--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sacrificing everything for one's craft is…" description: "\"Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some people can't help. They can't help themselves. They must do it. They're driven to do it.\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg" --- # Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some… ![“Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some people can't help. They can't help themselves. They must do it. They're driven to do it.” quote by Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg) > “Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some people can't help. They can't help themselves. They must do it. They're driven to do it.” [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Total dedication to one's art can become an obsessive compulsion, limiting balance. **In simple terms:** All‑or‑nothing devotion can be unhealthy. Key Takeaway Seek balance between passion and self‑care. Themes dedication obsession craft balance Mood thoughtful serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - artist burnout - career decisions - personal limits - mental health Key Concepts psychology creativity work ethic Questions to Reflect On - Is your craft serving you or consuming you? - How can you nurture creativity without self‑destruction? A Different Perspective Total devotion may lead to neglect of other life areas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Sacrificing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrificing/) ## Related quotes > [If you have a great business, if you're great at your craft people should be coming in there. It shouldn't be this secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mason/if-you-have-a-great-business-if-you-re-great-at-your-craft-people/) [Andrew Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mason/) > [Witches are the kind of more traditional, home and family, craft people - so they're the ones who are making things; crocheting shawls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/witches-are-the-kind-of-more-traditional-home-and-family-craft-people/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [You have to know your craft. I find that most people who are very, very successful know their craft and have done the research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ealy/you-have-to-know-your-craft-i-find-that-most-people-who-are-very-very/) [Michael Ealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ealy/) > [The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-world-is-perishing-from-an-orgy-of-self-sacrificing/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/there-are-still-many-causes-worth-sacrificing-for-so-much-history-yet/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [Love is sacrificing everything for the one you love no matter what the circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/love-is-sacrificing-everything-for-the-one-you-love-no-matter-what/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“open societies will once again be urged to close in upon themselves, sacrificing freedom for ‘security’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/open-societies-will-once-again-be-urged-to-close-in-upon-themselves/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [If it came to saving the life of one priest or sacrificing the life of an entire congregation, the church would save the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-walton/if-it-came-to-saving-the-life-of-one-priest-or-sacrificing-the-life/) [Rob Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-walton/) > [“It would be useless to tell him that I'm done sacrificing other people for my own gain. I won't whip innocent kitchen workers, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/it-would-be-useless-to-tell-him-that-i-m-done-sacrificing-other/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [Many schools today are sacrificing social studies, the arts and physical education so children can cover basic subjects like math, English and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/many-schools-today-are-sacrificing-social-studies-the-arts-and/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/every-time-that-we-try-to-lift-a-problem-from-our-own-shoulders-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Love never lives on a one-way street, for it will always come back up the road bigger than how we had sent it down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/love-never-lives-on-a-one-way-street-for-it-will-always-come-back-up/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Nothing can be attained without suffering but at the same time one must begin by sacrificing suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff/nothing-can-be-attained-without-suffering-but-at-the-same-time-one/) [G. I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Today, society is sacrificing love, values and dharma in its pursuit of materialistic gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/today-society-is-sacrificing-love-values-and-dharma-in-its-pursuit-of/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) ## More by Joyce Johnson > [I believe in the curative powers of love as the English believe in tea or Catholics believe in the Miracle of Lourdes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-believe-in-the-curative-powers-of-love-as-the-english-believe-in/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I was always aware that Jack loved women not only for their bodies but for the stories that came into being as they interacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-was-always-aware-that-jack-loved-women-not-only-for-their-bodies/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [If time were like a passage of music, you could keep going back to it until you got it right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/if-time-were-like-a-passage-of-music-you-could-keep-going-back-to-it/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I think art, the discipline of creating, really does require tremendous solitude. But the whole creative process can seal your life to such an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-think-art-the-discipline-of-creating-really-does-require-tremendous/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Nothing ever happened except God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/nothing-ever-happened-except-god/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Legend adheres to artists whose deaths seem the corollaries of their works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/legend-adheres-to-artists-whose-deaths-seem-the-corollaries-of-their/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [We tend to make up the people we fall in love with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/we-tend-to-make-up-the-people-we-fall-in-love-with/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [We derive a lot of the reality of ourselves through interactions with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/we-derive-a-lot-of-the-reality-of-ourselves-through-interactions-with/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Fame and success put tremendous demands on people. It robs them of their necessary privacy and anonymity. That's hard for even healthy people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/fame-and-success-put-tremendous-demands-on-people-it-robs-them-of/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [A lot of artists don't survive, do they? You work very hard and finally you get what you want and it destroys you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/a-lot-of-artists-don-t-survive-do-they-you-work-very-hard-and-finally/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [media saturation is probably very destructive to art. New movements get overexposed and exhausted before they have a chance to grow, and they turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/media-saturation-is-probably-very-destructive-to-art-new-movements/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I'd learned myself by the age of sixteen that just as girls guarded their virginity, boys guarded something less tangible which they called Themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-d-learned-myself-by-the-age-of-sixteen-that-just-as-girls-guarded/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I think even celebrities deserve their privacy. I really do. It's sort of a hideous spectacle, the public feeding on all this information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-think-even-celebrities-deserve-their-privacy-i-really-do-it-s-sort/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [I became intent on saving him through showing him that he was loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-became-intent-on-saving-him-through-showing-him-that-he-was-loved/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [Everyone knew in the 1950s why a girl from a nice family left home. The meaning of her theft of herself from her parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/everyone-knew-in-the-1950s-why-a-girl-from-a-nice-family-left-home/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) [Explore all 22 Joyce Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) ## More Craft quotes > [As I progressed in the firm, I learnt the craft, and as I learnt my craft, my partners and the firm threw up different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punit-renjen/as-i-progressed-in-the-firm-i-learnt-the-craft-and-as-i-learnt-my/) [Punit Renjen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punit-renjen/) > [Learn your craft. You want to be a doctor or a teacher - it's very important to learn your craft and indulge in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-horry/learn-your-craft-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-or-a-teacher-it-s-very/) [Robert Horry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-horry/) > [What I didn't know that by sticking to craft we would blow open some doors that I never saw opened before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lipton/what-i-didn-t-know-that-by-sticking-to-craft-we-would-blow-open-some/) [James Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lipton/) > [All the craft skills that I have, I feel like I developed and honed in drama school. It's the most important thing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/all-the-craft-skills-that-i-have-i-feel-like-i-developed-and-honed-in/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your hands. Proper artificing is like a song made solid. It is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-is-something-deeply-satisfying-in-shaping-something-with-your/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I have a lot of fun working and training and learning and trying to figure out the different aspects of my craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-cannonier/i-have-a-lot-of-fun-working-and-training-and-learning-and-trying-to/) [Jared Cannonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-cannonier/) > [I probably learned most of my craft from singing to the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-b-schmit/i-probably-learned-most-of-my-craft-from-singing-to-the-radio/) [Timothy B. Schmit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-b-schmit/) > [The key to acting - from what little I know about that wonderful craft - is listening, and interacting with the other person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gray/the-key-to-acting-from-what-little-i-know-about-that-wonderful-craft/) [James Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gray/) > [It is by losing himself in the objective, in inquiry, creation, and craft, that a man becomes something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/it-is-by-losing-himself-in-the-objective-in-inquiry-creation-and/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I take a pretty expansive view of craft, which is to say I don't see craft as just being technique - it's also process;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-take-a-pretty-expansive-view-of-craft-which-is-to-say-i-don-t-see/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [“Writing is a craft, being an author is work, and having readers and a following is a gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-kannengieser/writing-is-a-craft-being-an-author-is-work-and-having-readers-and-a/) [Michael J. Kannengieser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-kannengieser/) > [You need to know your craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorena-garcia/you-need-to-know-your-craft/) [Lorena Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorena-garcia/) > [I have developed my eye as a cinematographer through the craft of operating. When I am not operating, I am often anxious, uncertain, restless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-richardson/i-have-developed-my-eye-as-a-cinematographer-through-the-craft-of/) [Robert Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-richardson/) > [Muscle is good, but craft is better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wace/muscle-is-good-but-craft-is-better/) Wace [Browse all 514 Craft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some people can't help. They can't help themselves. They must do it. They're driven to do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-is-something-some-people-can-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Craft" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-is-something-some-people-can-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/joyce-johnson-25979_craft_sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-i_255382.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sacrificing everything for one's craft is something some people can't help. They can't help themselves. They…” — Joyce Johnson", "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": "Joyce Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sacrificing everything for one's craft is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-is-something-some-people-can-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/sacrificing-everything-for-one-s-craft-is-something-some-people-can-t/#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 } } ] } ```