--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actually, you’re not famous at all. Maybe…" description: "\"Actually, you’re not famous at all. Maybe you’ll get some traction after you’re dead?\" — Peter Orner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/peter-orner-12957_dead_actually-you-re-not-famous-at-all-maybe_1814316.png" --- # Actually, you’re not famous at all. Maybe you’ll get some… ![“Actually, you’re not famous at all. Maybe you’ll get some traction after you’re dead?” quote by Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/peter-orner-12957_dead_actually-you-re-not-famous-at-all-maybe_1814316.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/peter-orner-12957_dead_actually-you-re-not-famous-at-all-maybe_1814316.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/peter-orner-12957_dead_actually-you-re-not-famous-at-all-maybe_1814316.png) > “Actually, you’re not famous at all. Maybe you’ll get some traction after you’re dead?” [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame is fleeting; recognition may come posthumously rather than during life. **In simple terms:** Fame may arrive after death. Key Takeaway Focus on lasting impact, not fame. Themes legacy recognition transience Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - artist career - public recognition - historical reputation Key Concepts mortality posthumous fame Questions to Reflect On - Do you value legacy over fame? - How does posthumous fame affect your work? A Different Perspective Fame can be unreliable and may not reflect true merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually Famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually-famous-480059/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Famous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous/) [Famous Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-maybe-1972343/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Traction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traction/) [Traction Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traction-dead-2140942/) ## Related quotes > [I'm actually about as famous as a fourth division footballer from the 70s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/i-m-actually-about-as-famous-as-a-fourth-division-footballer-from-the/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [Yeah, people following me down the street and at the airport and all that. I can't imagine what it must be like for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/yeah-people-following-me-down-the-street-and-at-the-airport-and-all/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) > [Everybody just wants to be famous first, and then maybe learn how to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/everybody-just-wants-to-be-famous-first-and-then-maybe-learn-how-to/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [What I've said before, only half in joke, is that everybody in Ireland is famous. Or, maybe better, say everybody is familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/what-i-ve-said-before-only-half-in-joke-is-that-everybody-in-ireland/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“That's the thing with Tommy: Even before he was famous, he acted like he was famous. Maybe that's what, in the end, best explains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/that-s-the-thing-with-tommy-even-before-he-was-famous-he-acted-like/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [I don't know how to construct a career that'll make me famous. Except maybe get my ears pinned back, get my teeth done, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hart/i-don-t-know-how-to-construct-a-career-that-ll-make-me-famous-except/) [Ian Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hart/) > [There are people who appear in the magazines and I don't know who they are. I've never seen anything they've done and their careers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/there-are-people-who-appear-in-the-magazines-and-i-don-t-know-who/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [There's so much, I guess I want to say, nonsense about show business now. Because of reality television. I don't get this, because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-luft/there-s-so-much-i-guess-i-want-to-say-nonsense-about-show-business/) [Lorna Luft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-luft/) > [Sometimes perfecting the one thing can be the enemy of getting any traction on anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/sometimes-perfecting-the-one-thing-can-be-the-enemy-of-getting-any/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [“Bodee keeps us upright; not that his traction is better than mine, but because it’s what he does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-c-stevens/bodee-keeps-us-upright-not-that-his-traction-is-better-than-mine-but/) [Courtney C. Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-c-stevens/) > [To tell the truth, in Pacific 231 I was on the trail of a very abstract and quite ideal concept, by giving the impression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-honegger/to-tell-the-truth-in-pacific-231-i-was-on-the-trail-of-a-very/) [Arthur Honegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-honegger/) > [There's a tremendously satisfying freedom associated with weightlessness. It's challenging in the absence of traction or leverage, and it requires thoughtful readjustment. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/there-s-a-tremendously-satisfying-freedom-associated-with/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they're already doing in their lives done better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-innovation-will-get-traction-only-if-it-helps-people-get-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I've started to realize is that social media is not just technology - it's become its own entity, full of energy waves. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/what-i-ve-started-to-realize-is-that-social-media-is-not-just/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [It might be different for people that are A-list actors, but a lot of us really look at what's offered to us and look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-noble/it-might-be-different-for-people-that-are-a-list-actors-but-a-lot-of/) [John Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-noble/) ## More by Peter Orner > [“The lake is always east. East is always the lake. Anywhere else he's ever been he never knows where he is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/the-lake-is-always-east-east-is-always-the-lake-anywhere-else-he-s/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“For we are like olives: only when we are crushed do we yield what is best in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/for-we-are-like-olives-only-when-we-are-crushed-do-we-yield-what-is/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [Rarely is the pain of losing someone expressed with such directness, energy, and, yes, humor. The grief in Evan Kuhlman'sWolf Boyis palpable, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/rarely-is-the-pain-of-losing-someone-expressed-with-such-directness/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I think some writers should wait for something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-think-some-writers-should-wait-for-something-to-say/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I've spent so many years living in one place and imaging another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-ve-spent-so-many-years-living-in-one-place-and-imaging-another/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I'm pretty tight - I rewrite, in some cases, 70 to 80 times before I show it to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-m-pretty-tight-i-rewrite-in-some-cases-70-to-80-times-before-i-show/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I feel like there are too many words in the world, and I think silence is so much more powerful than the glut of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-feel-like-there-are-too-many-words-in-the-world-and-i-think-silence/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I usually have a location and then I put the character there. I love place names. I think I'm tricking myself by being so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-usually-have-a-location-and-then-i-put-the-character-there-i-love/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [People have to follow their own strangeness. The minute they start making their own vision of the world flattened out so everyone can read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/people-have-to-follow-their-own-strangeness-the-minute-they-start/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I revise and revise and revise. I'm not even sure "revise" is the right word. I work a story almost to death before it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-revise-and-revise-and-revise-i-m-not-even-sure-revise-is-the-right/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Considering the multitude of things that happen in any one person’s life, it seems fairly unlikely that those little boys remembered the incident for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/considering-the-multitude-of-things-that-happen-in-any-one-person-s/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Chicago does not go to the world, the world comes to Chicago! Who needs New York? Who has taller buildings than our tall buildings?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/chicago-does-not-go-to-the-world-the-world-comes-to-chicago-who-needs/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [We don't want emotion handed to us - that's not emotion. You have to build and come from the reader's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/we-don-t-want-emotion-handed-to-us-that-s-not-emotion-you-have-to/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I think anything we do - eating, walking down the street, online shopping - gives you another perspective on writing stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-think-anything-we-do-eating-walking-down-the-street-online-shopping/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Leo wondered what unknown sin they must have committed in some previous life to deserve this. The answer came the same way their feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/leo-wondered-what-unknown-sin-they-must-have-committed-in-some/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) [Explore all 52 Peter Orner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) ## More Dead quotes > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“I’m just–” She wanted to say “not in the mood,” but that was not only a cliché but a vast understatement. She was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/i-m-just-she-wanted-to-say-not-in-the-mood-but-that-was-not-only-a/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-intend-to-do-the-penn-teller-show-until-they-pry-my-cheesy-magic/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The only good Indian is a dead Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/the-only-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) [Browse all 3,376 Dead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Actually, you’re not famous at all. 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