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.
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
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.
Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills.
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.
Faith is the ability to see things that don't yet exist. Faith, though, can turn difficulty into reality, positive reality.
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.
Similar quotes
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A mistake is only an error, it becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it
Kindness boggles my mind. It's the only force in nature that increases simultaneously for the giver and the receiver.
Measure a person by what they do with power.
A noble hunger, long unsatisfied, met at last its proper food.
Wisdom, humanity & courage, these three are universal virtues. The way by which they are practiced are one.