John W. Gardner

life drawing erase

“Life is like a drawing without an eraser”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

face opportunity disguise problem

“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

excellent plumber incompetent philosopher society water

“An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

goal education individual burden school

“The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

education ineffective cut flower grow plant

“Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

crafty winsome accomplish age six

“It is not easy to be crafty and winsome at the same time, and few accomplish it after the age of six.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

reason mature people stop learning risk failure

“One of the reasons mature people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

busy diversions middle life fugitive ourself

“We can keep ourselves so busy, fill our lives with so many diversions, stuff our heads with so much knowledge, involve ourselves with so many people and cover so much ground that we never have time to probe the fearful and wonderful world within… By middle life most of us are accomplished fugitives from ourselves.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

price fear failure obstacle prevent exploration learning risk

“We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure all your life.”

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

excellence ordinary extraordinary

"Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

society scorn excellence plumbing philosophy pipes water

"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

happiness power talent

"True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

goal education shift burden individual pursuing

"The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his education."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

creativity freedom unthinkble doubt cheerished practices

"Creativity requires the freedom to consider unthinkable alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

I am doing excellence reach

"Whoever I am, or whatever I am doing, some kind of excellence is within my reach."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

creative individual free social pressure question assumption

"The creative individual has the capacity to free himself from the web of social pressures in which the rest of us are caught. He is capable of questioning the assumptions that the rest of us accept."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

hallmark age tension aspiration sluggish institutions

"The hallmark of our age is the tension between aspirations and sluggish institutions."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)

excellence discipline tenacity purpose

"All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose."

― John W. Gardner (1912-2002)