--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything…" description: "\"Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.\" — Lou Holtz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png" --- # Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard. ![“Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.” quote by Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png) > “Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.” [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simple tools can halt complex problems when applied creatively. **In simple terms:** A blackboard can stop anything. Key Takeaway Use simple solutions creatively. Themes problem solving creativity simplicity strategy Mood playful inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - education - business strategy - conflict resolution - personal planning Key Concepts visual tools strategic planning innovation Questions to Reflect On - When is a simple tool insufficient? - How can you combine simplicity with depth? A Different Perspective Complex issues may need more than a single tool. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blackboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackboard/) [Blackboard Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackboard-stop-4593243/) [Give me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/give-me/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Blackboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-blackboard-4593242/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [I was trouble - and always in trouble. Aged eight I still couldn't read. In fact, I was dyslexic and short-sighted. Despite sitting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-was-trouble-and-always-in-trouble-aged-eight-i-still-couldn-t-read/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“When I was teaching children I began every day writing this on the blackboard: "Do to others what you would like them to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common-sense/when-i-was-teaching-children-i-began-every-day-writing-this-on-the/) [Common Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common-sense/) > [THE DEATH OF LEOPOLD GURSKY Leopold Gursky started dying on August 18, 1920. He died learning to walk. He died standing at the blackboard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-death-of-leopold-gursky-leopold-gursky-started-dying-on-august-18/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [It is still an unending source of surprise for me how a few scribbles on a blackboard or on a piece of paper can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-ulam/it-is-still-an-unending-source-of-surprise-for-me-how-a-few-scribbles/) [Stanislaw Ulam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-ulam/) > [“Teaching Ramanujan was like writing on a blackboard covered with excerpts from a more interesting lecture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-young/teaching-ramanujan-was-like-writing-on-a-blackboard-covered-with/) [Lawrence Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-young/) > [Students famous nightmare is that when teacher start victimizing who will go to the blackboard to resolve a mathematics exercise .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mly-ab/students-famous-nightmare-is-that-when-teacher-start-victimizing-who/) [MLY AB](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mly-ab/) > [“On the Left side of the blackboard I print a capital F on the right side another capital F. I draw an arrow from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/on-the-left-side-of-the-blackboard-i-print-a-capital-f-on-the-right/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [That's the amazing thing about life. You can just rub it out, like a blackboard, and start again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/that-s-the-amazing-thing-about-life-you-can-just-rub-it-out-like-a/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [“In the chalky trough under the blackboard are lessons dusted and already forgotten. The teacher is squawking away once more, scratching into the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-mccaffery/in-the-chalky-trough-under-the-blackboard-are-lessons-dusted-and/) [Richie McCaffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-mccaffery/) > [The principle factor in my success has been an absolute desire to draw constantly. I never decided to be an artist. Simply, I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winsor-mccay/the-principle-factor-in-my-success-has-been-an-absolute-desire-to/) [Winsor McCay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winsor-mccay/) > [It sounded like a piece of blackboard being dragged over the nails of a wall of severed fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-sounded-like-a-piece-of-blackboard-being-dragged-over-the-nails-of/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When I was in school, I was too short to erase the blackboard. It was my job to put away the chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-yulin-cruz/when-i-was-in-school-i-was-too-short-to-erase-the-blackboard-it-was/) [Carmen Yulin Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-yulin-cruz/) > [I am not fully forgiven until I allow God to write his new dream for my life on the blackboard of my mind. ..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/i-am-not-fully-forgiven-until-i-allow-god-to-write-his-new-dream-for/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [Clouds are poems, and the most moving poems linger on the blackboard so long, written in cursive so lovely, they also exist inside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/clouds-are-poems-and-the-most-moving-poems-linger-on-the-blackboard/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Where is the sound?" someone hastily scribbled on the blackboard, and they all waited anxiously for the reply. Milo caught his breath, picked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/where-is-the-sound-someone-hastily-scribbled-on-the-blackboard-and/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) ## More by Lou Holtz > [You will never be indecisive if you know your purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/you-will-never-be-indecisive-if-you-know-your-purpose/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/the-answers-to-these-questions-will-determine-your-success-or-failure/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/if-what-you-did-yesterday-seems-big-you-haven-t-done-anything-today/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [You always have to prepare for the obstacles that are going to come. Consequently, when they do come, it doesn't affect you mentally near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/you-always-have-to-prepare-for-the-obstacles-that-are-going-to-come/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Remember this. Bear Bryant retired at age 69, and he died 28 days after he stopped coaching. If you don't have something, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/remember-this-bear-bryant-retired-at-age-69-and-he-died-28-days-after/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [The freedom to do your own thing ends when you have obligations and responsibilities. If you want to fail yourself - you can -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/the-freedom-to-do-your-own-thing-ends-when-you-have-obligations-and/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [People eyeing you as a potential leader tend to ask three questions: Are you committed? Do you care about me? Can I trust you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/people-eyeing-you-as-a-potential-leader-tend-to-ask-three-questions/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [“never tell your problems to any1...20% donot care and 80% are glad to have them...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/never-tell-your-problems-to-any1-20-donot-care-and-80-are-glad-to/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Our cellar home had a kitchen and a combination bedroom and half bath, which meant we had a sink next to the bed. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/our-cellar-home-had-a-kitchen-and-a-combination-bedroom-and-half-bath/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [I was raised a Catholic on both sides of the family. I went to a Catholic grade school and thought everybody in the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/i-was-raised-a-catholic-on-both-sides-of-the-family-i-went-to-a/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Everyone wants to win on Saturday afternoon when the game is played. It’s what you do the other six days that decides the outcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/everyone-wants-to-win-on-saturday-afternoon-when-the-game-is-played/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [At age nine, I got a paper route. Sixty-six papers had to be delivered to sixty-six families every day. I also had to collect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/at-age-nine-i-got-a-paper-route-sixty-six-papers-had-to-be-delivered/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [What you are capable of achieving is determined by your talent and ability. What you attempt to do is determined by your motivation. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/what-you-are-capable-of-achieving-is-determined-by-your-talent-and/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [God answers prayers, but he doesn't always answer it your way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/god-answers-prayers-but-he-doesn-t-always-answer-it-your-way/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [If you burn your neighbors house down, it doesn't make your house look any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/if-you-burn-your-neighbors-house-down-it-doesn-t-make-your-house-look/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) [Explore all 226 Lou Holtz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) ## More Blackboard quotes > [I was trouble - and always in trouble. Aged eight I still couldn't read. In fact, I was dyslexic and short-sighted. Despite sitting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-was-trouble-and-always-in-trouble-aged-eight-i-still-couldn-t-read/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Clouds are poems, and the most moving poems linger on the blackboard so long, written in cursive so lovely, they also exist inside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/clouds-are-poems-and-the-most-moving-poems-linger-on-the-blackboard/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I am not fully forgiven until I allow God to write his new dream for my life on the blackboard of my mind. ..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/i-am-not-fully-forgiven-until-i-allow-god-to-write-his-new-dream-for/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [When I was in school, I was too short to erase the blackboard. It was my job to put away the chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-yulin-cruz/when-i-was-in-school-i-was-too-short-to-erase-the-blackboard-it-was/) [Carmen Yulin Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-yulin-cruz/) > [It sounded like a piece of blackboard being dragged over the nails of a wall of severed fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-sounded-like-a-piece-of-blackboard-being-dragged-over-the-nails-of/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [The principle factor in my success has been an absolute desire to draw constantly. I never decided to be an artist. Simply, I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winsor-mccay/the-principle-factor-in-my-success-has-been-an-absolute-desire-to/) [Winsor McCay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winsor-mccay/) > [“In the chalky trough under the blackboard are lessons dusted and already forgotten. The teacher is squawking away once more, scratching into the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-mccaffery/in-the-chalky-trough-under-the-blackboard-are-lessons-dusted-and/) [Richie McCaffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-mccaffery/) > [That's the amazing thing about life. You can just rub it out, like a blackboard, and start again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/that-s-the-amazing-thing-about-life-you-can-just-rub-it-out-like-a/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [“On the Left side of the blackboard I print a capital F on the right side another capital F. I draw an arrow from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/on-the-left-side-of-the-blackboard-i-print-a-capital-f-on-the-right/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Students famous nightmare is that when teacher start victimizing who will go to the blackboard to resolve a mathematics exercise .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mly-ab/students-famous-nightmare-is-that-when-teacher-start-victimizing-who/) [MLY AB](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mly-ab/) > [“Teaching Ramanujan was like writing on a blackboard covered with excerpts from a more interesting lecture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-young/teaching-ramanujan-was-like-writing-on-a-blackboard-covered-with/) [Lawrence Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-young/) > [It is still an unending source of surprise for me how a few scribbles on a blackboard or on a piece of paper can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-ulam/it-is-still-an-unending-source-of-surprise-for-me-how-a-few-scribbles/) [Stanislaw Ulam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-ulam/) > [THE DEATH OF LEOPOLD GURSKY Leopold Gursky started dying on August 18, 1920. He died learning to walk. He died standing at the blackboard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-death-of-leopold-gursky-leopold-gursky-started-dying-on-august-18/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“When I was teaching children I began every day writing this on the blackboard: "Do to others what you would like them to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common-sense/when-i-was-teaching-children-i-began-every-day-writing-this-on-the/) [Common Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common-sense/) > [Where is the sound?" someone hastily scribbled on the blackboard, and they all waited anxiously for the reply. Milo caught his breath, picked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/where-is-the-sound-someone-hastily-scribbled-on-the-blackboard-and/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) [Browse all 55 Blackboard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackboard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lou Holtz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything-on-a-blackboard/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blackboard" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything-on-a-blackboard/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af6/lou-holtz-1584_blackboard_give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything_2974147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Give me a blackboard. I can stop anything on a blackboard.” — Lou Holtz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lou Holtz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Give me a blackboard. I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything-on-a-blackboard/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/give-me-a-blackboard-i-can-stop-anything-on-a-blackboard/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```