is finding out how a particular person learns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-farmer/the-secret-of-successful-education-is-finding-out-how-a-particular/) [Nancy Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-farmer/) > [The secret of a successful newspaper is to take one story each day and bang the hell out of it. Give the public what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-bayard-swope/the-secret-of-a-successful-newspaper-is-to-take-one-story-each-day/) [Herbert Bayard Swope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-bayard-swope/) > [“biggest secret of successful people is that even if they don't know everything, they still charge ahead towards their goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-badami/biggest-secret-of-successful-people-is-that-even-if-they-don-t-know/) [Rahul Badami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-badami/) > [“The secret to being successful in any field is getting very interested in it... I could force myself to be fairly good in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bevelin/the-secret-to-being-successful-in-any-field-is-getting-very/) [Peter Bevelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bevelin/) > [The great secret of a successful marriage is to treat all disasters as incidents and none of the incidents as disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-nicolson/the-great-secret-of-a-successful-marriage-is-to-treat-all-disasters/) [Harold Nicolson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-nicolson/) > [“I've discovered the secret to successful singledom. I'm acting like a man. And it's working.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-burgess/i-ve-discovered-the-secret-to-successful-singledom-i-m-acting-like-a/) [Gemma Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-burgess/) > [The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-secret-of-successful-retailing-is-to-give-your-customers-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [“The secret to be successful in any job you do in life is to develop a method that can make that job easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-secret-to-be-successful-in-any-job-you-do-in-life-is-to-develop-a/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/strategic-quitting-is-the-secret-of-successful-organizations/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Jack McDevitt > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Tides are like politics. They come and go with a great deal of fuss and noise, but inevitably they leave the beach just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/tides-are-like-politics-they-come-and-go-with-a-great-deal-of-fuss/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/talking-with-most-people-usually-involves-a-search-for-truth-talking/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [The real problem has to do with the inability by people to admit that a position they've held a long time might be wrong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-real-problem-has-to-do-with-the-inability-by-people-to-admit-that/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. 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Not in any culture. What's the point of having omnipotence if you don't enjoy it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/universal-deities-never-seem-to-smile-not-in-any-culture-what-s-the/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Technological civilizations don't last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/technological-civilizations-don-t-last-long-you-re-all-right-until/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [My father used to take me to the movies on Saturdays. In 1940, when I was four years old, we encountered 'Flash Gordon Conquers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/my-father-used-to-take-me-to-the-movies-on-saturdays-in-1940-when-i/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Of course, they (i. e., demons) had always been observed with some regularity, but that could usually be ascribed to an overabundance of piety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/of-course-they-i-e-demons-had-always-been-observed-with-some/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [If you want creative and successful children, resign yourself to jousting with rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/if-you-want-creative-and-successful-children-resign-yourself-to/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [There is no justice. There are occasional acts of vengeance, or regret, but there's no real justice. In the natural scheme of things, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/there-is-no-justice-there-are-occasional-acts-of-vengeance-or-regret/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [I was once invited to attend a private dinner for Senator John F. Kennedy. But it was a Saturday evening, and I passed. Had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/i-was-once-invited-to-attend-a-private-dinner-for-senator-john-f/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) [Explore all 81 Jack McDevitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) ## More Career quotes > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) [Alison James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-james/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [There are so many things you can do with your life, you can go to school and study toward your career, you can become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/there-are-so-many-things-you-can-do-with-your-life-you-can-go-to/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [I am a very big fan of Brian Eno, of his work as an artist and making his music, and as a producer. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/i-am-a-very-big-fan-of-brian-eno-of-his-work-as-an-artist-and-making/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [If I can beat a proven champion like Canelo, that will take my career to a different level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennady-golovkin/if-i-can-beat-a-proven-champion-like-canelo-that-will-take-my-career/) [Gennady Golovkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennady-golovkin/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' 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