--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By doing what I do, by just staying…" description: "\"By doing what I do, by just staying, pardon me, true to myself and maintaining my maverick position, unbranded, unbought in a corporate sense, I've man..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/van-dyke-parks-43011_age_by-doing-what-i-do-by-just-staying-pardo_1113975.jpg" --- # By doing what I do, by just staying, pardon me, true to… ![“By doing what I do, by just staying, pardon me, true to myself and maintaining my maverick position, unbranded, unbought in a corporate sense, I've managed to migrate to and participate in the work of people far younger than my own children. This astounds me. It makes me feel all at once, beyond…” quote by Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/van-dyke-parks-43011_age_by-doing-what-i-do-by-just-staying-pardo_1113975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/van-dyke-parks-43011_age_by-doing-what-i-do-by-just-staying-pardo_1113975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/van-dyke-parks-43011_age_by-doing-what-i-do-by-just-staying-pardo_1113975.jpg) > “By doing what I do, by just staying, pardon me, true to myself and maintaining my maverick position, unbranded, unbought in a corporate sense, I've managed to migrate to and participate in the work of people far younger than my own children. This astounds me. It makes me feel all at once, beyond retirement age, as a player in the present tense. I'm a lucky guy.” [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Staying authentic and adaptable lets one thrive across generations. **In simple terms:** Be true and adaptable. Key Takeaway Maintain authenticity while evolving. Themes authenticity age adaptability Mood reflective inspirational Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - Working with younger colleagues - career transition - post‑retirement projects Key Concepts Sociology career longevity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with change? - What values guide your adaptability? A Different Perspective Risk of losing personal identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Maverick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maverick/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Present tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-tense/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Retirement age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement-age/) [True to myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-to-myself/) ## Related quotes > [Well, I think some people are very happy in retirement. And in a year and a half I'm going to see how happy I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/well-i-think-some-people-are-very-happy-in-retirement-and-in-a-year/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [Companies have told us that they have employees who are near retirement age. We created a $5 billion reinsurance pool to help them bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/companies-have-told-us-that-they-have-employees-who-are-near/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-advise-you-to-go-on-living-solely-to-enrage-those-who-are-paying/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I wonder what the retirement age is in the novel business. The day you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/i-wonder-what-the-retirement-age-is-in-the-novel-business-the-day-you/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [Liberal Democracy is all about extending choice. Give people the option to decide their retirement age, and you immediately extend their freedom in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kennedy/liberal-democracy-is-all-about-extending-choice-give-people-the/) [Charles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kennedy/) > [I left Paramount at the ripe young age of sixty. A generation ago, that would have been retirement age. But my generation has more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-lansing/i-left-paramount-at-the-ripe-young-age-of-sixty-a-generation-ago-that/) [Sherry Lansing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-lansing/) > [Men and women approaching retirement age should be recycled for public service work, and their companies should foot the bill. We can no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-and-women-approaching-retirement-age-should-be-recycled-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only way to save Social Security is to raise the retirement age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/the-only-way-to-save-social-security-is-to-raise-the-retirement-age/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [A man can't retire his experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/a-man-can-t-retire-his-experience/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [Lord Tyrawley and I have been dead these two years, but we don't choose to have it known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/lord-tyrawley-and-i-have-been-dead-these-two-years-but-we-don-t/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Right now, too many women who reach retirement age find themselves widowed or single, relying on their Social Security check for over half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-biggert/right-now-too-many-women-who-reach-retirement-age-find-themselves/) [Judy Biggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-biggert/) > [Art is one of the few careers without a mandatory retirement age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/art-is-one-of-the-few-careers-without-a-mandatory-retirement-age/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Cricket is not like a government job where retirement age is fixed at A cricketer can retire at 30 or 60; it's up to the player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virender-sehwag/cricket-is-not-like-a-government-job-where-retirement-age-is-fixed-at/) [Virender Sehwag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virender-sehwag/) > [In order to fix Social Security, we must restructure it so that we continue to provide for our Nation's seniors that are approaching retirement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-cain/in-order-to-fix-social-security-we-must-restructure-it-so-that-we/) [Herman Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-cain/) > [“The retirement age of 65 was chosen because most people were dead at that age a hundred years ago! It was a government con:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-retirement-age-of-65-was-chosen-because-most-people-were-dead-at/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Van Dyke Parks > [Well, to me, the tensile strength and the very definition of an artist is something that I would place at the top of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/well-to-me-the-tensile-strength-and-the-very-definition-of-an-artist/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [I realized I couldn't get bookings as a performing artist on the road, as it were, I could not make a living in music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/i-realized-i-couldn-t-get-bookings-as-a-performing-artist-on-the-road/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [The older I get, the better I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/the-older-i-get-the-better-i-was/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [You know, any sane magician would never reveal his method of deception. And I don't think that a sensible musician would either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/you-know-any-sane-magician-would-never-reveal-his-method-of-deception/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [I think that smoking is a very good thing to do - it's got the association with the Indians; it's a peaceable thing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/i-think-that-smoking-is-a-very-good-thing-to-do-it-s-got-the/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [To make a collaboration succeed there can be no visible contusions or abrasions. For the collaboration to succeed, the relationship must be nourished and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/to-make-a-collaboration-succeed-there-can-be-no-visible-contusions-or/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [I notice that so many of my peers, aging ingénues, rock stars, are moving along in life into their wrinkles with an adoring audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/i-notice-that-so-many-of-my-peers-aging-ing-nues-rock-stars-are/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [Eclectic is a word that appears almost as much as the word smarmy in rock journalism and I've come to the fact, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/eclectic-is-a-word-that-appears-almost-as-much-as-the-word-smarmy-in/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) > [I don't want to give too much lugubrious thought to the gravitas of a coherent album. I don't want to develop a life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-dyke-parks/i-don-t-want-to-give-too-much-lugubrious-thought-to-the-gravitas-of-a/) [Van Dyke Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) [Explore all 10 Van Dyke Parks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-dyke-parks/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By doing what I do, by just staying, pardon me, true to myself and maintaining my maverick position, unbranded, unbought in a corporate sense, I've managed to migrate to and participate in the work of people far younger than my own children. This astounds me. It makes me feel all at once, beyond retirement age, as a player in the present tense. 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