--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My first job was to run a concessions…" description: "\"My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found a position at the Pacific Film Archive. Thus began a long series of jobs, each one slightly ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/mona-simpson-11854_began_my-first-job-was-to-run-a-concessions-ca_1101418.png" --- # My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found… ![“My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found a position at the Pacific Film Archive. Thus began a long series of jobs, each one slightly better than the last, that continued for a decade, until I sold my first novel, and still goes on, even now.” quote by Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/mona-simpson-11854_began_my-first-job-was-to-run-a-concessions-ca_1101418.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/mona-simpson-11854_began_my-first-job-was-to-run-a-concessions-ca_1101418.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/mona-simpson-11854_began_my-first-job-was-to-run-a-concessions-ca_1101418.png) > “My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found a position at the Pacific Film Archive. Thus began a long series of jobs, each one slightly better than the last, that continued for a decade, until I sold my first novel, and still goes on, even now.” [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A career can progress gradually through incremental improvements, leading to major breakthroughs over time. **In simple terms:** Small job upgrades can lead to big successes. Key Takeaway Seek continual improvement. Themes career growth incremental progress perseverance Mood optimistic reflective Type motivational career advice When to use this quote - job hunting - skill building - publishing a novel - career transitions Key Concepts creative development long‑term planning Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take today to improve your career? - How do you recognize when a job is “slightly better”? A Different Perspective Success often depends on timing and networking, not just effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cart/) [Even now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even-now/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [First job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-job/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacific/) ## Related quotes > [“You, Celaena Sardothien, are charged with the deaths of the following people..." And then he began a long recitation of all those lives she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/you-celaena-sardothien-are-charged-with-the-deaths-of-the-following/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“  Fair was she and young, when in hope began the long journey;   Faded was she and old, when in disappointment it ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/fair-was-she-and-young-when-in-hope-began-the-long-journey-faded-was/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“North. To Terrasen. To fight, not run. To Aelin and Ren and Aedion—grown and strong and alive. She did not know how long it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/north-to-terrasen-to-fight-not-run-to-aelin-and-ren-and-aedion-grown/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-who-told-me-i-d-never-make-it/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I sold my very first novel when I was 24 or 25 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-anderson/i-sold-my-very-first-novel-when-i-was-24-or-25-years-old/) [Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-anderson/) > [I sold my first short story while I was home on maternity leave, then began working on novels. 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But I could never belong to a private club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/when-i-reached-adulthood-even-now-i-could-afford-to-belong-to-a/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Anyone who has had their heart broken learns to keep a little safety area. Even now in my relationship, I have something I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/anyone-who-has-had-their-heart-broken-learns-to-keep-a-little-safety/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [Oh, I had, 'No one will ever fancy me!' I had that well into my teens. Even now I do not consider myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/oh-i-had-no-one-will-ever-fancy-me-i-had-that-well-into-my-teens-even/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [If our inconceivably ancient universe even had any beginning, the conditions determining that beginning must even now be engraved in the atomic weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-william-richards/if-our-inconceivably-ancient-universe-even-had-any-beginning-the/) Theodore William Richards ## More by Mona Simpson > [“Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Does it improve upon the silence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/is-it-true-is-it-kind-is-it-necessary-does-it-improve-upon-the-silence/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I've never had an exclusive relationship to a room where I write. I used to want one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-ve-never-had-an-exclusive-relationship-to-a-room-where-i-write-i/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I do have food in my books. Different people eat different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-do-have-food-in-my-books-different-people-eat-different-ways/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I grew up as an only child with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-with-a-single-mother-because-we-were-poor/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [“A mother's happiness; something you recognize and then forget; it didn't seem to matter much, though it spread through our bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/a-mother-s-happiness-something-you-recognize-and-then-forget-it-didn/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I'm a simple cook, and there's a lot I don't eat. But food is important. It translates so easily into pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-m-a-simple-cook-and-there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-eat-but-food-is-important/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I knew I would hate my best memory because it would prove that people could fake love or that love could end or worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-knew-i-would-hate-my-best-memory-because-it-would-prove-that-people/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Once upon a time, my mother lived in the posh downtown of Homs, Syria. She described my grandfather as a king in a storybook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/once-upon-a-time-my-mother-lived-in-the-posh-downtown-of-homs-syria/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [In my 30s, I wrote in the back house of a ramshackle Spanish Revival we rented across from the ocean in the Santa Monica…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/in-my-30s-i-wrote-in-the-back-house-of-a-ramshackle-spanish-revival/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I read a lot of books about psychopaths. I read a wonderful book Amy Hempel gave me about the guy who created criminal profiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-read-a-lot-of-books-about-psychopaths-i-read-a-wonderful-book-amy/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/fashion-is-what-seems-beautiful-now-but-looks-ugly-later-art-can-be/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I eventually made the reunion with my father that I'd used as a default daydream throughout my childhood, but by then, we'd both outgrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-eventually-made-the-reunion-with-my-father-that-i-d-used-as-a/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I remember the excitement of finding a great pancake recipe in 'Gourmet.' It felt as if it were mine. And it was Berkeley, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-remember-the-excitement-of-finding-a-great-pancake-recipe-in/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/gossip-is-essentially-storytelling-storytelling-about-people-whom-we/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > ['Casebook' is my attempt at a love story. I had a vision of a difficult love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/casebook-is-my-attempt-at-a-love-story-i-had-a-vision-of-a-difficult/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) [Explore all 57 Mona Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## More Began quotes > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. 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My life began when I met you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-eckrich/i-m-not-giving-up-my-life-my-life-began-when-i-met-you/) Shannon Eckrich > [I was precocious, so I began reading 'Cosmo' when I was 12.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-coles/i-was-precocious-so-i-began-reading-cosmo-when-i-was-12/) [Joanna Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-coles/) > [When the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the defeat of grumpy old John McCain began looking, um, inevitable, I started fielding inquiries about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/when-the-2008-victory-of-barack-obama-and-the-defeat-of-grumpy-old/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [I was a photographer. 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"The very portrait of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-wasn-t-i-began-i-didn-t-he-began-how-charming-v-lane-cut-us-off-his/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Watergate got us to think of leaders as mere mortals. America began to think of itself in a very different way - I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/watergate-got-us-to-think-of-leaders-as-mere-mortals-america-began-to/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) Browse all 658 Began quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found a position at the Pacific Film Archive. 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