--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A genius is a grownup that remained a kid." description: "\"“A genius is a grownup that remained a kid.”\" — Mokokoma Mokhonoana" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg" --- # A genius is a grownup that remained a kid. ![“A genius is a grownup that remained a kid.” quote by Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg) > ““A genius is a grownup that remained a kid.”” [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A genius retains childlike wonder, suggesting that maintaining curiosity and playfulness is key to brilliance. **In simple terms:** Great minds stay childlike in curiosity. Key Takeaway Cultivate playfulness and curiosity. Themes creativity innocence growth Mood optimistic inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - artistic pursuits - problem solving - personal development Key Concepts psychology innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can you keep curiosity alive at work? - What playful habits nurture your creativity? A Different Perspective Adult responsibilities can suppress childlike traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Genius Grownup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-grownup-879301/) [Grownup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grownup/) [Grownup Remained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grownup-remained-879302/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Remained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remained/) [Remained Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remained-kid-879303/) ## Related quotes > [“The average adult has had sex innumerable times more than they have formed an opinion of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-average-adult-has-had-sex-innumerable-times-more-than-they-have/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Adults who use big words in order to seem intelligent are annoying, especially those who are not intelligent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/adults-who-use-big-words-in-order-to-seem-intelligent-are-annoying/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I would, quite often, like to be grownup, wise, and sophisticated. But these gifts are not mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-would-quite-often-like-to-be-grownup-wise-and-sophisticated-but/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [It's a very hard thing for all of us to accept ourselves at all the different stages - the horrible side, the wonderful side,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-greene/it-s-a-very-hard-thing-for-all-of-us-to-accept-ourselves-at-all-the/) [Ellen Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-greene/) > [The moment you decide that you're a grownup now, and therefore must put away foolish things like staying out all night or cruising down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-heimel/the-moment-you-decide-that-you-re-a-grownup-now-and-therefore-must/) [Cynthia Heimel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-heimel/) > [Being a grownup means assuming responsibility for yourself, for your children, and - here's the big curve - for your parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/being-a-grownup-means-assuming-responsibility-for-yourself-for-your/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [A grownup is a child with layers on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/a-grownup-is-a-child-with-layers-on/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Someday perhaps I'll have to get a grownup job... but for now I'm having too much fun being a reporter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-mitchell/someday-perhaps-i-ll-have-to-get-a-grownup-job-but-for-now-i-m-having/) [Andrea Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-mitchell/) > [I think being young in a grownup world, I think it stunted me a little bit. I had to grow up too fast on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-benanti/i-think-being-young-in-a-grownup-world-i-think-it-stunted-me-a-little/) [Laura Benanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-benanti/) > [“I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Because I was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-am-still-every-age-that-i-have-been-because-i-was-once-a-child-i-am/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Life, just as we first thought, is playing grownup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-just-as-we-first-thought-is-playing-grownup/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [if a book is not good enough for a grownup, it is not good enough for a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-a-book-is-not-good-enough-for-a-grownup-it-is-not-good-enough-for/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I've gone through several cycles. When I was little, I was the cute kid with missing teeth and funny one-liners. Then I moved on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/i-ve-gone-through-several-cycles-when-i-was-little-i-was-the-cute-kid/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [That's what my books are, now that I'm a grownup - mosaics of jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-s-what-my-books-are-now-that-i-m-a-grownup-mosaics-of-jokes/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > ['In Memoriam' has been my companion for all my grownup life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/in-memoriam-has-been-my-companion-for-all-my-grownup-life/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) ## More by Mokokoma Mokhonoana > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Dating is a man-made ideology: if having a lover was a prerequisite to living, one would either be in a relationship, or, six feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/dating-is-a-man-made-ideology-if-having-a-lover-was-a-prerequisite-to/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Work is a vehicle with which man chases some fleeting destination called a full tummy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/work-is-a-vehicle-with-which-man-chases-some-fleeting-destination/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“A phone call should be a convenience to the caller, not an inconvenience to the called.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-phone-call-should-be-a-convenience-to-the-caller-not-an/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Employment is an employee’s kissing of an employer’s ass. A salary is the employer’s pretense to be cleaning his ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/employment-is-an-employee-s-kissing-of-an-employer-s-ass-a-salary-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“\*Nothing is free\* asserts two things. Both assertions are true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/nothing-is-free-asserts-two-things-both-assertions-are-true/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“\*You only get one chance to make a first impression.\* Ah, whatever!!! Who said you get three chances to make the second impression?!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/you-only-get-one-chance-to-make-a-first-impression-ah-whatever-who/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“A prisoner is imprisoned by the crime that he has committed. A jailer is imprisoned — in the very same prison — by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-prisoner-is-imprisoned-by-the-crime-that-he-has-committed-a-jailer/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Life is deadly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/life-is-deadly/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Hypocrisy is when you get mad at a friend for telling their other friend a secret that your other friend told you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/hypocrisy-is-when-you-get-mad-at-a-friend-for-telling-their-other/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Explore all 959 Mokokoma Mokhonoana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A genius is a grownup that remained a kid.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mokokoma Mokhonoana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-kid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-kid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d0/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_genius_a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-ki_2482478.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A genius is a grownup that remained a kid.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana", "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": "Mokokoma Mokhonoana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A genius is a grownup that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-kid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-genius-is-a-grownup-that-remained-a-kid/#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 } } ] } ```