--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are no hard and fast rules…" description: "\"There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes you work for free and get no credit or courtesy. That's why you make sure you do what you love.\" — Lalah Ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/lalah-hathaway-17040_courtesy_there-are-no-hard-and-fast-rules-sometim_2497722.jpg" --- # There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes you work for… ![“There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes you work for free and get no credit or courtesy. That's why you make sure you do what you love.” quote by Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/lalah-hathaway-17040_courtesy_there-are-no-hard-and-fast-rules-sometim_2497722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/lalah-hathaway-17040_courtesy_there-are-no-hard-and-fast-rules-sometim_2497722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/498/lalah-hathaway-17040_courtesy_there-are-no-hard-and-fast-rules-sometim_2497722.jpg) > “There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes you work for free and get no credit or courtesy. That's why you make sure you do what you love.” [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. There are no strict rules; sometimes you work without pay or recognition, so prioritize passion over external validation. **In simple terms:** Follow your passion, not just rewards. Key Takeaway Do what you love regardless of credit. Themes creativity career passion Mood inspirational pragmatic Type advice motivational When to use this quote - freelance work - artistic projects - volunteering - career changes Key Concepts motivation self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - What passions can you pursue without compromising stability? - How do you balance love for work with financial reality? A Different Perspective Relying solely on passion may ignore practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Credit Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit-courtesy-1029709/) [Fast Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fast-rules-876920/) [Free Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-credit-1029710/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Rules Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-work-433023/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [What you love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-love/) [Work Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-free-379294/) ## Related quotes > [Well I Was Shopping For A New Car Which One's Me, A Cool Convertible Or A S.U.V. To Bad I Didn't Know My Credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-i-was-shopping-for-a-new-car-which-one-s-me-a-cool-convertible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Never call your office while you’re on vacation. That’s always been one of my hard and fast rules.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-manchee/never-call-your-office-while-you-re-on-vacation-that-s-always-been/) [William Manchee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-manchee/) > [I don't want to bring myself down to place where there are hard and fast rules. In general I try to be compassionate, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-don-t-want-to-bring-myself-down-to-place-where-there-are-hard-and/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [There are no hard and fast rules. Your sensibilities change as you grow older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shobana/there-are-no-hard-and-fast-rules-your-sensibilities-change-as-you/) [Shobana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shobana/) > [Lord Darlington (LD): I think life too complex a thing to be settled by these hard and fast rules. Lady Windemere (LW): If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/lord-darlington-ld-i-think-life-too-complex-a-thing-to-be-settled-by/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I think life too complex a thing to be settled by these hard and fast rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-think-life-too-complex-a-thing-to-be-settled-by-these-hard-and-fast/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Rules, after all, are only made so you can work around them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/rules-after-all-are-only-made-so-you-can-work-around-them/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [Whenever you deal with science fiction you are setting up a world of rules. I think you work hard to establish the rules. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-edgerton/whenever-you-deal-with-science-fiction-you-are-setting-up-a-world-of/) [Joel Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-edgerton/) > [When you get new rules that work, you're changing the physiology of your brain. And then your brain has to reconfigure itself in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aphex-twin/when-you-get-new-rules-that-work-you-re-changing-the-physiology-of/) [Aphex Twin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aphex-twin/) > [Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity. From discord find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/three-rules-of-work-out-of-clutter-find-simplicity-from-discord-find/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Things make sense. There are rules and realities that will not change to suit your needs. It's your job to understand those rules. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nando-parrado/things-make-sense-there-are-rules-and-realities-that-will-not-change/) [Nando Parrado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nando-parrado/) > [But rules only work when everyone plays by them. What happens when someone doesn't, and the fallout bleeds right into his life? Whats stronger-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-rules-only-work-when-everyone-plays-by-them-what-happens-when/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [People will take every opportunity to pay you nothing if you're willing to do your work for free, be you man or woman. Women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-katharine-ham/people-will-take-every-opportunity-to-pay-you-nothing-if-you-re/) [Mary Katharine Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-katharine-ham/) > [Never do any work for free or get any work done for free if you are good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/never-do-any-work-for-free-or-get-any-work-done-for-free-if-you-are/) [Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/) > [“For some employers, there is no more glorious work than work done for free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/for-some-employers-there-is-no-more-glorious-work-than-work-done-for/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) ## More by Lalah Hathaway > [Waking up it seems am I the dreamer or the dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/waking-up-it-seems-am-i-the-dreamer-or-the-dream/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [Now you're doing well. From stories I hear tell. You own the world again. Everyone's your friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/now-you-re-doing-well-from-stories-i-hear-tell-you-own-the-world/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [Always remember my friend, The world will change again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/always-remember-my-friend-the-world-will-change-again/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [You bring me down, I will have known it all along and I'll sink just like a stone without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/you-bring-me-down-i-will-have-known-it-all-along-and-i-ll-sink-just/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [So I will try to look into your heart and see the man you claim you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/so-i-will-try-to-look-into-your-heart-and-see-the-man-you-claim-you/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [And you may have to come back. Through everywhere you've been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/and-you-may-have-to-come-back-through-everywhere-you-ve-been/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [Although I never hear from you, still it's nice to know. You used to love me so, when your life was low.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/although-i-never-hear-from-you-still-it-s-nice-to-know-you-used-to/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [It would be hard to be a singer, musician or have ears and not be an admirer of my dad, ... I can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/it-would-be-hard-to-be-a-singer-musician-or-have-ears-and-not-be-an/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [You can expect a record that I put together for you to make you feel good, a record that I put together to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/you-can-expect-a-record-that-i-put-together-for-you-to-make-you-feel/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [So I've lived this live a thousand years. Somehow I, I can swallow all of my tears and dive right in with my eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/so-i-ve-lived-this-live-a-thousand-years-somehow-i-i-can-swallow-all/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [Going through changes from back where I once began um mm. A distant stranger I used to know so long ago um mm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/going-through-changes-from-back-where-i-once-began-um-mm-a-distant/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [People turned their backs on you and everybody said that you were through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/people-turned-their-backs-on-you-and-everybody-said-that-you-were/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [In college, I decided to listen to instrumentalists, because I knew it would help me shape what my personal style was, ... I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/in-college-i-decided-to-listen-to-instrumentalists-because-i-knew-it/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [I don't really have any childhood memories of my dad, unfortunately, ... I was 10 years old when he passed, so my memories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/i-don-t-really-have-any-childhood-memories-of-my-dad-unfortunately-i/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) > [For me, the most gratifying part in touring is singing the songs that I know tmy fans love, it's those moments when they put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-hathaway/for-me-the-most-gratifying-part-in-touring-is-singing-the-songs-that/) [Lalah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) [Explore all 38 Lalah Hathaway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-hathaway/) ## More Courtesy quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Less of your courtesy and more of your purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/less-of-your-courtesy-and-more-of-your-purse/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [“I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/i-would-court-you-with-all-the-grace-and-courtesy-that-you-deserve/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [The greater the man the greater the courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [They who sow courtesy reap friendship, and they who plant kindness gather love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/they-who-sow-courtesy-reap-friendship-and-they-who-plant-kindness/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“If a lady offers you a kindness, you absolutely have to accept”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-wallingford/if-a-lady-offers-you-a-kindness-you-absolutely-have-to-accept/) [Maria Wallingford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-wallingford/) > [though I be but the prince of Wales, yet I am king of courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/though-i-be-but-the-prince-of-wales-yet-i-am-king-of-courtesy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Princes of courtesy, merciful, proud and strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-newbolt/princes-of-courtesy-merciful-proud-and-strong/) [Henry Newbolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-newbolt/) [Browse all 527 Courtesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are no hard and fast rules. 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