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Joel, Lad, School Is About Learning To Learn. If You Don't Practice Studying Things You Don't Like, Then You'll Have A Very Hard Time In Life.
-Brandon Sanderson
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Joel, Lad, School Is

Brandon Sanderson
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Joel, Lad, School Is About Learning To Learn. If You Don't Practice Studying Things You Don't Like, Then You'll Have A Very Hard Time In Life.

Understanding the Quote: "joel, lad, school is about learning to learn. if you don't practice..."

This quote by Brandon Sanderson reflects deeply on the theme of school. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under School, Hard Times, Practice, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Brandon Sanderson interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is celebrated for insightful thoughts on school and hard times. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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School
Hard Times
Practice
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You Should Try Not To Talk So Much, Friend. You'll Sound Far Less Stupid That Way. - Breeze
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Trying
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Competition
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Matter
Ends
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Book
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Sacrifice
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Heart
Men
Pure
God Is The Creator Of All Things, Right? He Is The Force That Dictates The Laws Of The Universe, And Is Therefore The Ultimate Source Of Ethics. He Is Absolute Morality... We Claim To Be Doing Good. But The Lord Ruler - As God - Defines What Is Good. So By Opposing Him We're Actually Evil. But Since He's Doing The Wrong Thing, Does Evil Actually Count As Good In This Case?
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Book
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Seems
The Number 1 Thing That I Don't Want To See In A Story Is When Characters Exist Simply To Be Proven Wrong.
Character
Numbers
Stories
Belief?" "yes," Sazed Said. "tell Me, Mistress. What Is It That You Believe?" Vin Frowned. "what Kind Of Question Is That?" "the Most Important Kind, I Think.
Believe
Thinking
Mistress
The Shaod, It Was Called. The Transformation... When It Came, The Fortuante Person's Life Ended And Began Anew; He Would Discard His Old, Mundane Existence And Move To Elantris. Elantris, Where He Could Live In Bliss, Rule In Wisdom, And Be Worshiped For Eternity. Eternity Ended Ten Years Ago.
Moving
Years
Mundane Life
What Did You Put In The Fire?" Kaladin Said. "to Make That Special Smoke?" "nothing. It Was Just And Ordinary Fire." "but, I Saw-" "what You Saw Belongs To You. A Story Doesn't Live Until It Is Imagined In Someone's Mind." "what Does The Story Mean, Then?" "it Means What You Want It To Mean," Hoid Said. "the Purpose Of A Storyteller Is Not To Tell You How To Think , But To Give You Questions To Think Upon. Too Often, We Forget That.
Mean
Thinking
Fire
It's Actually A Rather Romantic And Dramatic Story --- One I Would Eagerly Tell You, Except For The Fact That I Recently Forgot It, Based On It Being Far Too Long And Having Not Enough Decapitations.
Long
Stories
Facts
He Found Himself Weeping. Not For The Future Or For The Emperor. These Were The Tears Of A Man Who Saw Before Himself A Masterpiece. True Art Was More Than Beauty; It Was More Than Technique. It Was Not Just Imitation. It Was Boldness, It Was Contrast, It Was Subtlety.
Art
Men
Tears
The Best Liars Are Those Who Tell The Truth Most Of The Time.
Liars
Telling The Truth
Ah, The Outdoors,' Shallan Said. 'i Visited That Mythical Place Once.
Said
I Never Wanted To Be Feared. If I Regret One Thing, It Is The Fear I Have Caused. Fear Is The Tool Of Tyrants. Unfortunately, When The Fate Of The World Is In Question, You Use Whatever Tools Are Available.
Regret
Fate
Tyrants
Can A Woman Not Walk With Her Possessions Down The Street Of A City?
Cities
Possession
Walks
Once One Becomes A Man, He Can And Must Make His Own Decisions. But I Do Offer Warning. Even A Good Thing Can Become Destructive If Taken To Excess.
Taken
Men
Decision
The Hallmark Of Insecurity Is Bravado.
Insecurity
Hallmark
Bravado
One Cannot Seperate Truth From Actions...physically Inevitable Or Not, Truth Stands Above All Things. It Is Independant Of Who Has The Best Army, Who Can Deliver The Longest Sermons, Or Even Who Has The Most Priests. It Can Be Pushed Down, But It Will Always Surface. Truth Is The One Thing You Can Never Intimidate.
Army
Action
Truth Is
Spook: No, I'm Not Troubled. In Fact, I Actually Think Everything Is Going To Be All Right. Finally.
Thinking
Facts
The Door Slammed Open. Vivenna Jumped, Putting A Hand To Her Chest. Vasher Walked In. 'start Reaching For That Sword When You're Startled,' He Said. 'there's Little Reason To Grab Your Shirt, Unless You're Planning To Rip It Off.
Rip
Doors
Hands
Somebody Has To Start. Somebody Has To Step Forward And Do What Is Right, Because It Is Right.
Steps
Steps Forward
Vin: I Don't Know -- And It's All Your Fault, You Know. I Used To Understand Everything. Now It's All Confused. Kelsier: Yes, We've Messed You Up Right Properly.
Confused
Faults
Knows
Though, If You Think About It, Hostile, Dethroned Pseudodeities Probably Make Disagreeable Neighbors. You'll Have To Figure Out Something To Do With Him.
Thinking
Neighbor
Figures
My Behavior Is Nonetheless, Deplorable. Unfortunately, I'm Quite Prone To Such Bouts Of Deplorability--take For Instance, My Fondness For Reading Books At The Dinner Table.
Book
Reading
Tables
It's Easy To Believe In Something When You Win All The Time...the Losses Are What Define A Man's Faith.
Believe
Loss
Winning
If Men Should Read These Words, Let Them Know That Power Is A Heavy Burden. Seek Not To Be Bound By Its Chains.
Men
Burden
Should
Attacking A Provincial Lord In His Manor House, Surrounded By Guards...honestly, Kell, I'd Nearly Forgotten How Foolhardy You Can Be. "foolhardy?" Kelsier Asked With A Laugh. "that Wasn't Foolhardy - That Was Just A Small Diversion. You Should See Some Of The Things I'm Planning To Do! Dockson Stood For A Moment Then He Laughed Too. "by The Lord Ruler, It's Good To Have You Back, Kell! I'm Afraid I've Grown Rather Boring During The Last Few Years" "we'll Fix That" Kelsier Promised.
Years
Laughing
House
Ignorance Is Hardly Unusual, Miss Davar. The Longer I Live, The More I Come To Realize That It Is The Natural State Of The Human Mind. There Are Many Who Will Strive To Defend Its Sanctity And Then Expect You To Be Impressed With Their Efforts.
Ignorance
Effort
Missing
I Write Those Words In Steel For Anything Else Not Set In Metal Cannot Be Trusted
Writing
Steel
Metals
Start Writing The Things That You Are Reading Or That You Want To Be Published Doing.
Reading
Writing
Want
You Said Their Prayer - Is This The Religion You Believe In, Then?" "i Believe In Them All." Vin Frowned. "none Of Them Contradict Each Other?" Sazed Smiled. "oh, Often And Frequently They Do. But, I Respect The Truths Behind Them All.
Prayer
Believe
Said
Not All Librarians Are Evil Cultists. Some Librarians Are Instead Vengeful Undead Who Want To Suck Your Soul.
Evil
Soul
Want
Good Men Don't Become Legends," He Said Quietly. "good Men Don't Need To Become Legends." She Opened Her Eyes, Looking Up At Him. "they Just Do What's Right Anyway.
Integrity
Eye
Men
He Smiled Despite The Grief He Felt At The Deaths Of His Men; He Smiled Because That Was What He Did. That Was How He Proved To The Lord Ruler-and To Himself-that He Wasn't Beaten.
Grief
Men
Lord
You See The Dilemma?” Ham Asked. “i See An Idiot,” Breeze Mumbled.
Ham
Idiot
Breeze
My Job Is Not To Save 'the Wheel Of Time', To Fix 'the Wheel Of Time', Or Anything Like That. My Job Is Not To Screw It Up.
Jobs
Wheels
Wheel Of Time
Llarimar Had Told Him To Do His Best. That Sounded Like An Awful Lot Of Work. Unfortunately, Doing Nothing Was Beginning To Seem Like Even More Work.
Attitude
Awful
Doing Nothing
How Do You Fight Someone Smarter Than Yourself?' Rand Whispered. 'the Answer Is Simple. You Make Her Think That You Are Sitting Down Across The Table From Her, Ready To Play Her Game. Then You Punch Her In The Face As Hard As You Can.
Fighting
Simple
Thinking
I'm Galladon, From The Sovereign Realm Of Duladel. I'm Most Recently From Elantris, Land Of Sludge, Insanity, And Eternal Perdition. Nice To Meet You.
Nice
Land
Insanity
But You Can't Kill Me, Lord Tyrant. I Represent That One Thing You've Never Been Able To Kill, No Matter How Hard You Try. I Am Hope.
Tyrants
Trying
Matter
Never Throw The First Punch. If You Have To Throw The Second, Try To Make Sure They Don't Get Up For A Third.
Trying
Firsts
Get Up
You're A Sword Not A Palm Tree
Tree
Palm Trees
Palms
I'm An Amalgamation Of What I've Needed To Be. Part Scholar, Part Rebel, Part Nobleman, Part Mistborn, And Part Soldier. Sometimes I Don't Even Know Myself. I Had A Devil Of A Time Getting All Those Pieces To Work Together. And, Just When I'm Starting To Get It Figured Out, The World Up And Ends On Me.
Soldier
Devil
Together
I've Found You Can Ignore Half Of What Dox Tells You And Not Miss Much-except For Maybe They Occasional Complaint That You're Spending Too Much.
Found You
Missing
Half
By Now, It Is Probably Very Late At Night, And You Have Stayed Up To Read This Book When You Should Have Gone To Sleep. If This Is The Case, Then I Commend You For Falling Into My Trap. It Is A Writer's Greatest Pleasure To Hear That Someone Was Kept Up Until The Unholy Hours Of The Morning Reading One Of His Books. It Goes Back To Authors Being Terrible People Who Delight In The Suffering Of Others. Plus, We Get A Kickback From The Caffeine Industry.
Morning
Book
Fall
War Is Far Worse. At Least Where Politics Is Going On, There Are Usually Nice Hors D’oeuvres.
War
Nice
There Are Two Kinds Of People In This World, Son. Those Who Save Lives, And Those Who Take Lives." "and What Of Those Who Protect And Defend? Those Who Save Lives By Taking Lives?" "that's Like Trying To Stop A Storm By Blowing Harder. Ridiculous. You Can't Protect By Killing.
Son
Two
People
I Love To Do What I Do. So, I Do Work Long Hours.
Long
Hours
Long Hours
Somehow, She Had Grown Into A Woman In Between The Fall Of Kings And Collapse Of Worlds. Once She Had Been Terrified Of Change. Then She Had Been Terrified Of Losing Elend. Now Her Fears Were More Nebulous - Worries Of What Would Come After She Was Gone, Worries Of What Would Happen To The People Of The Empire If She Failed.
Kings
Fall
People
Plots Behind Plots, Plans Behind Plans. There Was Always Another Secret.
Secret
Plot
Plans
Eternity Ended Ten Years Ago.
Years
Eternity
Mundane
If We Must Put Our Head Into The Lion’s Mouth, Let Us Make Certain That He Chokes Upon Our Flesh!
Mouths
Lions
Flesh
How Do You Do That?” Mennis Asked, Frowning. “what?” “smile So Much.” “oh, I’m Just A Happy Person.
Frowning
Happy Person
Persons
Oh, Wax Has Always Been Solemn, But When He's At His Best, There's A Smirk Underneath.
Smirk
Solemn
What Was That?" Galladon Demanded. "i Think I Just Destroyed The Biology Section" Raoden Replied With Wonder.
Thinking
Wonder
Biology
Bitterness Is Repaid More Often Than Kindness.
Kindness
Bitterness
Normally, I Have A Lot Of Alpha Readers On My Books. These Are People That, Once I Finish A Novel, I Let Them Look At It And Give Me A Reader Response.
Book
People
Giving
Overcome Your Guilt. Care, But Not Too Much. Take Responsibility, But Don't Blame Yourself. Protect, Save, Help- But Know When To Give Up. They're Precarious Ledges To Walk. How Do I Do It?
Giving Up
Responsibility
Guilt
A Person Knows When They’re In Darkness, Even When They Can’t See. -nightblood
Darkness
Persons
Knows
Getting Cut Off From The Knights' Magic Rock Also Required A Period Of Exile From Their Giant Glass Mushroom. (those Of You In The Hushlands, I Dare You To Work That Last Sentence Into A Conversation. "by The Way, Sally, Did You Know That Getting Cut From The Knight's Magic Rock Also Requires A Period Of Exile From Their Giant Glass Mushroom?")
Cutting
Rocks
Mushrooms
And Is An Ending Always Bad? It Asked. Must Not All Things, Even Worlds, Someday End?"there Is No Need To Hasten That End," Vin Said. "no Reason To Force It."all Things Are Subject To Their Own Nature, Vin, Ruin Said, Seeming To Flow Around Her. She Could Feel Its Touch Upon Her - Wet And Delicate, Like Mist. You Cannot Blame Me For Being What I Am. Without Me, Nothing Would End. Nothing Could End. And Therefore, Nothing Could Grow. I Am Life. Would You Fight Life Itself?
Fighting
Delicate Life
Needs
Men Rarely See Their Own Actions As Unjustified.
Men
Action
Unjustified
Katar," Raoden Called. Yes, My Lord?" Do You Know What It Is? The Secret, I Mean?" Kahar Smiled. "i Havent't Been Hungry In Days, My Lord. It Is The Most Amazing Feeling In The World-i Don't Evern Notice The Pain Anymore." Raoden Nodded, And Kahar Left. The Man Had Come Looking For A Magical Solution To His Woes, But He Had Found An Answer Much More Simple. Pain Lost Its Power When Other Things Became More Importan. Kahar Didn't Need A Potion Or An Aon To Save Him-he Just Needed Something To Do.
Pain
Mean
Simple
‎"to Parlin's Mind, Nothing Showed Affection Like A Hunk Of Something Dead And Bleeding On The Table.
Mind
Tables
Bleeding
Do Not Deride Someone's Faith Simply Because You Do Not Share It, Lord Cladent," Sazed Said Quietly.
Lord
Share
Said
The Mark Of A Great Man Is One Who Knows When To Set Aside The Important Things In Order To Accomplish The Vital Ones.
Motivational
Inspiring
Leadership
I Killed You Once", The Lord Ruler Said, Turning Back To Kelsier. "you Tried", Kelsier Replied, His Voice Loud And Firm, Carrying Across The Square. "but You Can't Kill Me, Lord Tyrant. I Represent That Thing You've Never Been Able To Kill No Matter How Hard You Try. I Am Hope.
Squares
Tyrants
Voice
I Will Protect Those Who Cannot Protect Themselves.
Protect
Oh, I’m Just A Happy Person.
Happy Person
Persons
The Sudden And Abrupt Removal Of My All-consuming Goal ... Well, It Was Like I Was A Donut, And Somebody Had Sucked All The Jelly Out Of Me. But I Could Stuff New Jelly In There. It Would Just Get My Hands A Little Sticky In The Process.
Hands
Goal
Jelly
Well,” Waxillium Said. “perhaps I Should Begin By Asking After Your Health.” “perhaps You Should,” Steris Replied. “er. Yes. How’s Your Health?” “suitable.” “so Is Waxillium,” Wayne Added. They All Turned To Him. “you Know,” He Said. “he’s Wearing A Suit, And All. Suitable. Ahem. Is That Mahogany?
Asking
Suits
Wayne
Those Who Take Lightly Promises They Make To Those They Love Are People Who Find Little Lasting Satisfaction In Life. This Is Not An Easy Time In Which To Live. That Does Not Mean That It Has To Be A Difficult Time To Love, But It Does Mean That You Will Find Unusual Stresses Upon Your Lives And Your Relationship.
Stress
Mean
Satisfaction In Life
The More Limitations You Put On A Character Often Times The Better A Character You'll Make Them, The More Interesting The Story Becomes Because The Character Can't Simply Wave A Hand And Make Something Happen. They Have To Work Within The Framework.
Character
Hands
Interesting
Remember, The Past Need Not Become Our Future As Well.
Past
Needs
Remember
Breeze Turned To Look Out The Window. "you Were Always The Best Of Us, Sazed," He Said Quietly. "because You Believed In Something.
Looks
Window
Said
Have You Finally Grown So Jealous Of My Impeccable Fashion Sense That You've Decided To Have Me Disposed Of?
Fashion
Jealous
Impeccable
Being Polite To A Person Is Not A Sign Of Respect For Them. It Is Merely A Sign Of A Good Upbringing And A Balanced Nature.
Good Upbringing
Polite
Persons
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