My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there.

The saying contrasts genuine labor with the social habit of claiming recognition for others’ efforts. By attributing the lesson to a grandfather, it frames the idea as practical, inherited wisdom rather than abstract moralizing. The punchline—“less competition”—adds irony: many people prefer status to substance, so the path of real work can be both ethically sound and strategically advantageous. Read in a political context, it also gestures toward leadership as service: durable achievements come from doing the unglamorous work, even when applause goes elsewhere. The quote’s appeal lies in its concise critique of credit-seeking cultures and its encouragement of quiet competence.