--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I live now for my work. I live for my…" description: "\"“I live now for my work. I live for my work. I live only for my work. One day I will do work deserving of my talent & desire. One day. This I pledge. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/joyce-carol-oates-344_work-love_i-live-now-for-my-work-i-live-for-my-wor_146024.png" --- # I live now for my work. I live for my work. I live only… ![“I live now for my work. I live for my work. I live only for my work. One day I will do work deserving of my talent & desire. One day. This I pledge. This I vow. I want you to love me for my work. But if you don't love me I can't continue my work. So please love me! - so I can continue my work. I…” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/joyce-carol-oates-344_work-love_i-live-now-for-my-work-i-live-for-my-wor_146024.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/joyce-carol-oates-344_work-love_i-live-now-for-my-work-i-live-for-my-wor_146024.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/joyce-carol-oates-344_work-love_i-live-now-for-my-work-i-live-for-my-wor_146024.png) > ““I live now for my work. I live for my work. I live only for my work. One day I will do work deserving of my talent & desire. One day. This I pledge. This I vow. I want you to love me for my work. But if you don't love me I can't continue my work. So please love me! - so I can continue my work. I am trapped here! I am trapped in this blond mannequin with the face. I can only breathe through that face! Those nostrils! That mouth! Help me to be perfect. If God was in us, we would be perfect. God is not in us, we know this for we are not perfect. I don't want money & fame. I want only to be perfect. The blond mannequin Monroe is me & is not me. She is not me. She is what I was born. Yes I want you to love her. So you will love me. Oh I want to love you! Where are you? I look, I look & there is no one there.”” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## 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 feels trapped in a performative identity, seeking validation through work and love, yearning for perfection but confronting inherent imperfection. **In simple terms:** Seeking validation through work while feeling trapped. Key Takeaway Recognize self-worth beyond external approval. Themes identity validation perfection artistry loneliness Mood desperate yearning conflicted Type monologue existential psychological When to use this quote - creative professions - personal relationships - mental health struggles - artistic performance Key Concepts existentialism self‑objectification psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define your worth independent of work? - What does “perfect” mean to you? A Different Perspective Perfection is unattainable; reliance on others for self‑value is fragile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Live Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-now/) ## Related quotes > [“If you really believe this is what you want, you're lying to yourself.' 'I'm not lying to myself,' Jacks snarled. 'Then tell me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-garber/if-you-really-believe-this-is-what-you-want-you-re-lying-to-yourself/) [Stephanie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-garber/) > [“My Angel, My greatest hope is that you never have to read this. Vee knows to give you this letter only if my feather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/my-angel-my-greatest-hope-is-that-you-never-have-to-read-this-vee/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [To win you must have talent and desire but desire is first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-snead/to-win-you-must-have-talent-and-desire-but-desire-is-first/) [Sam Snead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-snead/) > [Young players, they can't rely on their talent. They have to have the desire and the work ethic and the belief and the commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-marsch/young-players-they-can-t-rely-on-their-talent-they-have-to-have-the/) [Jesse Marsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-marsch/) > [“But failure also can occur when talent and desire are present in abundance but optimism is missing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seligman-martin/but-failure-also-can-occur-when-talent-and-desire-are-present-in/) Seligman Martin > [What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-zimmer/what-you-lack-in-talent-can-be-made-up-with-desire-hustle-and-giving/) [Don Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-zimmer/) > [“Great players are determined by their talent, desire and willingness to play by the code.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blair-singer/great-players-are-determined-by-their-talent-desire-and-willingness/) [Blair Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blair-singer/) > [I still don't know if I'm good enough or if it's a calling or a vocation or something, but the talent part is out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-isaak/i-still-don-t-know-if-i-m-good-enough-or-if-it-s-a-calling-or-a/) [Chris Isaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-isaak/) > [“To win,you must have both talent an desire- but desire first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-snead/to-win-you-must-have-both-talent-an-desire-but-desire-first/) [Sam Snead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-snead/) > [There is one thing that can beat talent, the desire and spirit strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rio-takabha/there-is-one-thing-that-can-beat-talent-the-desire-and-spirit-strong/) [Rio Takabha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rio-takabha/) > [Even those who argue against fame still want the books they write against it to bear their name in the title and hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/even-those-who-argue-against-fame-still-want-the-books-they-write/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I dont listen to compliments too much! I want an identity outside of my work. Fame is not what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/i-dont-listen-to-compliments-too-much-i-want-an-identity-outside-of/) [Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/) > [t is for me because I needed to do this. I really think actors shouldn't act unless they really need it in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/t-is-for-me-because-i-needed-to-do-this-i-really-think-actors-shouldn/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) > [I use my fame now when I want to help a cause or other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/i-use-my-fame-now-when-i-want-to-help-a-cause-or-other-people/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I want fame more than I can tell. But more than I want fame I want happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/i-want-fame-more-than-i-can-tell-but-more-than-i-want-fame-i-want/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Work love quotes > [My work is a love for me; I'd do it for free, but don't tell my bosses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chick-hearn/my-work-is-a-love-for-me-i-d-do-it-for-free-but-don-t-tell-my-bosses/) [Chick Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chick-hearn/) > [Love is I rather be poor and in the gutters than rich and with out you Love is selfish Love is hope love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracesel-balangue-collado/love-is-i-rather-be-poor-and-in-the-gutters-than-rich-and-with-out/) [Gracesel Balangue Collado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracesel-balangue-collado/) > [We're actors at the end of the day. I don't take it home with me. My experience outside of work, I love... when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-ledger/we-re-actors-at-the-end-of-the-day-i-don-t-take-it-home-with-me-my/) [Heath Ledger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-ledger/) > [Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/work-is-love-made-visible-and-if-you-cannot-work-with-love-but-only/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [No matter what people say outside of football, we don't work for money, we work for the love of the game and the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-allardyce/no-matter-what-people-say-outside-of-football-we-don-t-work-for-money/) [Sam Allardyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-allardyce/) > [The reduction in others work out your love, are when but if other reduction in your work,, why you are are sulking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-reduction-in-others-work-out-your-love-are-when-but-if-other/) Mak\_786 > [Do work you love, in which you can excel: The smaller the gap between who you are in your personal life and who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mackler/do-work-you-love-in-which-you-can-excel-the-smaller-the-gap-between/) [Lauren Mackler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mackler/) > [“Men don't fight for what is theirs. They work for it and they love it with all their hearts. When they do that, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-steinbeck/men-don-t-fight-for-what-is-theirs-they-work-for-it-and-they-love-it/) Rebecca Steinbeck > [Love for your work, love for another person, love for yourself - love is a huge pond, and it's never empty. You can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-krieps/love-for-your-work-love-for-another-person-love-for-yourself-love-is/) [Vicky Krieps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-krieps/) > [I love the work, love the grind. I love what I have to go through to get what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deshaun-watson/i-love-the-work-love-the-grind-i-love-what-i-have-to-go-through-to/) [Deshaun Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deshaun-watson/) > [The truth is, I just love to work. I love being on set. I love being around crews. I love being around my fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-ray-newman/the-truth-is-i-just-love-to-work-i-love-being-on-set-i-love-being/) [Jaime Ray Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-ray-newman/) > [“Love is lying and tricking. Love is hard work. Love is suffocating and using. It's head-fucking and soul-ruining. It's apprehensive and back-stabbing. It's passionate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yellowbella/love-is-lying-and-tricking-love-is-hard-work-love-is-suffocating-and/) YellowBella > [Beauty is not defined by the clothes you wear or the makeup on your face BUT by the way you carry your struggles with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-jauregui/beauty-is-not-defined-by-the-clothes-you-wear-or-the-makeup-on-your/) [Lauren Jauregui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-jauregui/) > [I love to work. I love doing standup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/i-love-to-work-i-love-doing-standup/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [“Happiness is when you do the work you love and earn from it as much money as you want and need, and you live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamuna-tsertsvadze/happiness-is-when-you-do-the-work-you-love-and-earn-from-it-as-much/) Tamuna Tsertsvadze Browse all 248 Work love quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I live now for my work. I live for my work. I live only for my work. One day I will do work deserving of my talent & desire. One day. This I pledge. This I vow. I want you to love me for my work. But if you don't love me I can't continue my work. So please love me! - so I can continue my work. I am trapped here! I am trapped in this blond mannequin with the face. I can only breathe through that face! Those nostrils! That mouth! Help me to be perfect. If God was in us, we would be perfect. God is not in us, we know this for we are not perfect. I don't want money & fame. I want only to be perfect. The blond mannequin Monroe is me & is not me. She is not me. She is what I was born. Yes I want you to love her. So you will love me. Oh I want to love you! Where are you? 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