"The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job"
About this Quote
The subtext is pure Hill: greatness is less about genius than about adhesion. The stamp doesn’t “find itself.” It doesn’t brainstorm. It doesn’t pivot. It commits. There’s a sly reframing here, too: the stamp is “interesting” not because it’s glamorous or rare but because it’s dependable. Hill is quietly trying to retrain the reader’s taste away from novelty and toward follow-through, a corrective to the perennial American appetite for shortcuts.
Context matters. Hill’s career rose with early-20th-century self-help and sales culture, when industrial efficiency and personal hustle fused into a moral language. In that world, persistence wasn’t just admirable; it was marketable. The stamp metaphor flatters ordinary grit, suggesting anyone can be effective if they just keep “sticking.” It also smuggles in a work ethic that borders on obedience: stay attached to the task, whatever the weather, until you’re delivered. That’s inspiring, but it’s also a little claustrophobic - the kind of motivation that can turn a life into a series of envelopes.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hill, Napoleon. (2026, January 17). The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-interesting-thing-about-a-postage-stamp-81863/
Chicago Style
Hill, Napoleon. "The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-interesting-thing-about-a-postage-stamp-81863/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-interesting-thing-about-a-postage-stamp-81863/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







