--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel very rich when I have time to…" description: "\"I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my real work.\" — Natalie Goldberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png" --- # I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor… ![“I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my real work.” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png) > “I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my real work.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time for creative work feels like wealth, while a steady income without creative freedom feels impoverished. **In simple terms:** Creative time is true wealth. Key Takeaway Value autonomy over income. Themes creativity work-life balance intrinsic motivation financial vs personal fulfillment time management Mood reflective inspired thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artist seeking inspiration - freelancer juggling gigs - employee feeling constrained - student balancing studies and hobbies Key Concepts creative autonomy intrinsic reward financial security Practical Applications - designing flexible work schedules - encouraging creative sabbaticals Questions to Reflect On - How does your schedule affect your sense of wealth? - Can you trade income for creative freedom? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Paychecks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paychecks/) [Real work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-work/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Don't be didactic - don't write about poverty. Write about poor people. When you dramatize their lives and let life and characters be your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/don-t-be-didactic-don-t-write-about-poverty-write-about-poor-people/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [To become rich in no time is very easy. The only thing you have to do is to look at those who are poorer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-become-rich-in-no-time-is-very-easy-the-only-thing-you-have-to-do/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [There are so many ready to write (poor fools!) for the honor and glory of the thing, and there are so many ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/there-are-so-many-ready-to-write-poor-fools-for-the-honor-and-glory/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [“Without trying, I seem to write about these poor boys who are absolutely mad for girls who are otherwise engaged in perilous endeavors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/without-trying-i-seem-to-write-about-these-poor-boys-who-are/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [If all the earth were paper white / And all the sea were ink / 'Twere not enough for me to write / As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/if-all-the-earth-were-paper-white-and-all-the-sea-were-ink-twere-not/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [Rich are those who have time, and right people to spend on..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/rich-are-those-who-have-time-and-right-people-to-spend-on/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Entire years had passed when he was rich enough in time to disregard the loose change of a minute, but now he obsessed over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/entire-years-had-passed-when-he-was-rich-enough-in-time-to-disregard/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [To become rich in no time …..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-become-rich-in-no-time/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [With those long American TV contracts you think, 'yes, at the end of that I'd be rich.' But at the same time you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/with-those-long-american-tv-contracts-you-think-yes-at-the-end-of/) [Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/) > [In our minds, rich is always the other person, the other family. Rich is having more than you currently have. If that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/in-our-minds-rich-is-always-the-other-person-the-other-family-rich-is/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [How can you say something's important if you don't first withdraw and feel how rich you've become? That way you can become really generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/how-can-you-say-something-s-important-if-you-don-t-first-withdraw-and/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [I never thought that the possession of money would make me feel rich: it often does seem to have an opposite effect. But then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/i-never-thought-that-the-possession-of-money-would-make-me-feel-rich/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [“the surest way to feel rich was to invest in quality nonessentials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/the-surest-way-to-feel-rich-was-to-invest-in-quality-nonessentials/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The feeling must come first. If you actually feel rich, if you have a deep inner conviction that you will always have all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-curtis/the-feeling-must-come-first-if-you-actually-feel-rich-if-you-have-a/) [Donald Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-curtis/) > [“And if twenty cents can make us feel rich, it’s a cheap price to pay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/and-if-twenty-cents-can-make-us-feel-rich-it-s-a-cheap-price-to-pay/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## More by Natalie Goldberg > [“We heard about people who go back to their roots. That is good, but don't get stuck in the root. There is the branch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/we-heard-about-people-who-go-back-to-their-roots-that-is-good-but-don/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/know-that-you-will-eventually-have-to-leave-everything-behind-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. I have been astonished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/in-the-past-few-years-i-ve-assigned-books-to-be-read-before-a-student/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“When you draw and pay attention to what is, it's a form of being present. This inspires the mind, makes it happy, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-draw-and-pay-attention-to-what-is-it-s-a-form-of-being/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/poetry-is-a-dumb-buddha-who-thinks-a-donkey-is-as-important-as-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I told all kinds of stories about going to Japan, about playing ball with my father... I wanted to record my life in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-told-all-kinds-of-stories-about-going-to-japan-about-playing-ball/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To stay close and intimate with experience is to stay close to the mind; the nitty gritty mind of the way things really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-stay-close-and-intimate-with-experience-is-to-stay-close-to-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I read Eve Ensler and thought it was fabulous. Not only that, but it was really the only thing I could relate to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-read-eve-ensler-and-thought-it-was-fabulous-not-only-that-but-it/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In a way, the cancer became an ally because it stopped me from running around so much. I was able to settle down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/in-a-way-the-cancer-became-an-ally-because-it-stopped-me-from-running/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) [Explore all 212 Natalie Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More Feels quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [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 feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) Browse all 38,933 Feels quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my real work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalie Goldberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feels" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/natalie-goldberg-1741_feels_i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-wri_25633.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my…” — Natalie Goldberg", "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": "Natalie Goldberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I feel very rich when I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/#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 } } ] } ```