--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody has a hard job. All real work…" description: "\"Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defens..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/philip-roth-681_defenseless_everybody-has-a-hard-job-all-real-work-i_2916179.jpg" --- # Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work… ![“Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defenseless and unprepared. Writing for me was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my…” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/philip-roth-681_defenseless_everybody-has-a-hard-job-all-real-work-i_2916179.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/philip-roth-681_defenseless_everybody-has-a-hard-job-all-real-work-i_2916179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/philip-roth-681_defenseless_everybody-has-a-hard-job-all-real-work-i_2916179.jpg) > “Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defenseless and unprepared. Writing for me was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my life.” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects the relentless, painful nature of creative work and the author's survival through stubborn persistence rather than innate talent. **In simple terms:** Writing is hard; persistence saved me. Key Takeaway Persist despite difficulty. Themes creativity resilience survival Mood determined reflective Type advice personal narrative When to use this quote - daily writing - career setbacks - mental health - creative blocks Key Concepts determination self‑preservation mental endurance Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to keep working when it feels impossible? - How can you cultivate obstinacy without burnout? A Different Perspective Talent alone may not sustain long‑term effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defenseless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenseless/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Feats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feats/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happened Undoable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-undoable-4225203/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-job/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Morning after](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-after/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Obstinacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstinacy/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-work/) [Saved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saved/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-preservation/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Unprepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprepared/) [Unprepared Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprepared-writing-4225202/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Feat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-feat-4225201/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [If men could get pregnant, abortion clinics would be like Starbucks - two on every block and four in every airport. 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I said, I've heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/the-morning-after-i-had-my-heart-bypass-the-doctor-called-and-said/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [There was an exquisitely beautiful conception in my brain when I did this piece of work all alone from midnight until morning after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/there-was-an-exquisitely-beautiful-conception-in-my-brain-when-i-did/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-imminent-end-of-the-world-have/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The reason for not going out and sinning all you like is the same as the reason for not going out and putting your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-reason-for-not-going-out-and-sinning-all-you-like-is-the-same-as/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [Things have been invented because of alcohol. Like the taser, okay? Yeah! The morning after pill, okay? The reach-around. Judge Judy. What has pot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/things-have-been-invented-because-of-alcohol-like-the-taser-okay-yeah/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Defenseless quotes > [What I have against religion is that they start you when you are so defenseless. I mean, I was three when they started pumping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/what-i-have-against-religion-is-that-they-start-you-when-you-are-so/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The tango is the man and woman in search of each other. It is the search for an embrace, a way to be together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-carlos-copes/the-tango-is-the-man-and-woman-in-search-of-each-other-it-is-the/) [Juan Carlos Copes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-carlos-copes/) > [“There's no room for selfishness when you have a defenseless human being depending on you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-asher/there-s-no-room-for-selfishness-when-you-have-a-defenseless-human/) [Mia Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-asher/) > [“A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/a-person-without-self-control-is-as-defenseless-as-a-city-with-broken/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [“defenseless. You come to the aid of the righteous. Am I right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcfarlane/defenseless-you-come-to-the-aid-of-the-righteous-am-i-right/) [Jamie McFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcfarlane/) > [“It is that we are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love, never so helplessly unhappy as when we have lost our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/it-is-that-we-are-never-so-defenseless-against-suffering-as-when-we/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/erudition-like-a-bloodhound-is-a-charming-thing-when-held-firmly-in/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [“Those who don't know their history are defenseless against those determined to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-a-davis/those-who-don-t-know-their-history-are-defenseless-against-those/) [Ray A. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-a-davis/) > [I don't view myself as a victim of gun violence. I view myself as a victim of a maniac who happened to use a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanna-hupp/i-don-t-view-myself-as-a-victim-of-gun-violence-i-view-myself-as-a/) [Suzanna Hupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanna-hupp/) > [I don't trust any white man who teaches Negroes to turn the other cheek or to be nonviolent, which means to be defenseless in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-don-t-trust-any-white-man-who-teaches-negroes-to-turn-the-other/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“sometimes weakness was a guise, especially if it were worn too conspicuously. Looking defenseless and being defenseless were two very different things in Dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-t-scott/sometimes-weakness-was-a-guise-especially-if-it-were-worn-too/) [Jasper T. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-t-scott/) > [Show me how defenseless you really are satisfied and empty inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breaking-benjamin/show-me-how-defenseless-you-really-are-satisfied-and-empty-inside/) [Breaking Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breaking-benjamin/) > [Made me feel ashamed of belonging to these overpowering, technical superior countries fighting against what seemed to me quite defenseless people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-blake/made-me-feel-ashamed-of-belonging-to-these-overpowering-technical/) [George Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-blake/) > [“A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/a-person-without-self-control-is-as-defenseless-as-a-city-with-broken-2/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [For us, warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sitting-bull/for-us-warriors-are-not-what-you-think-of-as-warriors-the-warrior-is/) [Sitting Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sitting-bull/) [Browse all 112 Defenseless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenseless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defenseless and unprepared. Writing for me was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. 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