Naturally it is nice to be widely known for worthwhile achievements, but it forces you to do many things which you don't like to do and these things take up time you want for other things.
Interpretation
Fame can come with burdens and obligations that may detract from personal time and enjoyment.
Jack Nicklaus reflects on the duality of fame and success, recognizing that while being widely respected and recognized for significant achievements is desirable, it also comes with a set of responsibilities and distractions that can impede personal happiness and freedom. He suggests that the time and effort required to maintain this public image could be better spent on pursuits that bring greater joy and fulfillment.
In practice
Using this quote during a keynote speech to discuss the hidden costs of success.
There's more to be learned here [St. Andrews] about course design than anywhere. Collection bunkers, false fronts, bump shots. The fundamentals of design became fundamental because of what's here. And it happened accidentally. Or maybe accidentally on purpose.
Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work.
I'm a firm believer that in the theory that people only do their best at things they truly enjoy. It is difficult to excel at something you don't enjoy.
A big part of managing a golf course is managing your swing on the course. A lot of guys can go out and hit a golf ball, but they have no idea how to manage what they do with the ball. I've won as many golf tournaments hitting the ball badly as I have hitting the ball well.
All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the best players in the world.
I don't think about winning the Masters as part of the slam. You want to win the Masters because of what it means to the game.
Champions are pioneers, and pioneers get shot at. The companies that get the most from champions, therefore, are those that have rich support network so their pioneers will flourish. This point is so important it's hard to overstress. No support systems, no champions. No champions, no innovations.
Unswerving loyalty to duty, constant devotion to truth, and a clear conscience will overcome every discouragement and surely lead the way to usefulness and high achievement.
Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.
The Enemy of the best is the good. If you're always settling with what's good, you'll never be the best.
You've got to eat while you dream. You've got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both. Walking and chewing gum if you will. Getting it done in the short-range, and delivering a long-range plan, and executing on that.
Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work
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