--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can be very successful but still…" description: "\"You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or two off and find whatever menial labouring w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg" --- # You can be very successful but still struggling… ![“You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or two off and find whatever menial labouring work you can get as a middle-aged, unskilled bald man.” quote by Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg) > “You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or two off and find whatever menial labouring work you can get as a middle-aged, unskilled bald man.” [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success does not guarantee financial stability; external factors and personal circumstances can cause hardship despite achievements. **In simple terms:** Success ≠ financial security. Key Takeaway Plan diversified income streams. Themes financial insecurity career age self‑esteem Mood anxious determined Type reflective pragmatic When to use this quote - mid‑career job search - budgeting - skill retraining - networking - mental health support Key Concepts economic disparity career volatility personal resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you protect against income volatility? - What non‑financial measures define success for you? A Different Perspective Financial strain may persist despite effort and talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aged Unskilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged-unskilled-5187186/) [Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bald/) [Bald man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bald-man/) [Financially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financially/) [Financially Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financially-looked-5187187/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling/) [Struggling Financially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling-financially-1594695/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-struggling-5187185/) [Take](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Unskilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unskilled/) [Unskilled Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unskilled-bald-5187184/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Whatever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whatever/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [Because students leave school without financial skills, millions of educated people pursue their profession successfully, but later find themselves, struggling financially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/because-students-leave-school-without-financial-skills-millions-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Most actors I'm in touch with are struggling financially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-lee/most-actors-i-m-in-touch-with-are-struggling-financially/) [Sheryl Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-lee/) > [An unskilled middle-aged man can work in the mines, and it pays well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/an-unskilled-middle-aged-man-can-work-in-the-mines-and-it-pays-well/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [“He was a regulator first-class, which was another term for metalworker unskilled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/he-was-a-regulator-first-class-which-was-another-term-for-metalworker/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/these-people-are-very-unskilled-in-arms-with-50-men-they-could-all-be/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [“Some friends are like sunny days, with false flames, oozing from afar, coming near without a dime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-friends-are-like-sunny-days-with-false-flames-oozing-from-afar/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [If you have unskilled people who work poorly together, no amount of process will save your projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/if-you-have-unskilled-people-who-work-poorly-together-no-amount-of/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [A lot of young people just starting out unskilled, as all Americans do when they're born here, come to this country, and so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-norquist/a-lot-of-young-people-just-starting-out-unskilled-as-all-americans-do/) [Grover Norquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-norquist/) > [Alan Greenspan is unskilled; you don't take the unskilled seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/alan-greenspan-is-unskilled-you-don-t-take-the-unskilled-seriously/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Let the unskilled jobs that take absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to do — let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/let-the-unskilled-jobs-that-take-absolutely-no-knowledge-whatsoever/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It's estimated that by 2030 there will be virtually no unskilled jobs in the British economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/it-s-estimated-that-by-2030-there-will-be-virtually-no-unskilled-jobs/) [Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/) > [no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [I decided to set out to prove that you could make a reasonable living building for the poor using recycled materials and only hiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-phillips/i-decided-to-set-out-to-prove-that-you-could-make-a-reasonable-living/) [Dan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-phillips/) > [Private-sector firms are increasingly active in the prison industry and they and the militantly unionized correctional officers, almost all unskilled labor, constantly lead public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/private-sector-firms-are-increasingly-active-in-the-prison-industry/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [I'm wildly unskilled at what I do. Part of me thinks: 'Why do I think I can pull this off?' but the part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-maguire/i-m-wildly-unskilled-at-what-i-do-part-of-me-thinks-why-do-i-think-i/) [Sean Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-maguire/) ## More by Richard Flanagan > [I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-went-to-study-at-oxford-university-in-the-1980s-on-an-imperial/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Writing is not lying, nor is it theft. It is a journey and search for transparency between one’s words and one’s soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/writing-is-not-lying-nor-is-it-theft-it-is-a-journey-and-search-for/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Within white Australia, there was a growing movement for what was known as reconciliation - a movement that peaked with millions marching in 2000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/within-white-australia-there-was-a-growing-movement-for-what-was/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In 1995, the Paul Keating Labor government commissioned an inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-1995-the-paul-keating-labor-government-commissioned-an-inquiry/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Murder and hate are as deeply buried in the human heart as love, perhaps more so, and in truth they're rather entwined, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/murder-and-hate-are-as-deeply-buried-in-the-human-heart-as-love/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My father was the first to read in his family, and he said to me that words were the first beautiful thing he ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-father-was-the-first-to-read-in-his-family-and-he-said-to-me-that/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I grew up in a world that was clannish - old Tasmanian-Irish families with big extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-grew-up-in-a-world-that-was-clannish-old-tasmanian-irish-families/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [If 30 Australians drowned in Sydney Harbour, it would be a national tragedy. But when 30 or more refugees drown off the Australian coast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/if-30-australians-drowned-in-sydney-harbour-it-would-be-a-national/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [The enslavement, humiliation, torture, and ultimate destruction of thousands upon thousands of human beings for a project for which there was ultimately no purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/the-enslavement-humiliation-torture-and-ultimate-destruction-of/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [You have to attempt to find new forms that will force you to write freshly and better and hopefully more truthfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-have-to-attempt-to-find-new-forms-that-will-force-you-to-write/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My mother hoped I'd be a plumber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-mother-hoped-i-d-be-a-plumber/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Family matters, friends matter, love matters. Those you love and who love you matter. That's what writing does - it allows you to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/family-matters-friends-matter-love-matters-those-you-love-and-who/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) [Explore all 176 Richard Flanagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## More Bald quotes > [Given a choice between two bald political candidates, the American people will vote for the less bald of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-gold/given-a-choice-between-two-bald-political-candidates-the-american/) [Victor Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-gold/) > [Because I'm a bald, dim-witted writer, people think I couldn't possibly be her husband, so they occasionally confuse me for someone more glamorous. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/because-i-m-a-bald-dim-witted-writer-people-think-i-couldn-t-possibly/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Many a crown Covers bald foreheads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/many-a-crown-covers-bald-foreheads/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [I'm looking forward to go bald for a film but nothing has been offered to me yet. Given a chance I'd take a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshara-haasan/i-m-looking-forward-to-go-bald-for-a-film-but-nothing-has-been/) [Akshara Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshara-haasan/) > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [One of my strongest memories is my father playing bongos in the living room in Detroit listening to Motown radio. He was this skinny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/one-of-my-strongest-memories-is-my-father-playing-bongos-in-the/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [When I finally returned home after my five-week hospitalization, I could feel the stares of strangers on my bald head and thinning eyebrows. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/when-i-finally-returned-home-after-my-five-week-hospitalization-i/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [That old bald cheater, Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/that-old-bald-cheater-time/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [I worked with him on 'Agneepath,' where we acted together. I played his uncle. Everyone, including Amitabh himself, wondered how I would play his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinnu-anand/i-worked-with-him-on-agneepath-where-we-acted-together-i-played-his/) [Tinnu Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinnu-anand/) > [He had black hair anybody could see was dyed, and even had one long piece wrapped around his head in that way some men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/he-had-black-hair-anybody-could-see-was-dyed-and-even-had-one-long/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“Have you been in the room?” “Ain’t but the one key. I tolds ya she didn’t bring it back this mornin’. What’s all this?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/have-you-been-in-the-room-ain-t-but-the-one-key-i-tolds-ya-she-didn-t/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [I don't want to be rude to the afflicted but Uncle Eddie is bald in a way which is the baldest I have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/i-don-t-want-to-be-rude-to-the-afflicted-but-uncle-eddie-is-bald-in-a/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) > [And indeed there will be time To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?" Time to turn back and descend the stair, With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/and-indeed-there-will-be-time-to-wonder-do-i-dare-and-do-i-dare-time/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I'm real critical of myself and if I take the bandana off my head I'm completely bald headed and go from being 58 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk-hogan/i-m-real-critical-of-myself-and-if-i-take-the-bandana-off-my-head-i-m/) [Hulk Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk-hogan/) > [“He was not a tall man, but he was wide. His face was the color and texture of old leather boots, and he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grahame-shannon/he-was-not-a-tall-man-but-he-was-wide-his-face-was-the-color-and/) [Grahame Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grahame-shannon/) [Browse all 227 Bald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bald/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or two off and find whatever menial labouring work you can get as a middle-aged, unskilled bald man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Flanagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-struggling-financially-and-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bald" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-struggling-financially-and-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b0/richard-flanagan-2253_bald_you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-str_647868.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or…” — Richard Flanagan", "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": "Richard Flanagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can be very successful but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-struggling-financially-and-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-struggling-financially-and-it/#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 } } ] } ```