--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was young, I worked for a…" description: "\"When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty hours a day and I never get tired\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg" --- # When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a… ![“When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty hours a day and I never get tired” quote by Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg) > “When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty hours a day and I never get tired” [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts labor under capitalism with self‑employment, claiming personal drive eliminates fatigue despite longer hours. **In simple terms:** Self‑driven work feels less exhausting than wage labor. Key Takeaway Motivation reshapes perceived effort. Themes work ethic capitalism self‑employment motivation productivity Mood defiant ironic determined Type humorous political motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurial startup - freelance consulting - creative project - personal side hustle Key Concepts labor perception personal agency Practical Applications - career coaching - motivation workshops Questions to Reflect On - Does autonomy truly reduce fatigue? - How does perception of effort change with ownership? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [“This “success” had a political price, in Hungary as everywhere else. In practice, nationalization had very little effect on the daily lives of ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/this-success-had-a-political-price-in-hungary-as-everywhere-else-in/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Since I was very young I have always worked hard at whatever I have had to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desi-arnaz/since-i-was-very-young-i-have-always-worked-hard-at-whatever-i-have/) [Desi Arnaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desi-arnaz/) > [I did everything young. I was always in a hurry to do everything. I had kids young and I worked young and I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-seymour/i-did-everything-young-i-was-always-in-a-hurry-to-do-everything-i-had/) [Stephanie Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-seymour/) > [I had given up my seat before, but this day, I was especially tired. Tired from my work as a seamstress, and tired from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/i-had-given-up-my-seat-before-but-this-day-i-was-especially-tired/) [Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/) > [I'm certainly not tired - work doesn't tire people, it's getting bored that's tiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-certainly-not-tired-work-doesn-t-tire-people-it-s-getting-bored/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“Sometimes you have no right to be tired! You have to work till you reach the glory! Sometimes you must refuse to repose; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sometimes-you-have-no-right-to-be-tired-you-have-to-work-till-you/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [When a man is tired of New York he is tired of work. And thought. And cheesecake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frost/when-a-man-is-tired-of-new-york-he-is-tired-of-work-and-thought-and/) [David Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frost/) > [I don't get tired of my work because you can't get tired of something you love and enjoy! But, having said that, I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakul-preet-singh/i-don-t-get-tired-of-my-work-because-you-can-t-get-tired-of-something/) [Rakul Preet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakul-preet-singh/) > [Ughhh lol I'm tired may call off for work today smh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blah/ughhh-lol-i-m-tired-may-call-off-for-work-today-smh/) [Blah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blah/) > [To be really productive, it's as important to rest when we're tired as it is to work when we're inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/to-be-really-productive-it-s-as-important-to-rest-when-we-re-tired-as/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I'm making myself tired. It's not the work. It's the not being home. The big priority in my life is to eventually put all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leisha-hailey/i-m-making-myself-tired-it-s-not-the-work-it-s-the-not-being-home-the/) [Leisha Hailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leisha-hailey/) > [“If sitting makes you tired, you must work to take a rest!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-sitting-makes-you-tired-you-must-work-to-take-a-rest/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [If your mind is tired, go get work in the fields!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-your-mind-is-tired-go-get-work-in-the-fields/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I'd work eighteen-hour stretches and fall asleep in my clothes. Then I'd wake up in the middle of the night, brew a pot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-baylis/i-d-work-eighteen-hour-stretches-and-fall-asleep-in-my-clothes-then-i/) [Trevor Baylis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-baylis/) > [I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-remember-feeling-tired-by-work-though-idleness-exhausts-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Nikita Khrushchev > [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations and don't invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-don-t-like-us-don-t-accept-our-invitations-and-don-t-invite-us/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-live-among-wolves-you-have-to-act-like-a-wolf/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/i-once-said-we-will-bury-you-and-i-got-into-trouble-with-it-of-course/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [If you live among dogs, keep a stick. After all, this is what a hound has teeth for-to bite when he feels like it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-live-among-dogs-keep-a-stick-after-all-this-is-what-a-hound/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [the construction of a communist society would be completed 'in the main' by 1980](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-construction-of-a-communist-society-would-be-completed-in-the/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [When you are skinning your customers, you should leave some skin on to heal, so that you can skin them again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-you-are-skinning-your-customers-you-should-leave-some-skin-on-to/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [If you feed the people just with revolutionary slogans they will listen today, they will listen tomorrow, they will listen the day after tomorrow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-feed-the-people-just-with-revolutionary-slogans-they-will/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [But life is a great school. It thrashes and bangs and teaches you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/but-life-is-a-great-school-it-thrashes-and-bangs-and-teaches-you/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [The press is our chief ideological weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-press-is-our-chief-ideological-weapon/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [He was a crystal of morality among our scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/he-was-a-crystal-of-morality-among-our-scientists/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [The main difference for the history of the world if I had been shot rather than Kennedy is that Onassis probably wouldn't have married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-main-difference-for-the-history-of-the-world-if-i-had-been-shot/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [Once you pledge, don't hedge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/once-you-pledge-don-t-hedge/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [In the future, if nuclear weapons are unleashed there will be no front and no rear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/in-the-future-if-nuclear-weapons-are-unleashed-there-will-be-no-front/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > ["Freedom" in capitalist countries exists only for those who possess money and who consequently hold power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/freedom-in-capitalist-countries-exists-only-for-those-who-possess/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) [Explore all 87 Nikita Khrushchev quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) ## More Capitalist quotes > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [“Capitalist cycle of profit. The rancher sells a cow for profit. The butcher sells cuts for profit. The restaurant sells meals for profit. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/capitalist-cycle-of-profit-the-rancher-sells-a-cow-for-profit-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [For me, it is clear that we are currently in a period of structural crisis of capitalism going back to the 1970s, but deepening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bellamy-foster/for-me-it-is-clear-that-we-are-currently-in-a-period-of-structural/) [John Bellamy Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bellamy-foster/) > [As someone from the working class I was always interested in Russia and China and everything that related to the working class, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/as-someone-from-the-working-class-i-was-always-interested-in-russia/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [Capitalism has created a situation called scarcity. And that scarcity is not natural, it's socially induced. Along with that sense of scarcity, or feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-has-created-a-situation-called-scarcity-and-that-scarcity/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [... what we should be looking for is fresh ideas of how we make moral decisions about our dealings with one another, economic, social,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-mccaughey/what-we-should-be-looking-for-is-fresh-ideas-of-how-we-make-moral/) Davis McCaughey > [When you come from a family of communists and you go through your teenage rebellion, what's the best way of rebelling from a family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/when-you-come-from-a-family-of-communists-and-you-go-through-your/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [The Enron scandal calls into question the integrity of the entire capitalist system, which previously we assumed was based on honest, straightforward greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-achenbach/the-enron-scandal-calls-into-question-the-integrity-of-the-entire/) [Joel Achenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-achenbach/) > [Human beings were behaving as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/human-beings-were-behaving-as-human-beings-and-not-as-cogs-in-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Beautiful women must think about their beauty as capitalists think about their investments or politicians about their majorities; it is all they have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beautiful-women-must-think-about-their-beauty-as-capitalists-think/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [It's really interesting that we've had this great Tea Party movement that is all about restoring free market capitalist values, but what they completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-really-interesting-that-we-ve-had-this-great-tea-party-movement/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) Browse all 968 Capitalist quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty hours a day and I never get tired", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikita Khrushchev" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capitalist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/nikita-khrushchev-7811_capitalist_when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitali_17218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself…” — Nikita Khrushchev", "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": "Nikita Khrushchev", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was young, I worked...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/#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 } } ] } ```