--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I went to Harvard and studied…" description: "\"When I went to Harvard and studied planning, I found I didn't have the skills or the strength to become the kind of public person who could go out and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/frank-gehry-2139_agencies_when-i-went-to-harvard-and-studied-plann_623148.png" --- # When I went to Harvard and studied planning, I found I… ![“When I went to Harvard and studied planning, I found I didn't have the skills or the strength to become the kind of public person who could go out and lobby government agencies.” quote by Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/frank-gehry-2139_agencies_when-i-went-to-harvard-and-studied-plann_623148.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/frank-gehry-2139_agencies_when-i-went-to-harvard-and-studied-plann_623148.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/frank-gehry-2139_agencies_when-i-went-to-harvard-and-studied-plann_623148.png) > “When I went to Harvard and studied planning, I found I didn't have the skills or the strength to become the kind of public person who could go out and lobby government agencies.” [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He realized his education lacked the personal power needed for public advocacy and lobbying. **In simple terms:** Lack of skills for public lobbying. Key Takeaway Develop personal influence skills. Themes self-awareness career public speaking Mood reflective determined Type advice personal development When to use this quote - career development - public policy work - networking - personal branding Key Concepts leadership political advocacy skill gaps Questions to Reflect On - How can you build confidence for public roles? - What steps will you take to acquire lobbying skills? A Different Perspective Personal growth may not replace formal training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ## Related quotes > [At around 19 I realized that I really didn't have any skills other than making people laugh, so I should probably pursue it full-time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-pally/at-around-19-i-realized-that-i-really-didn-t-have-any-skills-other/) [Adam Pally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-pally/) > [I arrived from Harvard, where I had studied philosophy and the history of ideas, with a bias toward literature and formal thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/i-arrived-from-harvard-where-i-had-studied-philosophy-and-the-history/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) > [Central planning didn't work for Stalin or Mao, and it won't work for an entrepreneur either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/central-planning-didn-t-work-for-stalin-or-mao-and-it-won-t-work-for/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [I went to Harvard High because it was a great school. That it happened to be a military school was just a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-harmon/i-went-to-harvard-high-because-it-was-a-great-school-that-it-happened/) [Mark Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-harmon/) > [I went to Harvard College and determined right away when I was a junior that I was unemployable, since I think I applied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-e-james/i-went-to-harvard-college-and-determined-right-away-when-i-was-a/) Hamilton E. James > [My father came here from Italy as a young boy, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII, and went to Harvard Law School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-suozzi/my-father-came-here-from-italy-as-a-young-boy-was-awarded-the/) [Tom Suozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-suozzi/) > [I graduated from Bowdoin College and went to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Then I left and took a job teaching really poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-canada/i-graduated-from-bowdoin-college-and-went-to-the-harvard-graduate/) [Geoffrey Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-canada/) > [As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain. Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/as-you-leave-these-gates-and-re-enter-society-one-thing-is-certain/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I just went to Harvard a little while, because I graduated from Armstrong High School in Washington and then I went up there but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-eckstine/i-just-went-to-harvard-a-little-while-because-i-graduated-from/) [Billy Eckstine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-eckstine/) > [Ask five economists and you'll get five different answers - six if one went to Harvard..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-fiedler/ask-five-economists-and-you-ll-get-five-different-answers-six-if-one/) [Edgar Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-fiedler/) > [Never say 'I went to Harvard.' Say 'I schooled in the Boston area.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/never-say-i-went-to-harvard-say-i-schooled-in-the-boston-area/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [I got a wonderful college education. I went to Harvard. In those four years I accumulated a lot of knowledge but I also created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/i-got-a-wonderful-college-education-i-went-to-harvard-in-those-four/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [I picked Harvard because it was in a big city, and a lot of girls' schools were nearby. And I liked President Kennedy, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/i-picked-harvard-because-it-was-in-a-big-city-and-a-lot-of-girls/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [ I enjoyed \[playing lawyer in From The Hip\] as an ode to my dad. My dad went to Harvard and Harvard Law School, so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/i-enjoyed-playing-lawyer-in-from-the-hip-as-an-ode-to-my-dad-my-dad/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [I'm going to try to pull a Natalie Portman. Natalie went to Harvard while shooting 'Star Wars'. I don't know how she did it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/i-m-going-to-try-to-pull-a-natalie-portman-natalie-went-to-harvard/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) ## More by Frank Gehry > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [In Tokyo, London or Los Angeles people go into McDonald's and the restaurants are identical and people are comfortable. It's unthreatening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-tokyo-london-or-los-angeles-people-go-into-mcdonald-s-and-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I'm inspired by a lot of stuff. I always was interested in sculpture and painting and music and literature and all those things. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-m-inspired-by-a-lot-of-stuff-i-always-was-interested-in-sculpture/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [One of my greatest influences is the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/one-of-my-greatest-influences-is-the-italian-artist-gian-lorenzo/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [People live and work in uninspiring environments, but look inside those rooms. Look at the painted walls and the decorations. People rebel even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/people-live-and-work-in-uninspiring-environments-but-look-inside/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Childhood play is nothing more than an expression of our individuality and preparation for human interaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/childhood-play-is-nothing-more-than-an-expression-of-our/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Ideas exist in the marketplace; they are thrown out for everyone to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/ideas-exist-in-the-marketplace-they-are-thrown-out-for-everyone-to-use/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Green issues have been used as a marketing tool. Sometimes these green claims are completely meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/green-issues-have-been-used-as-a-marketing-tool-sometimes-these-green/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [There are a lot of questions about whether architecture is art. The people who ask that think pretty tract houses are architecture. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/there-are-a-lot-of-questions-about-whether-architecture-is-art-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to read more when I was a kid than I do now. It was all sort of fuel for the fire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-read-more-when-i-was-a-kid-than-i-do-now-it-was-all-sort-of/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I found myself starting architecture with a deep social, Jewish, liberal conscience, and the belief that architecture is for the people. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-found-myself-starting-architecture-with-a-deep-social-jewish/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The message I hope to have sent is just the example of being yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-message-i-hope-to-have-sent-is-just-the-example-of-being-yourself/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The whole can be greater than the sum of it's parts, that we all have something to put in the pie to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-whole-can-be-greater-than-the-sum-of-it-s-parts-that-we-all-have/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to sketch - that's the way I thought out loud. Then they made a book of my sketches, and I got self-conscious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-sketch-that-s-the-way-i-thought-out-loud-then-they-made-a/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Bilbao opened in 1997. It was only ten years later that I was asked to do another museum. A lot of other people got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/bilbao-opened-in-1997-it-was-only-ten-years-later-that-i-was-asked-to/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) [Explore all 183 Frank Gehry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## More Agencies quotes > [Here we are 17 years later. 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And we've moved, I think, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schapiro/the-sec-got-more-than-100-rules-to-write-under-dodd-frank-the-lion-s/) [Mary Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schapiro/) > [The intelligence investigation under the leadership of Senator Church, which I know has helped cause this investigation by you, points out that the agencies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sherman-cooper/the-intelligence-investigation-under-the-leadership-of-senator-church/) [John Sherman Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sherman-cooper/) > [The broken consumer credit market had to be repaired by making sure that consumers had the right information and could use it effectively. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-broken-consumer-credit-market-had-to-be-repaired-by-making-sure/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Visit USA.gov and you'll find thousands of directorates, agencies, boards, offices, and services replete with overlapping responsibilities, ancient priorities, and divided accountability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/visit-usa-gov-and-you-ll-find-thousands-of-directorates-agencies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When comics came along in the 1930s there was a talent pool waiting. And one reason is so many areas were closed to Jews.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-robinson/when-comics-came-along-in-the-1930s-there-was-a-talent-pool-waiting/) [Jerry Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-robinson/) > [With respect to sticking accelerator pedals, we failed to connect the dots between problems in Europe and problems in the United States because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-toyoda/with-respect-to-sticking-accelerator-pedals-we-failed-to-connect-the/) [Akio Toyoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-toyoda/) > [Debt, we've learned, is the match that lights the fire of every crisis. 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