--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It once amused me that it took me three…" description: "\"It once amused me that it took me three tries to pass my driver's test and that my driving instructor told my mother that I was the least talented pers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/jane-smiley-2120_amused_it-once-amused-me-that-it-took-me-three_962380.png" --- # It once amused me that it took me three tries to pass my… ![“It once amused me that it took me three tries to pass my driver's test and that my driving instructor told my mother that I was the least talented person behind the wheel that she had ever taught.” quote by Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/jane-smiley-2120_amused_it-once-amused-me-that-it-took-me-three_962380.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/jane-smiley-2120_amused_it-once-amused-me-that-it-took-me-three_962380.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/jane-smiley-2120_amused_it-once-amused-me-that-it-took-me-three_962380.png) > “It once amused me that it took me three tries to pass my driver's test and that my driving instructor told my mother that I was the least talented person behind the wheel that she had ever taught.” [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on early driving failures and a harsh assessment from an instructor, highlighting self‑doubt and perseverance. **In simple terms:** Early failure and harsh feedback can motivate growth. Key Takeaway Embrace setbacks as learning opportunities. Themes self‑esteem learning perseverance Mood reflective determined Type personal motivational When to use this quote - driving lessons - career setbacks - personal development Key Concepts growth mindset resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe negative feedback? - What steps will you take to improve? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on criticism may ignore innate strengths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Instructor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instructor/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [Don't call me darling. I'm a driving instructor!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/don-t-call-me-darling-i-m-a-driving-instructor/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [“Oh, Micheal darling!" "Don't call me darling, I'm a driving instructor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/oh-micheal-darling-don-t-call-me-darling-i-m-a-driving-instructor/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [“We’re not exactly together and were not, not together. We’re in together-limbo. 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I couldn’t look at my hands around the coffee cup or hear my own laments without feeling appalled, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/shame-is-a-distinct-feeling-i-couldn-t-look-at-my-hands-around-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“She could not have created this moment, these lovely faces, these candles flickering, the flash of the silverware, the fragrances of the food hanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/she-could-not-have-created-this-moment-these-lovely-faces-these/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Horse racing is really much more intimidating than anything having to do with literature. When I had horses at the racetrack, I would wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/horse-racing-is-really-much-more-intimidating-than-anything-having-to/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“Had I faced all the facts It seemed like I had but actually you never know just by remembering how many there were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/had-i-faced-all-the-facts-it-seemed-like-i-had-but-actually-you-never/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/a-theory-of-creativity-is-actually-just-a-metaphor-a-pool-of-ideas-a/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There are hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States and in other countries, too. Wright lived into his 90s, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-are-hundreds-of-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-around-the-united/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) [Explore all 185 Jane Smiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) ## More Amused quotes > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. 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I was both amused and disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/every-producer-in-hollywood-had-set-me-down-as-a-type-i-was-both/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [The writer's Queen Victoria is his public, and he would do well to keep a bust of the old Queen on his desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-watson-fowler/the-writer-s-queen-victoria-is-his-public-and-he-would-do-well-to/) [Henry Watson Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-watson-fowler/) > [I have been much amused at ye singular phenomena resulting from bringing of a needle into contact with a piece of amber or resin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-been-much-amused-at-ye-singular-phenomena-resulting-from/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [I have found that the key to being happy — well, one of the keys, anyway — is to be easily amused,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-wheaton/i-have-found-that-the-key-to-being-happy-well-one-of-the-keys-anyway/) [Wil Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-wheaton/) > [Global warming ... may be a plaintiff lawyer's dream. And it's interesting, in a perverse way, to imagine how a jury in 2050 might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ignatius/global-warming-may-be-a-plaintiff-lawyer-s-dream-and-it-s-interesting/) [David Ignatius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ignatius/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I am too old to have ever been very worried about what "genre" any given book of mine might be. I read everything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-am-too-old-to-have-ever-been-very-worried-about-what-genre-any/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ \[The doctrine of air\] I was led into in consequence of inhabiting a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first amused… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/the-doctrine-of-air-i-was-led-into-in-consequence-of-inhabiting-a/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [“Well at least your awake," he sighs "You had me worried." "Get your hands away from me." He waves sheathed fingers in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/well-at-least-your-awake-he-sighs-you-had-me-worried-get-your-hands/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“You." I gasped. 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