--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any white man with half a brain in…" description: "\"“Any white man with half a brain in America can make a good living if he really wants to”\" — Matthew Quick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/matthew-quick-1377_half_any-white-man-with-half-a-brain-in-ameri_497489.png" --- # Any white man with half a brain in America can make a good… ![“Any white man with half a brain in America can make a good living if he really wants to” quote by Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/matthew-quick-1377_half_any-white-man-with-half-a-brain-in-ameri_497489.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/matthew-quick-1377_half_any-white-man-with-half-a-brain-in-ameri_497489.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/matthew-quick-1377_half_any-white-man-with-half-a-brain-in-ameri_497489.png) > ““Any white man with half a brain in America can make a good living if he really wants to”” [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In America, even modest intelligence can achieve success if driven by strong desire. **In simple terms:** Hard work can lead to success. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong motivation. Themes American Dream social mobility determination Mood hopeful critical Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - career advancement - entrepreneurship - education pursuits Key Concepts meritocracy self‑efficacy economic opportunity Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to pursue goals? - How can society support those with fewer resources? A Different Perspective Systemic barriers may still impede success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) ## Related quotes > [You're only half the man that I am, and I have half the brain that you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-vicious/you-re-only-half-the-man-that-i-am-and-i-have-half-the-brain-that-you/) [Sid Vicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-vicious/) > [I'm the definition of half man, half drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puff-daddy/i-m-the-definition-of-half-man-half-drugs/) [Puff Daddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puff-daddy/) > [“Since time immemorial any woman with half a brain has known that in the pursuit of romance she must hide it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mavis-cheek/since-time-immemorial-any-woman-with-half-a-brain-has-known-that-in/) Mavis Cheek > [“But I knew this much: how could anyone with half a brain would want to live in a vast, cold place like Russia which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patric-juillet/but-i-knew-this-much-how-could-anyone-with-half-a-brain-would-want-to/) [Patric Juillet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patric-juillet/) > [(I'm) the only one to take out half a brain, although you would think, if you go to Washington, that someone had beat me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/i-m-the-only-one-to-take-out-half-a-brain-although-you-would-think-if/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I have half the brain you do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-half-the-brain-you-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hey—with your metal leg and half a brain, and my four leftover senses, we almost make a whole person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/hey-with-your-metal-leg-and-half-a-brain-and-my-four-leftover-senses/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [(although anyone with half a brain must surely be mired in existential gloom all the time)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/although-anyone-with-half-a-brain-must-surely-be-mired-in-existential/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“But the quickest way to a man's heart is also the quickest way to make him lose half his brain cells”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/but-the-quickest-way-to-a-man-s-heart-is-also-the-quickest-way-to/) [Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/) > [“The left half of your brain deals with logic, language, calculation, and reason. This is the half people perceive as their personal identity. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-left-half-of-your-brain-deals-with-logic-language-calculation-and/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I mean to say, I know perfectly well that I've got, roughly speaking, half the amount of brain a normal bloke ought to possess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/i-mean-to-say-i-know-perfectly-well-that-i-ve-got-roughly-speaking-2/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [I mean to say, I know perfectly well that I've got, roughly speaking, half the amount of brain a normal bloke ought to possess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-mean-to-say-i-know-perfectly-well-that-i-ve-got-roughly-speaking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For anyone with half a brain they can see that this play is about the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle-parsons/for-anyone-with-half-a-brain-they-can-see-that-this-play-is-about-the/) [Estelle Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle-parsons/) > [I used to want to be a lawyer, but I didn't want to have half my brain sucked out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-walker/i-used-to-want-to-be-a-lawyer-but-i-didn-t-want-to-have-half-my-brain/) [Max Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-walker/) > [The moment u ask ur half brain to deal with the body if to wake up or to fucked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-moment-u-ask-ur-half-brain-to-deal-with-the-body-if-to-wake-up-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Matthew Quick > [I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood and was raised by a man who did not emote, ever... I always cry at movies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-grew-up-in-a-blue-collar-neighborhood-and-was-raised-by-a-man-who/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Maybe my movie isn't over, I say, because sometimes moviemakers trick the audience with a false bad ending, and just when you think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/maybe-my-movie-isn-t-over-i-say-because-sometimes-moviemakers-trick/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Like maybe he really, truly believes I'm worth listening to, worth saving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/like-maybe-he-really-truly-believes-i-m-worth-listening-to-worth/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [...I am now watching the movie of my life as I live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-am-now-watching-the-movie-of-my-life-as-i-live-it/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [You need to make time for family no matter what happens in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/you-need-to-make-time-for-family-no-matter-what-happens-in-your-life/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When she needed help most, she was abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-she-needed-help-most-she-was-abandoned/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I am so happy. I am so impossibly happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-am-so-happy-i-am-so-impossibly-happy/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“the only way you could meet my crazy was by doing something crazy for yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/the-only-way-you-could-meet-my-crazy-was-by-doing-something-crazy-for/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When I travel round the country, people can't place my accent; if there's someone in the audience, they'll be like, 'You're from Philadelphia', but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-i-travel-round-the-country-people-can-t-place-my-accent-if-there/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Empiezo a comprender que tenemos una clase de amistad en la que no se necesitan muchas palabras.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/empiezo-a-comprender-que-tenemos-una-clase-de-amistad-en-la-que-no-se/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [When she needed help most, she was abandoned--and only when she offered help to others was she beloved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/when-she-needed-help-most-she-was-abandoned-and-only-when-she-offered/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship, Leonard. It really does.” “Here’s looking at you, kid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/sounds-like-the-start-of-a-beautiful-friendship-leonard-it-really/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“The whole time I pretend I have mental telepathy. And with my mind only, I’ll say — or think? — to the target, 'Don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/the-whole-time-i-pretend-i-have-mental-telepathy-and-with-my-mind/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Someday an opportunity will come. Think about Harry Potter. His life is terrible, but then a letter arrives, he gets on a train, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/someday-an-opportunity-will-come-think-about-harry-potter-his-life-is/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) [Explore all 240 Matthew Quick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## More Half quotes > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) Hubert Laws > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. 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Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. 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