---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was…"
description: "\"“Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe it was a day, maybe a few days, I can't remember now--when everything seemed to have come to..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png"
---

#  Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe…

![“Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe it was a day, maybe a few days, I can't remember now--when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png)

> ““Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe it was a day, maybe a few days, I can't remember now--when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.””

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He reflects on a moment of apparent success that inevitably leads to chaos, suggesting that success often precedes disruption.

**In simple terms:** Success can bring chaos.

Key Takeaway

Expect disruption after achievement.

Themes

success chaos impermanence

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- starting a new project
- celebrating a win
- planning future steps
- managing expectations

Key Concepts

entropy narrative irony human folly

Questions to Reflect On

- When has success led to unexpected problems for you?
- How can you prepare for inevitable setbacks?

A Different Perspective

May overgeneralize that all success leads to failure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Any time I screw up I feel bad about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gostkowski/any-time-i-screw-up-i-feel-bad-about-it/)

[Stephen Gostkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gostkowski/)

> [Government can screw up just about everything. Given enough power and time it will screw up everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-thornton/government-can-screw-up-just-about-everything-given-enough-power-and/)

Mark Thornton

> [I'm home maybe five days a month, but they're never next to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-the-drag-queen/i-m-home-maybe-five-days-a-month-but-they-re-never-next-to-each-other/)

[Bob the Drag Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-the-drag-queen/)

> [“I run for I don’t know how long. Hours, maybe, or days. Alex told me to run. And so I run. You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-run-for-i-don-t-know-how-long-hours-maybe-or-days-alex-told-me-to-2/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [In real life, T. J. Miller is one of my best friends, and I'll maybe see him for two or three days in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/in-real-life-t-j-miller-is-one-of-my-best-friends-and-i-ll-maybe-see/)

[Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/)

> [Take a lot of time to improve yourself, then obviously there will be no time to critisize others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-lot-of-time-to-improve-yourself-then-obviously-there-will-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Darwinian evolution has obviously not had enough time to work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hammond/darwinian-evolution-has-obviously-not-had-enough-time-to-work/)

[George Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hammond/)

> [My dream is to get to the NBA, obviously. But it will be when the time is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemba-walker/my-dream-is-to-get-to-the-nba-obviously-but-it-will-be-when-the-time/)

[Kemba Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemba-walker/)

> [Any law can be changed, obviously, at any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-paulsen/any-law-can-be-changed-obviously-at-any-time/)

[Erik Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-paulsen/)

> [I mean, do you really think Paul Krugman is checking his Twitter account every day to read what I write? Of course not. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/i-mean-do-you-really-think-paul-krugman-is-checking-his-twitter/)

[Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/)

> [“One day maybe you'll get a chance to meet her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-randy-camp/one-day-maybe-you-ll-get-a-chance-to-meet-her/)

[Randolph Randy Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-randy-camp/)

> [I wish it would rain all day, maybe that would make the pain go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-tommons/i-wish-it-would-rain-all-day-maybe-that-would-make-the-pain-go-away/)

[Laura Tommons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-tommons/)

> [“the people you love can surprise you every day... maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-people-you-love-can-surprise-you-every-day-maybe-who-we-are-isn-t/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day, and maybe they can put this project in their own context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-jorgeson/i-think-everyone-has-their-own-secret-dawn-wall-to-complete-one-day/)

[Kevin Jorgeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-jorgeson/)

> [If you think about something or someone every day; maybe their meant to be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-you-think-about-something-or-someone-every-day-maybe-their-meant/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

## More by Nick Hornby

> [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

[Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

## More Slam quotes

> [Hopefully I can just have another terrible year with only the one Grand Slam and that will be just fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-federer/hopefully-i-can-just-have-another-terrible-year-with-only-the-one/)

[Roger Federer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-federer/)

> [I think I can win a slam. That's my main goal, and if I could choose one, then yes, it would have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-berdych/i-think-i-can-win-a-slam-that-s-my-main-goal-and-if-i-could-choose/)

[Tomas Berdych](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-berdych/)

> [Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/modesty-is-a-learned-affectation-and-as-soon-as-life-slams-the-modest/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [He looked at my lips. I suddenly found myself wanting to lick his. 'Yes,' he replied, his eyes going molten. My breath caught in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/he-looked-at-my-lips-i-suddenly-found-myself-wanting-to-lick-his-yes/)

[Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/)

> [For the last 15 years that I have been performing, all I ever wanted to do was transcend poetry to the world. See, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemon-andersen/for-the-last-15-years-that-i-have-been-performing-all-i-ever-wanted/)

[Lemon Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemon-andersen/)

> [I can walk around screaming, 'I have 17 Grand Slams. I have the record here or there.' When you can play for history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-federer/i-can-walk-around-screaming-i-have-17-grand-slams-i-have-the-record/)

[Roger Federer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-federer/)

> [One little secret of the guys who have won one slam, is that we don't want other guys to win one because its like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-roddick/one-little-secret-of-the-guys-who-have-won-one-slam-is-that-we-don-t/)

[Andy Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-roddick/)

> [When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-you-come-slam-bang-up-against-trouble-it-never-looks-half-as-bad/)

[John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/)

> [The Open is the one that we all want and strive for and to be able to hold this Claret Jug is an incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-mcilroy/the-open-is-the-one-that-we-all-want-and-strive-for-and-to-be-able-to/)

[Rory McIlroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-mcilroy/)

> [How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-klein/how-many-slams-in-an-old-screen-door-depends-how-loud-you-shut-it-how/)

[Stephanie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-klein/)

> [I think because I was the first Chinese player to win a grand slam, people were thinking: 'She's not like normal people.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-na/i-think-because-i-was-the-first-chinese-player-to-win-a-grand-slam/)

[Li Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-na/)

> [Grand Slam losses are hard. I treat myself after losses though, I usually go to McDonald's and I have a hamburger and you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/grand-slam-losses-are-hard-i-treat-myself-after-losses-though-i/)

[Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/)

> [It's a nice bonus but, you know, I have to pay taxes too. (after winning the Grand Slam Cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/it-s-a-nice-bonus-but-you-know-i-have-to-pay-taxes-too-after-winning/)

[Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/)

> [It's as if scientists exert every effort of will they possess deliberately to find the least significant problems in the world and explain them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-s-as-if-scientists-exert-every-effort-of-will-they-possess/)

[Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/)

> [I'm not going to be a ten or twelve grand-slam winner. It's not going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rafter/i-m-not-going-to-be-a-ten-or-twelve-grand-slam-winner-it-s-not-going/)

[Patrick Rafter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rafter/)

Browse all 271 Slam quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe it was a day, maybe a few days, I can't remember now--when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nick Hornby"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was-this-time-maybe-it-was-a-day/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Slam"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was-this-time-maybe-it-was-a-day/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/nick-hornby-325_slam_anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was_296555.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Anyway, all I'm saying is that there was this time--maybe it was a day, maybe a few days, I can't remember…” — Nick Hornby",
                "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": "Nick Hornby",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Anyway, all I'm saying is that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was-this-time-maybe-it-was-a-day/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/anyway-all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-was-this-time-maybe-it-was-a-day/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
