--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: those content to serve mediocre employers…" description: "\"“those content to serve mediocre employers will never know – the satisfaction of being able to say with some reason that one’s efforts, in however mode..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg" --- # those content to serve mediocre employers will never know… ![“those content to serve mediocre employers will never know – the satisfaction of being able to say with some reason that one’s efforts, in however modest a way, comprise a contribution to the course of history.” quote by Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg) > ““those content to serve mediocre employers will never know – the satisfaction of being able to say with some reason that one’s efforts, in however modest a way, comprise a contribution to the course of history.”” [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Working for unremarkable jobs limits one's sense of purpose; meaningful work lets you feel part of something larger. **In simple terms:** Mediocre work dulls purpose; meaningful work gives historical relevance. Key Takeaway Seek work that aligns with lasting impact. Themes purpose career meaning legacy Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - volunteering - entrepreneurship - academic research - public service Key Concepts existentialism self‑actualization contribution Questions to Reflect On - What would you change in your current role to feel more impactful? - How do you define a contribution to history? A Different Perspective Even meaningful work can be constrained by systemic barriers or personal circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) ## Related quotes > [To know after absence the familiar street and road and village and house is to know again the satisfaction of home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/to-know-after-absence-the-familiar-street-and-road-and-village-and/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [The UK's most forward-thinking employers already know they need to attract, retain and promote the best talent - both male and female.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/the-uk-s-most-forward-thinking-employers-already-know-they-need-to/) [Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/) > [Employers know the nature of people best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/employers-know-the-nature-of-people-best/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Trying to be cool is the easiest path to mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-crews/trying-to-be-cool-is-the-easiest-path-to-mediocrity/) [Terry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-crews/) > [At independence Kenya's economic indicators were equal to those of South Korea, but 45 years down the road, Korea's economy is 40 times that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raila-odinga/at-independence-kenya-s-economic-indicators-were-equal-to-those-of/) [Raila Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raila-odinga/) > [Once you decide that mediocrity is unthinkable, your only choices are excellence and quitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-murray/once-you-decide-that-mediocrity-is-unthinkable-your-only-choices-are/) [Nick Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-murray/) > [Philadelphians are every whit as mediocre as their neighbors, but they seldom encourage each other in mediocrity by giving it a more agreeable name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/philadelphians-are-every-whit-as-mediocre-as-their-neighbors-but-they/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [There has been an obvious effort to play it safe, to make 'Bonanza' a good family show that would offend no one and hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pernell-roberts/there-has-been-an-obvious-effort-to-play-it-safe-to-make-bonanza-a/) [Pernell Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pernell-roberts/) > [If you want to be average, do what others do. If you want to be awesome, do what no one does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-den-heijer/if-you-want-to-be-average-do-what-others-do-if-you-want-to-be-awesome/) [Alexander Den Heijer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-den-heijer/) > [Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/let-america-first-praise-mediocrity-even-in-her-children-before-she/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/only-mediocrity-can-be-trusted-to-be-always-at-its-best/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [It is an error common to many artists, who strive merely to avoid mistakes, when all our efforts should be to create positive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/it-is-an-error-common-to-many-artists-who-strive-merely-to-avoid/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More by Kazuo Ishiguro > [The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-evening-s-the-best-part-of-the-day-you-ve-done-your-day-s-work/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [As a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/as-a-writer-i-m-more-interested-in-what-people-tell-themselves/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“About him and his wife voting for different parties. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable.” “No doubt.” “Quite extraordinary the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/about-him-and-his-wife-voting-for-different-parties-a-few-years-ago/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-what-is-the-sense-in-forever-speculating-what-might-have-happened/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“Silence is just as likely to indicate the most profound ideas forming, the deepest energies being summoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/silence-is-just-as-likely-to-indicate-the-most-profound-ideas-forming/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I don't know why, but it didn't seem an option for more than one of us to storm off, and I wanted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-know-why-but-it-didn-t-seem-an-option-for-more-than-one-of-us/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. But if I think of 15 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/our-family-arrived-in-england-in-1960-at-that-time-i-thought-the-war/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [He chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/he-chose-a-certain-path-in-life-it-proved-to-be-a-misguided-one-but/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“For however one may come in later years to reassess one’s achievements, it is always a consolation to know that one’s life has contained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-however-one-may-come-in-later-years-to-reassess-one-s/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [You're always in a rush, or else you're too exhausted to have a proper conversation. Soon enough, the long hours, the traveling, the broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/you-re-always-in-a-rush-or-else-you-re-too-exhausted-to-have-a-proper/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I don't think it's any fun, even if you are one of the most respected authors in the world like Margaret Atwood, to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-fun-even-if-you-are-one-of-the-most-respected/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I think it's quite difficult to understand what kind of life a writer leads. They might be millionaires, or they might be starving people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-it-s-quite-difficult-to-understand-what-kind-of-life-a-writer/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But this small episode is as good an illustration as any of the hazards of uttering witticisms. By the very nature of a witticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-this-small-episode-is-as-good-an-illustration-as-any-of-the/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [There comes a point when you can more or less count the number of books you're going to write before you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/there-comes-a-point-when-you-can-more-or-less-count-the-number-of/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [My wife is the most savage critic. She doesn't feel intimidated by my reputation. As far as she's concerned, she's just criticising a boyfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/my-wife-is-the-most-savage-critic-she-doesn-t-feel-intimidated-by-my/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) [Explore all 292 Kazuo Ishiguro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“those content to serve mediocre employers will never know – the satisfaction of being able to say with some reason that one’s efforts, in however modest a way, comprise a contribution to the course of history.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kazuo Ishiguro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employers-will-never-know-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employers-will-never-know-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_happiness_those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employer_1729555.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“those content to serve mediocre employers will never know – the satisfaction of being able to say with some…” — Kazuo Ishiguro", "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": "Kazuo Ishiguro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“those content to serve mediocre employers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employers-will-never-know-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/those-content-to-serve-mediocre-employers-will-never-know-the/#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 } } ] } ```