--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have been content with any job…" description: "\"I would have been content with any job however thankless, in any quarter however remote, if I had a chance of making a corner of the desert blossom and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg" --- # I would have been content with any job however thankless… ![“I would have been content with any job however thankless, in any quarter however remote, if I had a chance of making a corner of the desert blossom and the solitary place glad.” quote by John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg) > “I would have been content with any job however thankless, in any quarter however remote, if I had a chance of making a corner of the desert blossom and the solitary place glad.” [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding purpose in a barren place can bring joy, even in thankless work. **In simple terms:** Purpose can bloom anywhere. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond the task. Themes purpose solitude environment fulfillment Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - remote work - environmental projects - personal missions Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small change could you make in a bleak setting? - How does purpose change perception of labor? A Different Perspective Hard work may not guarantee success or recognition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I would be content with any job, however thankless, in any quarter, however remote, if I had the chance of making a corner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-would-be-content-with-any-job-however-thankless-in-any-quarter/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [It's not always thankless. Let's face it - it's not always thankless. I've gotten a lot of really great recognition and I've worked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-sedgwick/it-s-not-always-thankless-let-s-face-it-it-s-not-always-thankless-i/) [Kyra Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-sedgwick/) > [Don’t get me wrong. Being a mom is no picnic. Raising the kids is the mother’s responsibility. It’s a thankless, solitary job, like sheriff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-get-me-wrong-being-a-mom-is-no-picnic-raising-the-kids-is-the/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Writing a novel about feminism can be a thankless task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/writing-a-novel-about-feminism-can-be-a-thankless-task/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [The office of the public teacher is an unenviable and thankless one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/the-office-of-the-public-teacher-is-an-unenviable-and-thankless-one/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [Never try to convey your idea to the audience - it is a thankless and senseless task. Show them life, and they’ll find within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/never-try-to-convey-your-idea-to-the-audience-it-is-a-thankless-and/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I started volunteering at an animal shelter, and little by little, my life started getting better. I think that is the secret. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcnamara/i-started-volunteering-at-an-animal-shelter-and-little-by-little-my/) [William McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcnamara/) > [“it’s a thankless job, telling people it’s a hard, hard Universe they’re in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-s-a-thankless-job-telling-people-it-s-a-hard-hard-universe-they-re/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Scarlett O'Hara is going to be a thankless and difficult role. The part I'd like to play is Rhett Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-shearer/scarlett-o-hara-is-going-to-be-a-thankless-and-difficult-role-the/) [Norma Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-shearer/) > [Computer programmers tend, by and large, to be quirky and highly individualistic. Trying to organize or manage such awkward characters is normally as thankless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/computer-programmers-tend-by-and-large-to-be-quirky-and-highly/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [In spite of its romantic frisson, the position of muse is very vague and largely thankless for the muse herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-roiphe/in-spite-of-its-romantic-frisson-the-position-of-muse-is-very-vague/) [Katie Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-roiphe/) > [Meddling with another man's folly is always thankless work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/meddling-with-another-man-s-folly-is-always-thankless-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [We need to reward the 'thankless job' of substitute teaching with better pay and chances for permanent positions. I look forward to the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/we-need-to-reward-the-thankless-job-of-substitute-teaching-with/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I have some friends who are actors. I've watched them work. And I would say that of all the arts, acting is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-have-some-friends-who-are-actors-i-ve-watched-them-work-and-i-would/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [We are surrounded every day by people who do thankless but important work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kilmeade/we-are-surrounded-every-day-by-people-who-do-thankless-but-important/) [Brian Kilmeade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kilmeade/) ## More by John Buchan > [“All this was very loose guessing, and I don't pretend it was ingenious or scientific. I wasn't any kind of Sherlock Holmes. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/all-this-was-very-loose-guessing-and-i-don-t-pretend-it-was-ingenious/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/you-think-that-a-wall-as-solid-as-the-earth-separates-civilization/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“The men who knew that he knew what he knew had found him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/the-men-who-knew-that-he-knew-what-he-knew-had-found-him/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“I began to get really keen, for every man at the bottom of his heart believes that he is a born detective.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-began-to-get-really-keen-for-every-man-at-the-bottom-of-his-heart/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“How will you deal with him?" Belses asked. Jock lifted a brawny fist and regarded it lovingly. "Knock him out-- truss him up-- whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/how-will-you-deal-with-him-belses-asked-jock-lifted-a-brawny-fist-and/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men rather than for what unites them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/the-true-definition-of-a-snob-is-one-who-craves-for-what-separates/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [You see only the productions of second-rate folk who are in a hurry to get wealth and fame. The true knowledge, the deadly knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/you-see-only-the-productions-of-second-rate-folk-who-are-in-a-hurry/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I always try to suit my clothes to my company. It is the only way to be inconspicuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-always-try-to-suit-my-clothes-to-my-company-it-is-the-only-way-to/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“But let none, he added, pray to have the full music; for it will make him who hears it a footsore traveller in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/but-let-none-he-added-pray-to-have-the-full-music-for-it-will-make/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“though I was afraid of many things, the thing I feared most mortally was being afraid. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/though-i-was-afraid-of-many-things-the-thing-i-feared-most-mortally/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [ \[W\]ithout humour you cannot run a sweetie-shop, let alone a nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/w-ithout-humour-you-cannot-run-a-sweetie-shop-let-alone-a-nation/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I was a peaceful sedentary man, a lover of a quiet life, with no appetite for perils and commotions. But I was beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-was-a-peaceful-sedentary-man-a-lover-of-a-quiet-life-with-no/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [In our modern world we have seen inaugurated the reign of a dull bourgeois rationalism, which finds some inadequate reason for all things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/in-our-modern-world-we-have-seen-inaugurated-the-reign-of-a-dull/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [The robe of flesh wears thin, and with the years God shines through all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/the-robe-of-flesh-wears-thin-and-with-the-years-god-shines-through/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“Most people are a little scared at new things ... You want a bigger heart to face danger which you go out to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/most-people-are-a-little-scared-at-new-things-you-want-a-bigger-heart/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) [Explore all 90 John Buchan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) Alejandro Taubas > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would have been content with any job however thankless, in any quarter however remote, if I had a chance of making a corner of the desert blossom and the solitary place glad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Buchan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-however-thankless-in-any/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-however-thankless-in-any/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aea/john-buchan-7539_chance_i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-h_1743373.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would have been content with any job however thankless, in any quarter however remote, if I had a chance…” — John Buchan", "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": "John Buchan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would have been content with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-however-thankless-in-any/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-would-have-been-content-with-any-job-however-thankless-in-any/#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 } } ] } ```