--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man learns to skate by staggering about…" description: "\"A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself.\" — G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_a-man-learns-to-skate-by-staggering-abou_2745409.png" --- # A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a… ![“A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_a-man-learns-to-skate-by-staggering-abou_2745409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_a-man-learns-to-skate-by-staggering-abou_2745409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/george-bernard-shaw-68_fool_a-man-learns-to-skate-by-staggering-abou_2745409.png) > “A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning requires willingness to appear foolish and persist despite mistakes. **In simple terms:** Progress comes from daring to look silly. Key Takeaway Embrace embarrassment as a learning tool. Themes growth learning humility risk resilience Mood anxious determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - learning new skills - creative projects - personal development Key Concepts self‑efficacy experimentation confidence Questions to Reflect On - What fear of ridicule holds you back? - How can you turn embarrassment into insight? A Different Perspective Being foolish can undermine credibility if not balanced with competence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Progresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-progresses-3058771/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learns Skate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learns-skate-927269/) [Man Learns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-learns-375688/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Skate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skate/) [Skate Staggering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skate-staggering-3058770/) [Staggering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staggering/) ## Related quotes > [No one in Montreal learns how to skate. You're just born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-brodeur/no-one-in-montreal-learns-how-to-skate-you-re-just-born-that-way/) [Martin Brodeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-brodeur/) > [I used to play hockey when I was growing up. Everyone sort of learns how to skate and play hockey at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-used-to-play-hockey-when-i-was-growing-up-everyone-sort-of-learns/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You cannot learn to skate without making yourself ridiculous - the ice of life is slippery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-cannot-learn-to-skate-without-making-yourself-ridiculous-the-ice/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“A smart man learns from experience; a wise man learns from the experience of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-patterson-jr/a-smart-man-learns-from-experience-a-wise-man-learns-from-the/) [William H. Patterson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-patterson-jr/) > [“These days things had a way of happening around him. Although events seemed chaotic, Cork was beginning to suspect they weren't at all. Sam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kent-krueger/these-days-things-had-a-way-of-happening-around-him-although-events/) [William Kent Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kent-krueger/) > [“No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man "knows", should, in strict psychological language, be what he "discovers"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/no-knowledge-comes-from-outside-it-is-all-inside-what-we-say-a-man/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Man learns through experience, and the spiritual path is full of different kinds of experiences. He will encounter many difficulties and obstacles, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sai-baba/man-learns-through-experience-and-the-spiritual-path-is-full-of/) [Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sai-baba/) > [A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, a fool by his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-arreo/a-wise-man-learns-by-the-mistakes-of-others-a-fool-by-his-own/) [Kane Arreo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-arreo/) > [A man only learns by two things; one is reading and the other is association with smarter people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/a-man-only-learns-by-two-things-one-is-reading-and-the-other-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [A man learns with age, if he is lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/a-man-learns-with-age-if-he-is-lucky/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [A fool learns nothing from a wise man; but a wise man learns from a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/a-fool-learns-nothing-from-a-wise-man-but-a-wise-man-learns-from-a/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“The more a man looks at a thing, the less he can see it, and the more a man learns a thing, the less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-more-a-man-looks-at-a-thing-the-less-he-can-see-it-and-the-more-a/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [It is a well known fact that a man learns best that which he endeavors to teach others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-a-man-learns-best-that-which-he/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-sad-but-unfortunately-true-that-man-learns-nothing-from-history/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The best lessons a man ever learns are from his mistakes. It is not for want of schoolmasters that we are still ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-best-lessons-a-man-ever-learns-are-from-his-mistakes-it-is-not/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. 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