--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't really ask for anything more…" description: "\"You can't really ask for anything more than to be working for your entire life - and to be doing something that some people respond to.\" — Nick Hornby" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png" --- # You can't really ask for anything more than to be working… ![“You can't really ask for anything more than to be working for your entire life - and to be doing something that some people respond to.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png) > “You can't really ask for anything more than to be working for your entire life - and to be doing something that some people respond to.” [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. Work should be meaningful, aligning with something that resonates with others and gives purpose. **In simple terms:** Seek purposeful work. Key Takeaway Find work that matters to you and others. Themes purpose meaning career impact Mood thoughtful inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career counseling - volunteering - creative writing - entrepreneurship Key Concepts existential psychology Questions to Reflect On - What work gives you purpose? - How can you align personal goals with others’ needs? A Different Perspective Finding such work can be difficult and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) [Ask Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-working-505479/) [Entire life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-doing-292630/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Respond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-respond-520902/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Working Entire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-entire-1015499/) ## Related quotes > [We can create opportunities to generate value by working across the entire breadth of Boeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-muilenburg/we-can-create-opportunities-to-generate-value-by-working-across-the/) [Dennis Muilenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-muilenburg/) > [Ever since I've been blessed with success, I've struggled a little with anonymity and even family. I've had people calling asking for money, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/ever-since-i-ve-been-blessed-with-success-i-ve-struggled-a-little/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [“Ever find yourself working on something without knowing exactly why? Someone just told you to do it. It's pretty common, actually. That's why it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-fried-david-heinemeier-hansson-matthew-linderman-37-signals/ever-find-yourself-working-on-something-without-knowing-exactly-why/) [Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, Matthew Linderman, 37 Signals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-fried-david-heinemeier-hansson-matthew-linderman-37-signals/) > [I always just wait for the right material to come to me. Many times people ask, "What have you been up To?" Well, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larenz-tate/i-always-just-wait-for-the-right-material-to-come-to-me-many-times/) [Larenz Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larenz-tate/) > [I'm out there to be real, and I think people respond to that. If you have some image that you're protecting, eventually people get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/i-m-out-there-to-be-real-and-i-think-people-respond-to-that-if-you/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [People respond to any good you can do in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-cooder/people-respond-to-any-good-you-can-do-in-music/) [Ry Cooder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-cooder/) > [If you create something that is asking for people to respond as they're going to respond, you have to allow them to respond as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/if-you-create-something-that-is-asking-for-people-to-respond-as-they/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [If you believe in your art, and you love what you do, that energy will go out, and people will respond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-conniff/if-you-believe-in-your-art-and-you-love-what-you-do-that-energy-will/) [Ray Conniff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-conniff/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. I think it tends to ground people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-think-it-s-such-a-bad-idea-that-people-learn-the-same-history/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [What people respond to is intimacy and regularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/what-people-respond-to-is-intimacy-and-regularity/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [When someone comes forward and is an individual, such as a Lady Gaga or a Katy Perry, people respond to them because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-goreski/when-someone-comes-forward-and-is-an-individual-such-as-a-lady-gaga/) [Brad Goreski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-goreski/) > [I think people respond to dystopian stories because they're ways of acting out anxieties that we have and fears that we have about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-think-people-respond-to-dystopian-stories-because-they-re-ways-of/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [You can't be responsible for the way people respond to you. You're only responsible for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-principal/you-can-t-be-responsible-for-the-way-people-respond-to-you-you-re/) [Victoria Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-principal/) > [People respond to real problems from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-coen/people-respond-to-real-problems-from-the-heart/) [Ethan Coen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-coen/) > [There's a lot of negative things trying to pull people down, and I think people respond when you tell them that hey, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/there-s-a-lot-of-negative-things-trying-to-pull-people-down-and-i/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) ## 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 Anything quotes > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/) [Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/) > [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/) [Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I haven't shut any doors, and I'm really open to anything, so I think it's just about the material and what is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-panabaker/i-haven-t-shut-any-doors-and-i-m-really-open-to-anything-so-i-think/) [Danielle Panabaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-panabaker/) > [When it really comes down to it, the job you do is more important and is more representative of who you are than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/when-it-really-comes-down-to-it-the-job-you-do-is-more-important-and/) [Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/) > [The reason I'm drawn to it is - both the off road racing and the motorcycles on the track - it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/the-reason-i-m-drawn-to-it-is-both-the-off-road-racing-and-the/) [Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/) > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [We live in such a special time when literally anything we can think of is possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/we-live-in-such-a-special-time-when-literally-anything-we-can-think/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [You know, I'm from Baltimore; nobody has anything. When somebody had talent, I was hiring my uncle, my cousin, you know? Getting people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/you-know-i-m-from-baltimore-nobody-has-anything-when-somebody-had/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [I said to my agent, 'I want short, sharp, well-paid jobs because I haven't got time for anything else.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-whitelaw/i-said-to-my-agent-i-want-short-sharp-well-paid-jobs-because-i-haven/) [Billie Whitelaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-whitelaw/) > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [If the Bible is correct, and the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that means there were no dinosaurs, and museum curators have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/if-the-bible-is-correct-and-the-earth-is-only-6-000-years-old-that/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) > [Don't do anything drastic like getting your eyebrows tattooed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/don-t-do-anything-drastic-like-getting-your-eyebrows-tattooed/) [Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/) > [Whenever you define family as anything other than a man and a woman married together, you have just introduced an ethical nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/whenever-you-define-family-as-anything-other-than-a-man-and-a-woman/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) [Browse all 9,437 Anything quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't really ask for anything more than to be working for your entire life - and to be doing something that some people respond to.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-than-to-be-working-for-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anything" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-than-to-be-working-for-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/201/nick-hornby-325_anything_you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-t_877160.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't really ask for anything more than to be working for your entire life - and to be doing something…” — 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": "You can't really ask for anything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-than-to-be-working-for-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-t-really-ask-for-anything-more-than-to-be-working-for-your/#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 } } ] } ```