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About this quote

What does it mean?
Marquis satirizes success by suggesting it depends on creating distractions that occupy others while keeping you idle.
In plain terms
Success comes from making work for everyone else.
What can you take from it?
Others work while you profit from their engagement.

Where it applies

  • workplace critique
  • capitalism analysis

Putting it to work

  • critiquing productivity
  • examining privilege

Questions to consider

  • Who benefits from busy work?
  • What is real value?

Another view

Not all productive work distracts from meaningful contribution.

More from Don Marquis

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  2. The art of newspaper paragraphing is to stroke a platitude until it purrs like an epigram.

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  3. Science has always been too dignified to invent a good backscratcher.

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