--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I went to work in an office and learned…" description: "\"I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. Before I left this office, two of m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/sigrid-undset-13292_book_i-went-to-work-in-an-office-and-learned_1610310.jpg" --- # I went to work in an office and learned, among other… ![“I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. Before I left this office, two of my books had already been published.” quote by Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/sigrid-undset-13292_book_i-went-to-work-in-an-office-and-learned_1610310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/sigrid-undset-13292_book_i-went-to-work-in-an-office-and-learned_1610310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/sigrid-undset-13292_book_i-went-to-work-in-an-office-and-learned_1610310.jpg) > “I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. Before I left this office, two of my books had already been published.” [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing mundane tasks with personal ambition shows that excellence can coexist with duty. **In simple terms:** Doing boring work well while pursuing passions. Key Takeaway Maintain quality in all tasks. Themes discipline career creativity Mood reflective determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - office job - publishing - career development - skill mastery Key Concepts work ethic personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in routine work? - Can excellence in small tasks lead to larger achievements? A Different Perspective Success may require compromising personal interests for professional obligations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Learned Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-lessons-349693/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-office-656267/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Lessons Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons-things-2393413/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Office Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office-books-6140506/) [Office Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office-learned-6140505/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [By the time we hit fifty, we have learned our hardest lessons. We have found out that only a few things are really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-dressler/by-the-time-we-hit-fifty-we-have-learned-our-hardest-lessons-we-have/) [Marie Dressler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-dressler/) > [As long as you walk away from any experience, good or bad, with lessons and things you can take into the next experience, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-cenac/as-long-as-you-walk-away-from-any-experience-good-or-bad-with-lessons/) [Wyatt Cenac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-cenac/) > [“Finding the good and the lessons in things allows us to move through them and on to new experiences. 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Clason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-clason/) > [If you regret anything in your life, then you haven't learned any lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-rowe/if-you-regret-anything-in-your-life-then-you-haven-t-learned-any/) [Debbie Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-rowe/) > [Have you learned the lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/have-you-learned-the-lessons-only-of-those-who-admired-you-and-were/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [When I left office in 1979, I was about the only one who had really left public office on my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olusegun-obasanjo/when-i-left-office-in-1979-i-was-about-the-only-one-who-had-really/) [Olusegun Obasanjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olusegun-obasanjo/) > [In fact, Lig never formally resigned his editorship—he merely left his office late one morning, and has never returned since. Though well over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/in-fact-lig-never-formally-resigned-his-editorship-he-merely-left-his/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Since the beginning of LearnVest, I've never left the office for food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-von-tobel/since-the-beginning-of-learnvest-i-ve-never-left-the-office-for-food/) [Alexa Von Tobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-von-tobel/) > [I've been criticized because I've had the temerity to speak out and done a couple of interviews since I left office. I don't find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/i-ve-been-criticized-because-i-ve-had-the-temerity-to-speak-out-and/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [“I noticed that she left her office door open, too.So she could keep an eye on me, no doubt, in case I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-noticed-that-she-left-her-office-door-open-too-so-she-could-keep-an/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [The greatest advances in human civilization have come when we recovered what we had lost: when we learned the lessons of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-greatest-advances-in-human-civilization-have-come-when-we/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Even the bad experience can be learned from. Those lessons are the hardest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-the-bad-experience-can-be-learned-from-those-lessons-are-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“HAVE you learned lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leaves-of-grass-walt-whitman-1867/have-you-learned-lessons-only-of-those-who-admired-you-and-were/) [Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman 1867](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leaves-of-grass-walt-whitman-1867/) ## More by Sigrid Undset > [And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/and-when-we-give-each-other-christmas-gifts-in-his-name-let-us/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [Easy for them to keep their youth who will never learn a lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/easy-for-them-to-keep-their-youth-who-will-never-learn-a-lesson/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [All things that a man owns hold him far more than he holds them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/all-things-that-a-man-owns-hold-him-far-more-than-he-holds-them/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [I am not so foolish as to murmur, if now, since I have drunk up my wine and beer, I have to put up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/i-am-not-so-foolish-as-to-murmur-if-now-since-i-have-drunk-up-my-wine/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“Overcome and sobbing, the young woman sank down before the cross at the side of the road, where thousands of pilgrims had lain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/overcome-and-sobbing-the-young-woman-sank-down-before-the-cross-at/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [It’s a good thing when you don’t dare do something if you don’t think it’s right. But it’s not good when you think something’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/it-s-a-good-thing-when-you-don-t-dare-do-something-if-you-don-t-think/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [Tis well when we dare not do a thing we think is not good and fair; but not so well when we think a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/tis-well-when-we-dare-not-do-a-thing-we-think-is-not-good-and-fair/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [I rolled myself up into a tight ball of resistance and it was thus that I went through my school years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/i-rolled-myself-up-into-a-tight-ball-of-resistance-and-it-was-thus/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“The other day I came across a book which illustrates in a rather droll way the extent to which Northern European women have taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/the-other-day-i-came-across-a-book-which-illustrates-in-a-rather/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [No doing without some ruing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/no-doing-without-some-ruing/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“No doubt the movement which rightly or wrongly we have learnt to call the emancipation of women is in the first place a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/no-doubt-the-movement-which-rightly-or-wrongly-we-have-learnt-to-call/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“Are you so arrogant that you think yourself capable of sinning so badly that God’s mercy is not great enough? . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/are-you-so-arrogant-that-you-think-yourself-capable-of-sinning-so/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“Dragons and all other creatures that serve the Devil only seem big as long as we harbor fear within ourselves. But if a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/dragons-and-all-other-creatures-that-serve-the-devil-only-seem-big-as/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [Many a man is given what is intended for another, but no man is given another's fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/many-a-man-is-given-what-is-intended-for-another-but-no-man-is-given/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [“As your pierced hands were stretched out on the cross, O precious Lord of Heaven. No matter how far a soul might stray from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/as-your-pierced-hands-were-stretched-out-on-the-cross-o-precious-lord/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) [Explore all 51 Sigrid Undset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [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 Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. 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