--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I felt a failure because I couldn't…" description: "\"I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from what I earned from my writing. My day jobs were what mattered, and it was hard to even get thos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/sandra-cisneros-862_because_i-felt-a-failure-because-i-couldn-t-sust_2550657.png" --- # I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from… ![“I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from what I earned from my writing. My day jobs were what mattered, and it was hard to even get those because universities wouldn't hire me as a real writer.” quote by Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/sandra-cisneros-862_because_i-felt-a-failure-because-i-couldn-t-sust_2550657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/sandra-cisneros-862_because_i-felt-a-failure-because-i-couldn-t-sust_2550657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/sandra-cisneros-862_because_i-felt-a-failure-because-i-couldn-t-sust_2550657.png) > “I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from what I earned from my writing. My day jobs were what mattered, and it was hard to even get those because universities wouldn't hire me as a real writer.” [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling inadequate when financial stability depends on external validation, especially in academia. **In simple terms:** Financial pressure can dim creative confidence. Key Takeaway Seek sustainable income without compromising art. Themes financial insecurity creative identity validation Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational cautionary When to use this quote - freelance writing - teaching - grant applications - portfolio building Key Concepts gig economy academic gatekeeping self-worth Questions to Reflect On - How can you diversify income while staying true? - What support systems can you build? A Different Perspective Balancing art and income can be stressful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Couldn Sustain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-sustain-1517354/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Earned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned/) [Earned Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned-writing-1517356/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-couldn-1517355/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-failure-520405/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hire/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Mattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mattered/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Sustain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustain/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Universities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“There was no one with whom to share his world, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. 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Usha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-usha/) > [I couldn't sustain myself if I skimped on food - I work 16-hour days, I need the energy, I can't afford to be stingy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freema-agyeman/i-couldn-t-sustain-myself-if-i-skimped-on-food-i-work-16-hour-days-i/) [Freema Agyeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freema-agyeman/) > [I've always felt that failure was a completely underrated experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-ve-always-felt-that-failure-was-a-completely-underrated-experience/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [I'm a 'what if' person. I have always felt that failure was a completely underrated experience. I have taken blows. I have had high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-m-a-what-if-person-i-have-always-felt-that-failure-was-a-completely/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [I used to feel an obligation to invent things. 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He knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sherman-cooper/i-think-he-oswald-felt-he-was-a-failure-and-for-the-united-states-and/) [John Sherman Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sherman-cooper/) > [We are in an international marketplace for talent, and American colleges and universities need to be able to attract students and faculty from around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-gilpin-faust/we-are-in-an-international-marketplace-for-talent-and-american/) [Drew Gilpin Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-gilpin-faust/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [The challenge always is can we sustain a high level of competitiveness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-donovan/the-challenge-always-is-can-we-sustain-a-high-level-of-competitiveness/) [Billy Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-donovan/) > [Once you climb to another level, you have to figure out how to sustain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/once-you-climb-to-another-level-you-have-to-figure-out-how-to-sustain/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [You've got to sustain drives in this league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-olsen/you-ve-got-to-sustain-drives-in-this-league/) [Greg Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-olsen/) > [No matter the hardship, God always gives us something to sustain us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/no-matter-the-hardship-god-always-gives-us-something-to-sustain-us/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [So often we talk about saving the planet, but what we really mean is to save the planet the way it is, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/so-often-we-talk-about-saving-the-planet-but-what-we-really-mean-is/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) ## More by Sandra Cisneros > [We tend to think of orphans as being the protagonist of stories we read when we're kids, and yet here you are: you're an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-tend-to-think-of-orphans-as-being-the-protagonist-of-stories-we/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I'm learning a lot by reading teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron. They teach me because I feel like I have a responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-m-learning-a-lot-by-reading-teachers-like-thich-nhat-hanh-pema/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I never know what something is going to be until it emerges from the womb and you see the crown of its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-never-know-what-something-is-going-to-be-until-it-emerges-from-the/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Believe it or not, Mexican cooking, for those of you who have not gone farther south than Taco Bell, uses a lot of vegetables.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/believe-it-or-not-mexican-cooking-for-those-of-you-who-have-not-gone/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I feel that I can teach my listener about a new word they can use too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-feel-that-i-can-teach-my-listener-about-a-new-word-they-can-use-too/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Now I feel life is really short and I have to take care of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/now-i-feel-life-is-really-short-and-i-have-to-take-care-of-things/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [To this day, on my cheat days from my diet, which are New Year's Eve and my birthday, I buy luxury foods that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/to-this-day-on-my-cheat-days-from-my-diet-which-are-new-year-s-eve/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [You can never have too much sky . You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/you-can-never-have-too-much-sky-you-can-fall-asleep-and-wake-up-drunk/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [ \[Jorge Luis Borges\] had short stories, and I was trying to learn how to write short stories, and then he had these things in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/jorge-luis-borges-had-short-stories-and-i-was-trying-to-learn-how-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I want to thank you, especially those people who are agnostic or atheist. I don't mean any offense by the things I said of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-want-to-thank-you-especially-those-people-who-are-agnostic-or/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [ We changed it to emocionó, the way you say in Spanish, "to emotion me" \[to be moved\]. That, as opposed to "haunt." We wanted… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-changed-it-to-emocion-the-way-you-say-in-spanish-to-emotion-me-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [When I'm starting to feel, "How many more people are there?" I go slower. I ask questions, and that person engaging with me gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/when-i-m-starting-to-feel-how-many-more-people-are-there-i-go-slower/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I've put up with too much, too long, and now I'm just too intelligent, too powerful, too beautiful, too sure of who I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-ve-put-up-with-too-much-too-long-and-now-i-m-just-too-intelligent/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [If we got an educational program going, we could tell people, "Instead of butter, use avocado." That's something we eat, it has the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/if-we-got-an-educational-program-going-we-could-tell-people-instead/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I always have to have sweet and salty. I know some of you are going to say, "Oh, I tried dates. I hate them."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-always-have-to-have-sweet-and-salty-i-know-some-of-you-are-going-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) [Explore all 347 Sandra Cisneros quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. 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