--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are more than the work we perform. In…" description: "\"We are more than the work we perform. In fact, I'd say that our work is a mere representation of who we are underneath.\" — Shawn Amos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bca/shawn-amos-8157_fact_we-are-more-than-the-work-we-perform-in_2698101.jpg" --- # We are more than the work we perform. In fact, I'd say… ![“We are more than the work we perform. In fact, I'd say that our work is a mere representation of who we are underneath.” quote by Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bca/shawn-amos-8157_fact_we-are-more-than-the-work-we-perform-in_2698101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bca/shawn-amos-8157_fact_we-are-more-than-the-work-we-perform-in_2698101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bca/shawn-amos-8157_fact_we-are-more-than-the-work-we-perform-in_2698101.jpg) > “We are more than the work we perform. In fact, I'd say that our work is a mere representation of who we are underneath.” [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our identity transcends our job; work is only a surface expression of deeper self. **In simple terms:** Work is a façade, not the whole person. Key Takeaway Recognize worth beyond professional role. Themes identity selfworth purpose Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career counseling - personal development - team building - leadership training - mental health support Key Concepts existentialism self-concept Questions to Reflect On - How does your job reflect who you truly are? - What non‑work aspects define you? A Different Perspective Work can dominate self-perception, causing imbalance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [For my own part I am more interested in my work than its mere money value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schwab/for-my-own-part-i-am-more-interested-in-my-work-than-its-mere-money/) [Charles M. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schwab/) > [When you start your creative journey after failures, I think you already work to perform and want to give your best. I was blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aparshakti-khurana/when-you-start-your-creative-journey-after-failures-i-think-you/) [Aparshakti Khurana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aparshakti-khurana/) > [I work and perform in clubs all of the time, so naturally it's an influence for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lepore/i-work-and-perform-in-clubs-all-of-the-time-so-naturally-it-s-an/) [Amanda Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lepore/) > [All that was once directly lived has become mere representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-debord/all-that-was-once-directly-lived-has-become-mere-representation/) [Guy Debord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-debord/) > [From the perspective of mere representation, the external world always remains only a phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-dilthey/from-the-perspective-of-mere-representation-the-external-world-always/) [Wilhelm Dilthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-dilthey/) > [All that once was directly lived has become mere representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-debord/all-that-once-was-directly-lived-has-become-mere-representation/) [Guy Debord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-debord/) > [I am strong, but sometimes I need someone to take my hand and say that everything will work out...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/i-am-strong-but-sometimes-i-need-someone-to-take-my-hand-and-say-that/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [I hate, for example, whenever you hear someone say, 'You have work at being a couple.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-paradis/i-hate-for-example-whenever-you-hear-someone-say-you-have-work-at/) [Vanessa Paradis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-paradis/) > [For a while it was hard for me to say no to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/for-a-while-it-was-hard-for-me-to-say-no-to-work/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm a big believer in being an entrepreneur. It's easy for me to say because I work for myself and I am someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-a-big-believer-in-being-an-entrepreneur-it-s-easy-for-me-to-say/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I think theres a lot to be said about just enjoying your work. It can be very contrived when people say their work is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/i-think-theres-a-lot-to-be-said-about-just-enjoying-your-work-it-can/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/the-highest-compliment-that-you-can-pay-me-is-to-say-that-i-work-hard/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) > [It's not easy to say no to work when you have absolutely no work. But I had faith in myself, which kept me going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meera-chopra/it-s-not-easy-to-say-no-to-work-when-you-have-absolutely-no-work-but/) [Meera Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meera-chopra/) > [When I say work I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-laurence/when-i-say-work-i-only-mean-writing-everything-else-is-just-odd-jobs/) [Margaret Laurence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-laurence/) > [So the English approach to show business and their work is more - and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/so-the-english-approach-to-show-business-and-their-work-is-more-and/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) ## More by Shawn Amos > [My father's very public life as Famous Amos was the opposite of that of his ex-wife, my mother Shirley, who was fighting a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/my-father-s-very-public-life-as-famous-amos-was-the-opposite-of-that/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [In the world of celebrity, there is one universal law: if there's a scandal or death, Al Sharpton will be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/in-the-world-of-celebrity-there-is-one-universal-law-if-there-s-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Technology has the benefit of being easily scalable. A few weeks or months of coding can result in solutions that reap huge benefits. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/technology-has-the-benefit-of-being-easily-scalable-a-few-weeks-or/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Early 1900s Hollywood was full of farmers battling to hold onto their land against a new influx of filmmakers who dug Hollywood's reliable weather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/early-1900s-hollywood-was-full-of-farmers-battling-to-hold-onto-their/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [The rise of digital technology put marketers in a bind. No longer a captive audience, consumers were splitting their time across devices, social networks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-rise-of-digital-technology-put-marketers-in-a-bind-no-longer-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [If you're going to write an anthem for an old man who's up at political bat for the last time, give him a decent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/if-you-re-going-to-write-an-anthem-for-an-old-man-who-s-up-at/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [If I were a rock star, I'd design my own clothes. I'd do it because that's the mark of a true rock star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/if-i-were-a-rock-star-i-d-design-my-own-clothes-i-d-do-it-because/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [The combination of cheaper and more widespread broadband and increased mobile usage is turning us all into independent viewers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-combination-of-cheaper-and-more-widespread-broadband-and/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [From chain gangs to folk songs to intelligent soul, America has created musicians dedicated to truth, justice, and a better American Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/from-chain-gangs-to-folk-songs-to-intelligent-soul-america-has/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Susan Boyle having a meltdown is not controversial. It's human for a 48-year-old recluse to get a little wigged out when she finds herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/susan-boyle-having-a-meltdown-is-not-controversial-it-s-human-for-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Music and philanthropy have a long, benevolent relationship with one another. Record bins are rife with charity singles, and concert history is filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/music-and-philanthropy-have-a-long-benevolent-relationship-with-one/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [New York City has more rock history in its 305 square miles than most of America combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/new-york-city-has-more-rock-history-in-its-305-square-miles-than-most/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Black people cannot look to government to solve their problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/black-people-cannot-look-to-government-to-solve-their-problems/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [The Republicans need all the entertainment help they can get. When Charlie Daniels was one of your convention headliners, you know you need some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-republicans-need-all-the-entertainment-help-they-can-get-when/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Blues became rock, rock became soul, and all of it was colorblind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/blues-became-rock-rock-became-soul-and-all-of-it-was-colorblind/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) [Explore all 83 Shawn Amos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) ## More Fact quotes > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Maybe there's some kind of modeling that can be tedious, like catalogue modeling, but there's a kind of modeling, with runways or working with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/maybe-there-s-some-kind-of-modeling-that-can-be-tedious-like/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/) [Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [I'm just, like, totally normal. The fact that any of this has happened, that we're sitting here at the Beverly Hills Hotel just gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-stefani/i-m-just-like-totally-normal-the-fact-that-any-of-this-has-happened/) [Gwen Stefani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-stefani/) > [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I'm a fact-based leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-breed/i-m-a-fact-based-leader/) [London Breed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-breed/) > [The fact of the matter is that the Internet has brought together millions of people who trust one another for reasons that are unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-huh/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-the-internet-has-brought-together/) [Ben Huh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-huh/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [I suppose I'm led to do so by the fact of what happened to my contemporaries - people whom I've admired, people who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-suppose-i-m-led-to-do-so-by-the-fact-of-what-happened-to-my/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The fact that I'm very close with my past relationships is something I pride myself on. My mom is still close to her first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bosworth/the-fact-that-i-m-very-close-with-my-past-relationships-is-something/) [Kate Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bosworth/) Browse all 2,571 Fact quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are more than the work we perform. 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