--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must do our work for its own sake, not…" description: "\"We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.\" — Steven Pressfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg" --- # We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or… ![“We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg) > “We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work should be done for intrinsic motivation, not for external rewards, emphasizing purpose over applause. **In simple terms:** Work for its own sake, not fame. Key Takeaway Focus on internal drive. Themes purpose intrinsic motivation discipline authenticity Mood determined serious Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - artistic creation - career development - personal projects - self-discipline Key Concepts creative process self-actualization work ethic Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain intrinsic motivation? - When is external validation useful? A Different Perspective May neglect practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Applause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/applause/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Applause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-applause-5048172/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-sake-899333/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not going to work for the sake of working. I'll work, if I'm extraordinarily lucky enough to continue having the same opportunities, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mulligan/i-m-not-going-to-work-for-the-sake-of-working-i-ll-work-if-i-m/) [Carey Mulligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-mulligan/) > [It is a good discipline to be forced to work for work's sake, even to the length of not being allowed to enjoy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/it-is-a-good-discipline-to-be-forced-to-work-for-work-s-sake-even-to/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I am associated with good brands, such as my concert tour with Salman Khan. I'd rather do that than take up work for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-shah/i-am-associated-with-good-brands-such-as-my-concert-tour-with-salman/) [Daisy Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-shah/) > [“He works for work’s sake. “Work for work’s sake. Worship for worship’s sake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/he-works-for-work-s-sake-work-for-work-s-sake-worship-for-worship-s/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“This is the sage who always works for work’s sake without caring for the results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/this-is-the-sage-who-always-works-for-work-s-sake-without-caring-for/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I am not at all in favor of hard work for its own sake; many people who work very hard indeed produce terrible things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/i-am-not-at-all-in-favor-of-hard-work-for-its-own-sake-many-people/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [I try to pace myself and not work for the sake of working and stick to what inspired me prior to receiving recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrien-brody/i-try-to-pace-myself-and-not-work-for-the-sake-of-working-and-stick/) [Adrien Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrien-brody/) > [I don't want to work for the sake of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-kapoor/i-don-t-want-to-work-for-the-sake-of-it/) [Kunal Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-kapoor/) > [Work for work's sake doesn't thrill me, but when I'm in the zone, I'm creative, and the expression is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/work-for-work-s-sake-doesn-t-thrill-me-but-when-i-m-in-the-zone-i-m/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) > [“James Buchanan's niece: "He often worked just for work's sake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-chadwick/james-buchanan-s-niece-he-often-worked-just-for-work-s-sake/) [Bruce Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-chadwick/) > [Is success just about winning? Acclaim? Trophies? Wealth? Our personal happiness or satisfaction? I have been blessed to experience some of these over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-osborne/is-success-just-about-winning-acclaim-trophies-wealth-our-personal/) [Tom Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-osborne/) > [Must, bid the Morn awake! Sad Winter now declines, Each bird doth choose a mate; This day's Saint Valentine's. For that good bishop's sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/must-bid-the-morn-awake-sad-winter-now-declines-each-bird-doth-choose/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [I have always believed that most large fortunes are made by men...who tumbled into a lucky opportunity. Hard work and attention to business are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-rosenwald/i-have-always-believed-that-most-large-fortunes-are-made-by-men-who/) [Julius Rosenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-rosenwald/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. Kabbalists believe that above every blade of grass is an angel crying "Grow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-kabbalah-describes-angels-as-bundles-of-light-meaning/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-is-experienced-as-fear-the-degree-of-fear-equates-to-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us... Ideas come. Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else's opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/you-are-a-writer-when-you-tell-yourself-you-are-no-one-else-s-opinion/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him. Resistance gets us to plunge into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-outwits-the-amateur-with-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“I don't need to read nothing,' said the New Zealander. 'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## More Applause quotes > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“In due course I would learn how to cover up for this event, but on that awful day I knew of nothing to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-pryor/in-due-course-i-would-learn-how-to-cover-up-for-this-event-but-on/) [Karen Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-pryor/) > [“An applause is not just the recognition of good performance, but its proof of being different than the crowd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-applause-is-not-just-the-recognition-of-good-performance-but-its/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [ All the shows we did pre-airdate, and I'd come out - "Rob Lowe!" - and it was \[Offers bored applause.\] After the show aired?… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/all-the-shows-we-did-pre-airdate-and-i-d-come-out-rob-lowe-and-it-was/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [“Those who do soul work, who want the searing truth more than solace or applause, know each other right away. Those who want something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/those-who-do-soul-work-who-want-the-searing-truth-more-than-solace-or/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the actions of America. This nation is freedom's home, and freedom's defender.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/it-is-clear-that-the-future-of-freedom-and-peace-depend-on-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Upon common theaters, indeed, the applause of the audience is of more importance to the actors than their own aprobation. But upon the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/upon-common-theaters-indeed-the-applause-of-the-audience-is-of-more/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [If anyone ever boos you off stage, that is simply applause from ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-needles/if-anyone-ever-boos-you-off-stage-that-is-simply-applause-from-ghosts/) [Sharon Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-needles/) > [“A magician must always value his magic effects more than himself, because after few years audience may not remember his name but they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-magician-must-always-value-his-magic-effects-more-than-himself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When I got through, Duke Ellington stood up and started the applause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-brown/when-i-got-through-duke-ellington-stood-up-and-started-the-applause/) [Ruth Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-brown/) > [The beauteous dragonfly's dancing By the waves of the rivulet glancing; She dances here and she dances there, The glimmering, glittering flutterer fair. Full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/the-beauteous-dragonfly-s-dancing-by-the-waves-of-the-rivulet/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [You can copy, but hold the applause you get the satisfaction of mind can not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/you-can-copy-but-hold-the-applause-you-get-the-satisfaction-of-mind/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Qv5YUc A round of applause for your blog.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oem-software-buy/qv5yuc-a-round-of-applause-for-your-blog-really-looking-forward-to/) [Oem Software Buy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oem-software-buy/) [Browse all 556 Applause quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/applause/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pressfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not-for-fortune-or-attention-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Applause" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not-for-fortune-or-attention-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/steven-pressfield-696_applause_we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not_3046600.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.” — Steven Pressfield", "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": "Steven Pressfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We must do our work for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not-for-fortune-or-attention-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-must-do-our-work-for-its-own-sake-not-for-fortune-or-attention-or/#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 } } ] } ```