--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was never going to be one of Nobel…" description: "\"I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners.\" — Lewis Schiff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg" --- # I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners. ![“I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners.” quote by Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg) > “I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners.” [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He never expected to win a Nobel prize, reflecting modest expectations. **In simple terms:** He doubted becoming a Nobel laureate. Key Takeaway Accept realistic expectations while striving. Themes humility ambition self‑perception achievement career Mood thoughtful encouraging realistic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - academic career - personal ambition - motivation Key Concepts self‑efficacy goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What aspirations do you hold? - How do expectations affect your effort? A Different Perspective Modesty may limit pursuit of high goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel/) [Nobel prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-prize/) [Nobel prize winners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-prize-winners/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winner/) ## Related quotes > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In fact, 37 percent of all United States Nobel Prize winners in the 20th century have been representatives of the Jewish community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-porter/in-fact-37-percent-of-all-united-states-nobel-prize-winners-in-the/) [Jon Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-porter/) > [Harkening back to a story about my grandfather, I was lucky to attend a great high school in New York, Bronx High School of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/harkening-back-to-a-story-about-my-grandfather-i-was-lucky-to-attend/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [It is not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer must refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/it-is-not-the-same-thing-if-i-sign-jean-paul-sartre-or-if-i-sign-jean/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [I had a period when I read Nobel Prize winners. I figured they had to be good. I discovered some people I didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-had-a-period-when-i-read-nobel-prize-winners-i-figured-they-had-to/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [If you look at the recent Nobel Prize winners, one couldn't say that the work didn't matter and the political commitment did. Who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/if-you-look-at-the-recent-nobel-prize-winners-one-couldn-t-say-that/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I think there is a huge difference between writers who have very big sales, and writers who have small sales. Even writers with very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-there-is-a-huge-difference-between-writers-who-have-very-big/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [ We \[Corbis\] make it so easy to call up images, whether art or people or beaches or sunsets or Nobel Prize winners. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-corbis-make-it-so-easy-to-call-up-images-whether-art-or-people-or/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Misguided liberal Joseph Stiglitz.Columbia University professor and Nobel Prize winner, claims the American dream is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jedediah-bila/misguided-liberal-joseph-stiglitz-columbia-university-professor-and/) [Jedediah Bila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jedediah-bila/) > [And this indifference is still very much present in modern South Africa. Just listen to Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer - a representative of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/and-this-indifference-is-still-very-much-present-in-modern-south/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/a-writer-must-refuse-to-allow-himself-to-be-transformed-into-an/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [My two Jamaican cousins ... were studying engineering. 'That's where the money is,' Mom advised. ... I was to be an engineering major, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/my-two-jamaican-cousins-were-studying-engineering-that-s-where-the/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [I thought maybe I would become a god, or a goddess, or a president or a Nobel Prize winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelie-nothomb/i-thought-maybe-i-would-become-a-god-or-a-goddess-or-a-president-or-a/) [Amelie Nothomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelie-nothomb/) > [Of course, today at the Karolinska Institute, I am working with some top experts - even some Nobel prize winners. They have the latest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-nilsson/of-course-today-at-the-karolinska-institute-i-am-working-with-some/) [Lennart Nilsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-nilsson/) > [“In a recent study comparing every Nobel Prize–winning scientist from 1901 to 2005 with typical scientists of the same era, both groups attained deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/in-a-recent-study-comparing-every-nobel-prize-winning-scientist-from/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) ## More by Lewis Schiff > [One of the things all entrepreneurs struggle with is where their efforts will have the highest impact. Unfortunately, too many of us continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/one-of-the-things-all-entrepreneurs-struggle-with-is-where-their/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [“find the field that interests you the most, work with the biggest and richest player willing to partner with you, and then do everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/find-the-field-that-interests-you-the-most-work-with-the-biggest-and/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [That being said, everyone of us can move a big step farther towards determining the direction of our own lives. We can all break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/that-being-said-everyone-of-us-can-move-a-big-step-farther-towards/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [That doesn't mean we should be doing it, though. We should always be carving back those things that are comfortable and institutionalized but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/that-doesn-t-mean-we-should-be-doing-it-though-we-should-always-be/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [If the workers don't keep themselves current - with some assistance and guidance from their employers - then the workers who are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/if-the-workers-don-t-keep-themselves-current-with-some-assistance-and/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [In companies, there are three activities that should be labeled better. First there is the "CORE" which is the thing the company does that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/in-companies-there-are-three-activities-that-should-be-labeled-better/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [For example, I wear clothes I buy at trendy shops because I don't care much about clothing. If someone wants to create a trend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/for-example-i-wear-clothes-i-buy-at-trendy-shops-because-i-don-t-care/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [The disruption caused by globalization and technology (what Tom Friedman calls hyperconnectedness) will be around for the rest of our professional lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/the-disruption-caused-by-globalization-and-technology-what-tom/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [I went to work at political consulting firms, graphic design and communications firms and ultimately, magazines. Today, my career is in the media business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-went-to-work-at-political-consulting-firms-graphic-design-and/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [Apple made tools that helped people express their creativity and Steve Jobs knew that so he told that story well. But Facebook makes tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/apple-made-tools-that-helped-people-express-their-creativity-and/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [As you climb of the organizational ladder, you have to redefine your role in the value chain from player to captain to coach to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/as-you-climb-of-the-organizational-ladder-you-have-to-redefine-your/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [It's the "Success Paradox." When a set of behaviors has gotten you somewhere, you keep doing them even though the circumstances have changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/it-s-the-success-paradox-when-a-set-of-behaviors-has-gotten-you/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [My fighting spirit has often seemed out of place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/my-fighting-spirit-has-often-seemed-out-of-place/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [I also believe that at a critical point (more than six people?), that collective wisdom turns into group think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-also-believe-that-at-a-critical-point-more-than-six-people-that/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [I think small groups have more collective wisdom than an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-think-small-groups-have-more-collective-wisdom-than-an-individual/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) [Explore all 56 Lewis Schiff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) ## More Nobel quotes > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [The Nobel is a ticket to one's own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-nobel-is-a-ticket-to-one-s-own-funeral-no-one-has-ever-done/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The literature Nobel laureate of this year has said that an author can do anything as long as his readers believe him.A scientist cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sune-bergstrom/the-literature-nobel-laureate-of-this-year-has-said-that-an-author/) Sune Bergstrom > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The Oscar seems to have been confused with the Nobel Peace Prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-maslin/the-oscar-seems-to-have-been-confused-with-the-nobel-peace-prize/) [Janet Maslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-maslin/) > [I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/i-thought-they-would-never-select-an-eastern-writer-for-the-nobel-i/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [Well I don't know how many pounds make up a ton, Of all the nobel prizes that I've never won, And I may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-partridge/well-i-don-t-know-how-many-pounds-make-up-a-ton-of-all-the-nobel/) [Andy Partridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-partridge/) > [I think the team that successfully puts together an economic and social policy framework for global full employment in decent working conditions based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-somavia/i-think-the-team-that-successfully-puts-together-an-economic-and/) [Juan Somavia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-somavia/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [We are going to see a steady stream, I predict, of Nobel prizes coming out of chemistry and given to women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/we-are-going-to-see-a-steady-stream-i-predict-of-nobel-prizes-coming/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [ \[on what characteristics Nobel prize winning physicists had in common\] I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/on-what-characteristics-nobel-prize-winning-physicists-had-in-common/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) [Browse all 435 Nobel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Schiff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-prize-winners/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nobel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-prize-winners/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lewis-schiff-12040_nobel_i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-pri_2657352.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was never going to be one of Nobel prize winners.” — Lewis Schiff", "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": "Lewis Schiff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was never going to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-prize-winners/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-was-never-going-to-be-one-of-nobel-prize-winners/#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 } } ] } ```