Roosevelt, Eleanor -- You Learn by Living, ch. 1 “Learning to Learn” (1960)

Dave — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:42:30 +0000

One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. They will gravitate as automatically as the needle to the north. Somehow, it is unnecessary, in any cold-blooded sense, to sit down and put your head in your hands and plan them. All you need to do is to be curious, receptive, eager for experience. And there’s one strange thing: when you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
You Learn by Living, ch. 1 “Learning to Learn” (1960)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:10 +0000

You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
(Attributed)
(Source)

Sometimes given as "You ain't learning anything when you're talking."

Reported, not as a quote, but as a sign on his wall while a US Senator, in Leslie Carpenter, "A Man of Complexity," Boston Herald (1963-12-01), read into the Congressional Record, House of Representatives (1963-12-03) by House Speaker John W. McCormack (D-RI).

WIST Quotations

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- You Learn by Living, ch. 1 “Learning to Learn” (1960)

Johnson, Lyndon -- (Attributed)