--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's lucky about my career in general…" description: "\"What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer most wants. Not repeating myself and doing strange things has become ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/jonathan-lethem-1403_career_what-s-lucky-about-my-career-in-general_2601046.png" --- # What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled… ![“What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer most wants. Not repeating myself and doing strange things has become my trademark.” quote by Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/jonathan-lethem-1403_career_what-s-lucky-about-my-career-in-general_2601046.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/jonathan-lethem-1403_career_what-s-lucky-about-my-career-in-general_2601046.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d18/jonathan-lethem-1403_career_what-s-lucky-about-my-career-in-general_2601046.png) > “What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer most wants. Not repeating myself and doing strange things has become my trademark.” [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker finds luck in a career that lets them avoid repetition and embrace oddity, which defines their style. **In simple terms:** Finding a career that lets you be original and quirky is lucky. Key Takeaway Embrace uniqueness in your work. Themes creativity individuality career Mood proud reflective Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - writing - personal branding - career development - artistic expression Key Concepts literature authenticity innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance originality with audience expectations? - Can oddity become a barrier? A Different Perspective May limit audience appeal if too unconventional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am a man of very many anxieties but doing strange things with the camera is not one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/i-am-a-man-of-very-many-anxieties-but-doing-strange-things-with-the/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [I like to write about real people, real crimes. But what has increasingly come to interest me, and also appear to me as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/i-like-to-write-about-real-people-real-crimes-but-what-has/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [People do need a social license to go, "Ha ha ha," and have a good time. It's a strange thing. There's a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/people-do-need-a-social-license-to-go-ha-ha-ha-and-have-a-good-time/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [People who share a muddled, careless, or deceitful attitude towards gathering evidence often find themselves drawn to eachother's fantasies. If you believe one wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-thompson/people-who-share-a-muddled-careless-or-deceitful-attitude-towards/) [Damian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-thompson/) > ['Tis a strange thing, Sam, that among us people can't agree the whole week, because they go different ways upon Sundays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/tis-a-strange-thing-sam-that-among-us-people-can-t-agree-the-whole/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [I did a lot of strange things. But I am a bad Catholic that's for sure. Although I think it's difficult to believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/i-did-a-lot-of-strange-things-but-i-am-a-bad-catholic-that-s-for-sure/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [I love wearing trackies to lounge around the house in and the strange thing is, it doesn’t matter how many new ones I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/i-love-wearing-trackies-to-lounge-around-the-house-in-and-the-strange/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [When there are strange things going on all around, every coincidence should be considered very carefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/when-there-are-strange-things-going-on-all-around-every-coincidence/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-cars-of-the-migrant-people-crawled-out-of-the-side-roads-onto-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [ This is the strange thing about existing in time. As \[Philip\] Larkin puts it, "truly, though our element is time, we are not used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/this-is-the-strange-thing-about-existing-in-time-as-philip-larkin/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [Being a grandmother is one of the least strange things in my life. It makes more sense than a lot of things... like photo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/being-a-grandmother-is-one-of-the-least-strange-things-in-my-life-it/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [It seems a strange thing, but once I was able to get past that kind of self-image problem, I was able to open up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/it-seems-a-strange-thing-but-once-i-was-able-to-get-past-that-kind-of/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I've been accused of humanizing the Nazis, to which I can only say, you can't blame me for that. God did that. Go talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-d-snodgrass/i-ve-been-accused-of-humanizing-the-nazis-to-which-i-can-only-say-you/) [W. D. Snodgrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-d-snodgrass/) > [The strange thing with Wikipedia is that the first article that ever gets written about you will define your Wikipedia page forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/the-strange-thing-with-wikipedia-is-that-the-first-article-that-ever/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [Thankfully I've been quite lucky in my career, but it's always good to re-evaluate things and think about what else you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-patrick-harris/thankfully-i-ve-been-quite-lucky-in-my-career-but-it-s-always-good-to/) [Neil Patrick Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-patrick-harris/) ## More by Jonathan Lethem > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [Life is fundamentally up for grabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/life-is-fundamentally-up-for-grabs/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/my-heart-to-put-it-more-simply-got-nostalgic-for-the-present-always-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [It's impossible to overstate how my relationship to music forms a preserve for the esoteric or even spiritual aspect of my relationship to cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-s-impossible-to-overstate-how-my-relationship-to-music-forms-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“If. If Mingus Rude could be kept in this place, kept somehow in Dylan's pocket, in his stinging, smudgy hands, then summer wouldn't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/if-if-mingus-rude-could-be-kept-in-this-place-kept-somehow-in-dylan-s/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was read in multiple contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-had-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-who-confused-genre-boundaries-and/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Memory is a rehearsal for a show that never goes on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/memory-is-a-rehearsal-for-a-show-that-never-goes-on/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“There is nothing Tourettic about the New York City subways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-is-nothing-tourettic-about-the-new-york-city-subways/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Mingus Rude, Arthur Lomb, Gabriel Stern and Tim Vandertooth, even Aaron K. Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-try-to-write-every-day-i-don-t-beat-myself-up-about-word-counts-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Enough of this. Does every conversation with you have to be the director's cut? Get out of the car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/enough-of-this-does-every-conversation-with-you-have-to-be-the/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“The stumbling block will turn out to be the traditional one for students of consciousness: the flashlight is incapable of shining on itself, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-stumbling-block-will-turn-out-to-be-the-traditional-one-for/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“May one plead, Your Honor, postmodernism as an involuntary condition?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/may-one-plead-your-honor-postmodernism-as-an-involuntary-condition/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) [Explore all 241 Jonathan Lethem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## 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 > [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.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [“The vocation of a man lies in his vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-vocation-of-a-man-lies-in-his-vision/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. 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