--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obsession is a young man's game, and my…" description: "\"Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.\" — Michael Caine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg" --- # Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is… ![“Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.” quote by Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg) > “Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.” [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youthful obsession thrives on novelty; aging brings different priorities. **In simple terms:** Obsessions are youthful; aging changes focus. Key Takeaway Accept changing passions. Themes growth obsession age identity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career shifts - relationship dynamics - personal development Key Concepts philosophy life stages Questions to Reflect On - Do you still chase the same passions? - How can you channel obsession constructively? A Different Perspective Obsessions can persist despite age, limiting growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Grew Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-old-448299/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsession Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession-young-1893271/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [Obsession is a young man’s game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [In my opinion, everybody is getting older and older. We have a great deal of dementia because nobody grew old enough to get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/in-my-opinion-everybody-is-getting-older-and-older-we-have-a-great/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [“You must find a place on a woman's body and live there. In the dark, the noise far away, Sam ran his hands over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/you-must-find-a-place-on-a-woman-s-body-and-live-there-in-the-dark/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“So the years passed and everyone grew old and Nell’s husband died and Hilda grew to be a large, angry sort of woman very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/so-the-years-passed-and-everyone-grew-old-and-nell-s-husband-died-and/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [I've told everyone that I grew old on 'Hee Haw,' but I could've grown old without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-clark/i-ve-told-everyone-that-i-grew-old-on-hee-haw-but-i-could-ve-grown/) [Roy Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-clark/) > [We thrust our fingers into our ears to stop its moan; but it was no good; the cry cut like a drill into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-toller/we-thrust-our-fingers-into-our-ears-to-stop-its-moan-but-it-was-no/) [Ernst Toller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-toller/) > [My dad was a wrestler, so I grew up old school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dibiase-sr/my-dad-was-a-wrestler-so-i-grew-up-old-school/) [Ted DiBiase Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dibiase-sr/) > [I used to go outside every day and invent these elaborate worlds and scenarios in my head, and when I grew too old for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-used-to-go-outside-every-day-and-invent-these-elaborate-worlds-and/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“These new movements, of course, grew out of the old ones and tended to keep their names and pay lip-service to their ideology. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/these-new-movements-of-course-grew-out-of-the-old-ones-and-tended-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Then the earth grew old, its landscapes mellowing and showing signs of age, its ways becoming whimsical and strange in the manner of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/then-the-earth-grew-old-its-landscapes-mellowing-and-showing-signs-of/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [Cats were the gangsters of the animal world, living outside the law and often dying there. There were a great many of them who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/cats-were-the-gangsters-of-the-animal-world-living-outside-the-law/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-grew-old-first-not-in-your-own-eyes-but-in-other-people-s-eyes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Your enemies call it comeuppance and relish the details of a drug too fine, how long you must have dangled there beside yourself. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-barresi/your-enemies-call-it-comeuppance-and-relish-the-details-of-a-drug-too/) [Dorothy Barresi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-barresi/) > [“In the beginning the stories were long and colored, but as he grew old and his eyes clouded, the stories were told in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-dexter/in-the-beginning-the-stories-were-long-and-colored-but-as-he-grew-old/) [Pete Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-dexter/) > [“O how incomprehensible everything was, and actually sad, although it was also beautiful. One knew nothing. One lived and ran about the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/o-how-incomprehensible-everything-was-and-actually-sad-although-it/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) ## More by Michael Caine > [That to me is what my idea of film acting should be. There shouldn't be any acting. You should just be watching a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/that-to-me-is-what-my-idea-of-film-acting-should-be-there-shouldn-t/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/theater-acting-is-an-operation-with-a-scalpel-movie-acting-is-an/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [If you're a leading actor you don't work with another actor. You work with a lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-re-a-leading-actor-you-don-t-work-with-another-actor-you-work/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [“Be a duck, remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/be-a-duck-remain-calm-on-the-surface-and-paddle-like-hell-underneath/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I try to make everyone around me feel comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-try-to-make-everyone-around-me-feel-comfortable/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [You can see all sorts of things in film acting if you know where to look and what to look for. One thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/you-can-see-all-sorts-of-things-in-film-acting-if-you-know-where-to/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I was a repertory actor, which meant that I did a play every week. I was a different character every week; for a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-was-a-repertory-actor-which-meant-that-i-did-a-play-every-week-i/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [You start pretending to have fun, you might have a little by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/you-start-pretending-to-have-fun-you-might-have-a-little-by-accident/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [If you held a pistol at my head, I couldn't tell you who they're going to vote for Best Actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-held-a-pistol-at-my-head-i-couldn-t-tell-you-who-they-re-going/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I wear a baseball cap all the time, which I would never normally wear, and I walk very fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-wear-a-baseball-cap-all-the-time-which-i-would-never-normally-wear/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I've always loved reprehensible people because they're so much more interesting to play on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-ve-always-loved-reprehensible-people-because-they-re-so-much-more/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I want to stick around with the big boys. I don't want to be in the old folks home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-want-to-stick-around-with-the-big-boys-i-don-t-want-to-be-in-the/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I've been on movies where I literally couldn't hear what the other actor was saying. It's very awkward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-ve-been-on-movies-where-i-literally-couldn-t-hear-what-the-other/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [My father was a fish market porter. So I grew up on fish, because he used to steal one a day, I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/my-father-was-a-fish-market-porter-so-i-grew-up-on-fish-because-he/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [The trouble with women? Elbows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-trouble-with-women-elbows/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) [Explore all 282 Michael Caine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## More Excuse quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-payson-terhune/win-without-boasting-lose-without-excuse/) [Albert Payson Terhune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-payson-terhune/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Dont leave without a reason, and then try to come back with an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-leave-without-a-reason-and-then-try-to-come-back-with-an-excuse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/i-resolutely-believe-that-respect-for-diversity-is-a-fundamental/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [Worst Break Up Excuse; 'You deserve so much better.' Translation: They've already moved on whether you like it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worst-break-up-excuse-you-deserve-so-much-better-translation-they-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Live with No Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyanendra/live-with-no-excuse/) [Gyanendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyanendra/) [Browse all 2,435 Excuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Caine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-only-excuse-is-that-i-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Excuse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-only-excuse-is-that-i-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41b/michael-caine-1152_excuse_obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-o_1122716.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Obsession is a young man's game, and my only excuse is that I never grew old.” — Michael Caine", "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": "Michael Caine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Obsession is a young man's game,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-only-excuse-is-that-i-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/obsession-is-a-young-man-s-game-and-my-only-excuse-is-that-i-never/#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 } } ] } ```