--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man will work and slave in obscurity…" description: "\"A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and then become famous in ten minutes.\" — Robert Ripley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg" --- # A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and… ![“A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and then become famous in ten minutes.” quote by Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg) > “A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and then become famous in ten minutes.” [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work often goes unnoticed for years before sudden fame. **In simple terms:** Obscure work can later bring fame. Key Takeaway Persist despite lack of recognition. Themes hard work obscurity fame Mood inspirational realistic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - artistic pursuits Key Concepts career dedication creative projects Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you beyond fame? - How can you find fulfillment in the process? A Different Perspective Fame may be fleeting and not reflect true success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [I had to wait 110 years to become famous. I wanted to enjoy it as long as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-calment/i-had-to-wait-110-years-to-become-famous-i-wanted-to-enjoy-it-as-long/) [Jeanne Calment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-calment/) > [Over the past 10 years of being famous, my relationship with the camera has not been a pleasant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-phillippe/over-the-past-10-years-of-being-famous-my-relationship-with-the/) [Ryan Phillippe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-phillippe/) > [I have a theory that if you're famous more years than you're not famous, then you get a little nutty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/i-have-a-theory-that-if-you-re-famous-more-years-than-you-re-not/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [I had a very happy childhood, happy teenage years and I was famous by the time I was 22. A charmed life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rik-mayall/i-had-a-very-happy-childhood-happy-teenage-years-and-i-was-famous-by/) [Rik Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rik-mayall/) > [“This false appearance distinguishes wages labour from other historical forms of labour. On the basis of the wages system even the unpaid labour seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/this-false-appearance-distinguishes-wages-labour-from-other/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Actors work and slave and it is the color of your hair that can determine your fate in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hayes/actors-work-and-slave-and-it-is-the-color-of-your-hair-that-can/) [Helen Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hayes/) > [“I stole you, among others, from the streets of God’s birthplace. I forced you to work as a slave. Imprisoned, mistreated and starved you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-carnes/i-stole-you-among-others-from-the-streets-of-god-s-birthplace-i/) [V.S. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-carnes/) > [“If a person did all the work of a slave but had the option of quitting at any time without being physically restrained or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-a-person-did-all-the-work-of-a-slave-but-had-the-option-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The well-cared-for woman is a parasite, and the woman who must work is a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-anderson/the-well-cared-for-woman-is-a-parasite-and-the-woman-who-must-work-is/) Cora Anderson > [So I might be living a fantasy, wasting my life away, but I just dont have it in me, to follow orders, or work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumit-khanal/so-i-might-be-living-a-fantasy-wasting-my-life-away-but-i-just-dont/) [Sumit Khanal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumit-khanal/) > [“I will not work with a slave as an equal nor will I share a servant with him. (Valerius) Trust me, boy, we’re not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-will-not-work-with-a-slave-as-an-equal-nor-will-i-share-a-servant/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [If you are not happy in your work, you are a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/if-you-are-not-happy-in-your-work-you-are-a-slave/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [For a lazy man I work awfully hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lorre/for-a-lazy-man-i-work-awfully-hard/) [Peter Lorre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lorre/) > [“Like everything else in the world, it is one man's work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/like-everything-else-in-the-world-it-is-one-man-s-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Big Up man get to work deal, and they call him the expert in the field. Same time woman come work the same deal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulu/big-up-man-get-to-work-deal-and-they-call-him-the-expert-in-the-field/) [Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulu/) ## More by Robert Ripley > [Just to see him come on the stage was an event. They had very high risers, and back a little bit, so he'd walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/just-to-see-him-come-on-the-stage-was-an-event-they-had-very-high/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) > [I Have traveled 201 countries including Hell (Norway), and the strangest thing I've seenwas man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/i-have-traveled-201-countries-including-hell-norway-and-the-strangest/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) > [My impression was, he's walking as though he's made of glass, and if you should touch him he would just shatter apart. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/my-impression-was-he-s-walking-as-though-he-s-made-of-glass-and-if/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) > [Anybody who is born in Santa Rosa must turn out to be either an artist or a poet, for the spirit of the hills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/anybody-who-is-born-in-santa-rosa-must-turn-out-to-be-either-an/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) > [My aunt had a season ticket for the Friday afternoon concerts, and I would go down for lessons. My lessons were Saturday morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/my-aunt-had-a-season-ticket-for-the-friday-afternoon-concerts-and-i/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) > [He was making all kinds of sounds apparently with his mouth, and shaking his head and I thought, gosh, is he trying to stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/he-was-making-all-kinds-of-sounds-apparently-with-his-mouth-and/) [Robert Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) [Explore all 7 Robert Ripley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/) ## More Men quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 84,229 Men quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and then become famous in ten minutes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Ripley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-for-ten-years-and-then-become/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Men" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-for-ten-years-and-then-become/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ca/robert-ripley-50090_men_a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-f_2787042.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man will work and slave in obscurity for ten years and then become famous in ten minutes.” — Robert Ripley", "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": "Robert Ripley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ripley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man will work and slave...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-for-ten-years-and-then-become/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ripley/a-man-will-work-and-slave-in-obscurity-for-ten-years-and-then-become/#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 } } ] } ```