You need courage to be creative. You need the courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone, if you have to, courage to choose activity over inactivity.
Jim RohnRead
Learn all you can, don't be lazy. Nothing's worse than being stupid. Being broke is bad, but being stupid is what's really bad. And what's really really bad is being broke and stupid. Nothing's much worse than that. Unless you're sick. Sick, broke and stupid, that’s about as far as you can fall unless you're ugly. Surely that would be the ultimate; ugly, sick, broke and stupid.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Continuous learning is essential; ignorance is far worse than financial struggles.
In this quote, Jim Rohn emphasizes the critical importance of education and personal growth, suggesting that while financial poverty is challenging, ignorance and a lack of knowledge can lead to much worse outcomes. Rohn humorously highlights that being broke may be a temporary setback, but being 'stupid'—or uneducated—prevents one from improving their circumstances, and in a worst-case scenario, combines with other misfortunes like disease or physical unattractiveness, leading to a profound lack of quality in life.
Themes
LearningIgnoranceEducationPersonal GrowthFinancial Struggles
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech for students encouraging them to prioritize their education.
More from Jim Rohn
All quotes →It isn’t what the book costs. It’s what it will cost you if you don’t read it.
Jim RohnRead
Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills.
Jim RohnRead
The major value of reaching goals is not to acquire it, but it's the person you become while you're working to acquire it.
Jim RohnRead
Faith is the ability to see things that don't yet exist. Faith, though, can turn difficulty into reality, positive reality.
Jim RohnRead
Leaders must understand that some people will inevitably sell out to the evil side. Don't waste your time wondering why; spend your time discovering who.
Jim RohnRead
Similar quotes
Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Colin PowellRead
It's sometimes too easy to point fingers when circumstances dramatically go awry, but as an addict, I'm ultimately responsible for my own decisions, no matter how benign or tragic the consequences.
MobyRead
I have an ambition to write a great book, but that's really a competition with myself. I've noticed that a lot of young writers, people in all media, want to be famous but they don't really want to do anything. I can't think of anything less worth striving for than fame.
Zadie SmithRead
Anybody who has something sensible or worthwhile to say should be able to say it calmly and soberly, relying on the words themselves to convey his meaning, without resorting to yelling.
Richard DawkinsRead
Vices are their own punishment
AesopRead
Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.
Diane AckermanRead