From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
An uneducated unconscious is a perilous entity. The intuition of a seasoned doctor with 30 years spent diagnosing ailments is immensely beneficial. Conversely, the intuition of a teenager is not only unfruitful, but potentially hazardous.
We have a very strange relationship with empire, a combination of selective amnesia and nostalgia. The amnesia comes from the fact we mostly identify as the nation that won World War 2 not as the nation which had the greatest empire in human history.
In a democracy, an informed citizenry can act as a driving force for more robust and effective foreign policies and strategies related to national security, thereby fostering peace and encouraging prosperity. However, the lack of such comprehensive education has been a stumbling block.
If you want to do something well you do it 1,000 times, if you want to do something great you do it 10,000 times.
Only the educated are free.
I can't advertise chewing gum to my children because it's unethical, but I can feed them all sorts of narratives that will have a profound impact on their personal trajectories. It's quite an extraordinarily hypocritical position.
They had a philosophy that we are not here to accumulate, but rather to provide a service to the world- to live a life of service- a service which included education.
My parents instilled in me the belief that everyone you meet can teach you something, regardless of their age, background, or education.
When you're training in the martial arts, you always want to be getting beaten in the practice room. That signifies you're fighting good people. When you're getting beaten, you're getting better, you're learning.
Everyone needs encouragement and everyone needs hope. I have an open policy with my foundation insofar as I don't put restrictions on who can come to my camps – I want anyone who needs it, to have access.
Looking back, I am now firmly convinced that young people are the most potent forces for social change. However, our initial focus on this demographic wasn't a calculated decision but rather a matter of convenience—these were the people I had direct access to.
I'm a school drop-out that is now teaching professors and doctors around the world; all because of a naïve woman's wish for her child to live.