--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm just interested in carving out a…" description: "\"I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.\" — Zal Batmanglij" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg" --- # I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life. ![“I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.” quote by Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg) > “I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.” [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A desire to shape a purposeful existence drives personal fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Seek purpose in daily actions. Key Takeaway Define what matters and pursue it. Themes purpose meaning self‑development Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - volunteering - creative projects - relationship building Key Concepts existentialism goal‑setting Questions to Reflect On - What does a meaningful life look like for you? - How can you align daily habits with that vision? A Different Perspective Finding meaning can be vague without concrete steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Meaningful life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-life/) ## Related quotes > [Im just interested in what makes a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/im-just-interested-in-what-makes-a-photograph/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [There's always something to do around you, but you just not always interested in doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cj-phillips/there-s-always-something-to-do-around-you-but-you-just-not-always/) Cj Phillips > [I'm just interested in having a handle on my environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raine-maida/i-m-just-interested-in-having-a-handle-on-my-environment/) [Raine Maida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raine-maida/) > [Pursuing happiness, and I did, and I still do, is not at all the same as being happy--which I think is fleeting, dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pursuing-happiness-and-i-did-and-i-still-do-is-not-at-all-the-same-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Creating a meaningful life has less to do with how we feel about our past than what we do about our future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/creating-a-meaningful-life-has-less-to-do-with-how-we-feel-about-our/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [“In order to live a meaningful life, humans need answers, i.e., a certain understanding of basic existential questions. These ‘answers’ do not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-fr-h-svendsen/in-order-to-live-a-meaningful-life-humans-need-answers-i-e-a-certain/) [Lars Fr. H. Svendsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-fr-h-svendsen/) > [Dreams burst like bubbles in the wind. But change takes time.When people fall in love and lose the overwhelming desire for it to last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-fredriksson/dreams-burst-like-bubbles-in-the-wind-but-change-takes-time-when/) [Marianne Fredriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-fredriksson/) > [The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-truth-is-if-what-we-choose-to-do-with-our-lives-won-t-make-a/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [We have to get the word out that mental illnesses can be diagnosed and treated, and almost everyone suffering from mental illness can live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalynn-carter/we-have-to-get-the-word-out-that-mental-illnesses-can-be-diagnosed/) [Rosalynn Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalynn-carter/) > [A meaningful life - this is what we look for in art, in its smallest dewdrops as in its unleashing of the tempest. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjornstjerne-bjornson/a-meaningful-life-this-is-what-we-look-for-in-art-in-its-smallest/) [Bjornstjerne Bjornson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjornstjerne-bjornson/) > [One key to creating a meaningful life, is choosing what we want to feel, and for how long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/one-key-to-creating-a-meaningful-life-is-choosing-what-we-want-to/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/learn-to-light-a-candle-in-the-darkest-moments-of-someone-s-life-be/) [Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-poem-is-a-little-myth-of-man-s-capacity-of-making-life-meaningful/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Fill your days with meaningful things and get over the feeling of having an empty existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fill-your-days-with-meaningful-things-and-get-over-the-feeling-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Zal Batmanglij > [I love James Cameron. I love what he does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-love-james-cameron-i-love-what-he-does/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [I guess it the one consistent thing in my life was that sense of magic that film provide - I still remember the movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-guess-it-the-one-consistent-thing-in-my-life-was-that-sense-of/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [Actors love to do extreme things, so that is why they become actors; otherwise, they'd be novelists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/actors-love-to-do-extreme-things-so-that-is-why-they-become-actors/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > ['Sound of My Voice' had been written before 'Another Earth.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/sound-of-my-voice-had-been-written-before-another-earth/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [We lived on anarchist farms, squatted in the inner city, and hopped rail cars. We wanted to see how other young people were creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/we-lived-on-anarchist-farms-squatted-in-the-inner-city-and-hopped/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [A film set is all about hierarchy, but I always like to think about the circus. In the circus, there's this real sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/a-film-set-is-all-about-hierarchy-but-i-always-like-to-think-about/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [I think if aliens came to Earth, we would laugh. If there was an alien technology, we would laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-think-if-aliens-came-to-earth-we-would-laugh-if-there-was-an-alien/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > ['The Terminator' is grounded in so much realism. It's again a story that centers around a woman that isn't a 'woman's picture' necessarily. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/the-terminator-is-grounded-in-so-much-realism-it-s-again-a-story-that/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [No one dives a dumpster like a rich kid dives a dumpster, because there's no shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/no-one-dives-a-dumpster-like-a-rich-kid-dives-a-dumpster-because/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [A director really doesn't deal with performance that much, especially if you deal with great actors. Their work is the performance. What you're helping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/a-director-really-doesn-t-deal-with-performance-that-much-especially/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [I stay away from the writing part because I think that if it sticks, it sticks. You just know it. The stuff that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-stay-away-from-the-writing-part-because-i-think-that-if-it-sticks/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [On 'Sound of My Voice,' I was the first and last word, which is kind of a dictatorship. I like collectives, though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/on-sound-of-my-voice-i-was-the-first-and-last-word-which-is-kind-of-a/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [I think disparaging something you don't understand, while a very normal thing - I expect more from serious people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-think-disparaging-something-you-don-t-understand-while-a-very/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [Whatever you think of Edward Snowden, it took bravery to do what he did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/whatever-you-think-of-edward-snowden-it-took-bravery-to-do-what-he-did/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [You can't just express yourself and it becomes a movie. You have to get beyond that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/you-can-t-just-express-yourself-and-it-becomes-a-movie-you-have-to/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) [Explore all 107 Zal Batmanglij quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) ## More Carving quotes > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [“You know, a carving, especially if it’s polychrome, is not meant to move. These faces, these half-bodies, when you animate them, they’re more live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yonnet/you-know-a-carving-especially-if-it-s-polychrome-is-not-meant-to-move/) Jacques Yonnet > [With Gnaw I was thinking about traditional sculpture, about carving. I was also interested in figurative sculpture. I put those two ideas together and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-antoni/with-gnaw-i-was-thinking-about-traditional-sculpture-about-carving-i/) Janine Antoni > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) Aristide Maillol > [“ 'And now I Carve the things I saw in my fever dreams, just as they always wished. I dreamed of you, I think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/and-now-i-carve-the-things-i-saw-in-my-fever-dreams-just-as-they/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Jack was too absorbed in his work to hear the bell. He was mesmerized by the challenge of making soft, round shapes of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/jack-was-too-absorbed-in-his-work-to-hear-the-bell-he-was-mesmerized/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [It's actually easier to do autobiographical stories. The story is already there. It's a matter of carving away what doesn't fit rather than building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-thompson/it-s-actually-easier-to-do-autobiographical-stories-the-story-is/) [Craig Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-thompson/) > [A whetstone is no carving instrument, And yet it maketh sharp the carving tool; And if you see my efforts wrongly spent, Eschew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/a-whetstone-is-no-carving-instrument-and-yet-it-maketh-sharp-the/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Recently I have been working in the country, where, carving in the open air, I find sculpture more natural than in a London studio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/recently-i-have-been-working-in-the-country-where-carving-in-the-open/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [We are like sculptors, constantly carving out of others the image we long for, need, love or desire, often against reality, against their benefit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-are-like-sculptors-constantly-carving-out-of-others-the-image-we/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-was-a-desert-wind-blowing-that-night-it-was-one-of-those-hot/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [One of the leading uses of photography by the mass media came to be called photojournalism. From the late 'twenties' to the early 'fifties'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/one-of-the-leading-uses-of-photography-by-the-mass-media-came-to-be/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [One really ought to be afraid of self-torture. But it tempted me. It begged. The dark place that my mind was fast becoming blends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/one-really-ought-to-be-afraid-of-self-torture-but-it-tempted-me-it/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [Writing, for me, is a little like wood carving. You find the lump of tree (the big central theme that gets you started), and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/writing-for-me-is-a-little-like-wood-carving-you-find-the-lump-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Elizabethan cookbooks included not only carving instructions, but the proper terminology for each type of meat such as “breake that deer, leach that brawn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-segan/elizabethan-cookbooks-included-not-only-carving-instructions-but-the/) [Francine Segan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-segan/) Browse all 114 Carving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zal Batmanglij" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-meaningful-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-meaningful-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b02/zal-batmanglij-4753_carving_i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-mea_2154145.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm just interested in carving out a meaningful life.” — Zal Batmanglij", "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": "Zal Batmanglij", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm just interested in carving out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-meaningful-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/i-m-just-interested-in-carving-out-a-meaningful-life/#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 } } ] } ```