"When you feel like this isn't your business, get out of the business"
About this Quote
Andy Lau’s line lands like a backstage ultimatum, the kind you only say when you’ve watched too many people drift through a craft that punishes half-commitment. On the surface it’s blunt career advice: if you’re no longer invested, walk. The sharper intent is about identity. In entertainment, “business” isn’t just an industry; it’s a daily posture of attention, stamina, and emotional availability. Lau’s phrasing turns that into a binary test: either you’re inside the work with your whole nervous system, or you’re taking up space.
The subtext is a quiet indictment of entitlement. Plenty of people want the perks of visibility without the grind of repetition, rejection, and public scrutiny. Lau, a symbol of Hong Kong’s hyper-competitive star system and a performer known for discipline and longevity, is policing the boundary between dabbling and duty. “Feel like this isn’t your business” doesn’t mean you’re failing; it means you’ve mentally checked out. In a field where audiences can sense fatigue before critics can name it, that’s a professional hazard.
What makes the quote work is its cold clarity. It doesn’t romanticize passion or frame burnout as a moral weakness. It treats commitment as an ethical contract with collaborators and viewers: if you can’t honor it, exit cleanly. There’s toughness here, but also respect for the work itself - a reminder that showbiz is still a job, and jobs don’t run on vibes.
The subtext is a quiet indictment of entitlement. Plenty of people want the perks of visibility without the grind of repetition, rejection, and public scrutiny. Lau, a symbol of Hong Kong’s hyper-competitive star system and a performer known for discipline and longevity, is policing the boundary between dabbling and duty. “Feel like this isn’t your business” doesn’t mean you’re failing; it means you’ve mentally checked out. In a field where audiences can sense fatigue before critics can name it, that’s a professional hazard.
What makes the quote work is its cold clarity. It doesn’t romanticize passion or frame burnout as a moral weakness. It treats commitment as an ethical contract with collaborators and viewers: if you can’t honor it, exit cleanly. There’s toughness here, but also respect for the work itself - a reminder that showbiz is still a job, and jobs don’t run on vibes.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Andy
Add to List









