--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I knew I wanted to be permanently…" description: "\"...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I vaguely thought I might work somewhere in the realm of ideas. I felt that I had within me an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg" --- # ...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I… ![“...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I vaguely thought I might work somewhere in the realm of ideas. I felt that I had within me an undeveloped fount of ideas. I did not know exactly what my ideas were, but whatever they were I wanted to convert people to them.” quote by Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg) > “...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I vaguely thought I might work somewhere in the realm of ideas. I felt that I had within me an undeveloped fount of ideas. I did not know exactly what my ideas were, but whatever they were I wanted to convert people to them.” [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for self‑sufficiency and idea‑driven work fuels a vague but strong creative drive. **In simple terms:** Want independence and creative impact. Key Takeaway Pursue ideas. Themes creativity self‑reliance career Mood determined hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - writing - innovation Key Concepts entrepreneurship psychology Practical Applications - identify and develop ideas Questions to Reflect On - What concrete steps can you take? - How to refine your ideas? A Different Perspective Vague goals lack direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [All great enterprises are self-supporting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-great-enterprises-are-self-supporting/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [. . . black women . . . are trained from childhood to become workers, and expect to be financially self-supporting for most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-women-are-trained-from-childhood-to-become-workers-and-expect/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Growing up means leaving home and becoming a self supporting adult. I think this the hardest task any human being hast to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradshaw/growing-up-means-leaving-home-and-becoming-a-self-supporting-adult-i/) [John Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradshaw/) > [I'm hoping I can get in a position where I'm self-supporting from my own work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/i-m-hoping-i-can-get-in-a-position-where-i-m-self-supporting-from-my/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-wish-to-suggest-that-a-man-may-be-very-industrious-and-yet-not/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The desire to be self-supporting and financially independent is a divine desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/the-desire-to-be-self-supporting-and-financially-independent-is-a/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [Being self-supporting is important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-bono/being-self-supporting-is-important-to-me/) [Chaz Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-bono/) > [Replace your self-defeating thoughts with self-supporting thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/replace-your-self-defeating-thoughts-with-self-supporting-thoughts/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [One trait in the philosopher's character we can assume is his love of the knowledge that reveals eternal reality, the realm unaffected by change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/one-trait-in-the-philosopher-s-character-we-can-assume-is-his-love-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“A human is a collection of experiences around him. Travel beyond them. Perhaps towards your inner realms. Its gates are always open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/a-human-is-a-collection-of-experiences-around-him-travel-beyond-them/) [Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [If I had learned how to get along in the quotidian world while keeping up the search for the hidden realm, I might have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/if-i-had-learned-how-to-get-along-in-the-quotidian-world-while/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) ## More by Rheta Childe Dorr > [Living more lives than one, knowing people of all classes, all shades of opinion, monarchists, republicans, socialists, anarchists, has had a salutary effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/living-more-lives-than-one-knowing-people-of-all-classes-all-shades/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [...I swore I would battle not only for myself but for freedom and opportunity for everything living that wore chains, especially sex chains. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-swore-i-would-battle-not-only-for-myself-but-for-freedom-and/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [I wrote a great deal of verse. In fact, every time I fell in love, which was rather often, I burst into the emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-wrote-a-great-deal-of-verse-in-fact-every-time-i-fell-in-love-which/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [...feminism never harmed anybody unless it was some feminists. The danger is that the study and contemplation of "ourselves" may become so absorbing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/feminism-never-harmed-anybody-unless-it-was-some-feminists-the-danger/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [The artist alone among men knows what true humility means. His reach forever exceeds his grasp. He can never be satisfied with his work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/the-artist-alone-among-men-knows-what-true-humility-means-his-reach/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [There was never any question with me as to which I would choose, my boy or my work. I had to have both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/there-was-never-any-question-with-me-as-to-which-i-would-choose-my/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [...a mind, if given only the best food never craves any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/a-mind-if-given-only-the-best-food-never-craves-any-other/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [ The theory \[before the twentieth century\] ... was that all the jobs in the world belonged by right to men, and that only men… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/the-theory-before-the-twentieth-century-was-that-all-the-jobs-in-the/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [At a tender age, I commandeered half a quire of foolscap from my father's desk and sat down to write a book. ...I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/at-a-tender-age-i-commandeered-half-a-quire-of-foolscap-from-my/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [...feminism differs from reform of any kind, even franchise reform. Feminists, I should say, are not reformers at all, but ratherintellectual biologists and psychologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/feminism-differs-from-reform-of-any-kind-even-franchise-reform/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [Feminism, like Boston, is a state of mind. It is the state of mind of women who realize that their whole position in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/feminism-like-boston-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-the-state-of-mind-of/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) [Explore all 12 Rheta Childe Dorr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I vaguely thought I might work somewhere in the realm of ideas. I felt that I had within me an undeveloped fount of ideas. I did not know exactly what my ideas were, but whatever they were I wanted to convert people to them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rheta Childe Dorr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-supporting-and-i-vaguely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-supporting-and-i-vaguely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/rheta-childe-dorr-37217_ambition_i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-s_128914.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...I knew I wanted to be permanently self-supporting and I vaguely thought I might work somewhere in the…” — Rheta Childe Dorr", "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": "Rheta Childe Dorr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...I knew I wanted to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-supporting-and-i-vaguely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-permanently-self-supporting-and-i-vaguely/#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 } } ] } ```