--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're young, you think you can do…" description: "\"When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we thought.\" — Warren MacKenzie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg" --- # When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we… ![“When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we thought.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg) > “When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we thought.” [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth optimism fuels ambition, but experience tempers it. **In simple terms:** Youth think they can do anything; experience adds realism. Key Takeaway Combine youthful drive with learned wisdom. Themes youth ambition experience growth learning Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - career planning - education - mentorship - goal setting - risk taking Key Concepts Psychology development motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can mentors guide youthful ambition? - What role does failure play in growth? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may lead to reckless decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-thought/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-think/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Ideas are the old-age of art. Artists have to keep young; they must not think too much - thought is death, while art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/ideas-are-the-old-age-of-art-artists-have-to-keep-young-they-must-not/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [I do not lack the courage to think a thought whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-do-not-lack-the-courage-to-think-a-thought-whole/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Your only Young Once , After that you have to Think of another Excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-jones/your-only-young-once-after-that-you-have-to-think-of-another-excuse/) [Victoria Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-jones/) > [In order to be able to set a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the limit thinkable (i.e. we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/in-order-to-be-able-to-set-a-limit-to-thought-we-should-have-to-find/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Sanity was statistical. It was merely a question of learning to think as they thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/sanity-was-statistical-it-was-merely-a-question-of-learning-to-think/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“When I was young, I think so big; but when I grow up I think smaller.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rangsey-heng/when-i-was-young-i-think-so-big-but-when-i-grow-up-i-think-smaller/) [Rangsey Heng (ផលព្រឹក្ស](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rangsey-heng/) > [I started super young, but when I think about myself at that age - what I thought I knew, and how priggish I was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/i-started-super-young-but-when-i-think-about-myself-at-that-age-what/) [Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/) > [I learned that I'm not young enough to think I know everything. Honestly. 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As you get older, you add more adjectives and notice some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-mastai/when-you-re-young-you-think-of-your-parents-with-the-simplest/) [Elan Mastai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elan-mastai/) > [“You are too young, I think, to understand yet the nature of desire. You know what it is to want, perhaps even to yearn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-rose/you-are-too-young-i-think-to-understand-yet-the-nature-of-desire-you/) [Augustus Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-rose/) > [“When you're young, you do think that things last for ever. Unfortunately, they don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/when-you-re-young-you-do-think-that-things-last-for-ever/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“When you're young, you think the world will make room for who you are and what you want… And then you find the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-braswell/when-you-re-young-you-think-the-world-will-make-room-for-who-you-are/) [Liz Braswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-braswell/) > [You set out to be a footballer, when you're young, and you think I'd love to do that. There's plenty of things along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carrick/you-set-out-to-be-a-footballer-when-you-re-young-and-you-think-i-d/) [Michael Carrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-carrick/) ## More by Warren MacKenzie > [ \[Kathleen Blackshear\] just said, "Have you thought of looking at this?" and so on and so on and so on. And it was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/kathleen-blackshear-just-said-have-you-thought-of-looking-at-this-and/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after \[Hans\] Coper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/some-years-ago-i-was-working-on-some-forms-which-were-vase-forms-with/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I found out later on that was not true, that life drawing tells you a great deal about rhythm, about the structure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/i-found-out-later-on-that-was-not-true-that-life-drawing-tells-you-a/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/remember-this-is-back-in-the-40s-and-the-idea-of-a-museum-being-a/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ At the end of that two weeks Bernard \[Leach\] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/at-the-end-of-that-two-weeks-bernard-leach-asked-us-if-we-would-like/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I got drafted into the army and by pure chance was pushed into a silk-screen shop at this camp where I was, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/i-got-drafted-into-the-army-and-by-pure-chance-was-pushed-into-a-silk/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ \[In the Field Museum of Natural History\] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so forth, Greece.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/in-the-field-museum-of-natural-history-we-could-see-very-simple/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [Chicago is a wonderful area because it's blessed with a tremendous number of museums of various sorts, not only the Art Institute of Chicago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/chicago-is-a-wonderful-area-because-it-s-blessed-with-a-tremendous/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with \[Bernard\] Leach. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/it-was-a-wonderful-opportunity-and-so-for-two-and-a-half-years-we/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ We thought \[with Alix MacKenzie\], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/we-thought-with-alix-mackenzie-if-those-are-the-kinds-of-pots-from/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I went to the Chicago Art Institute, which was the best painting school in the area at that time. And I took painting classes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/i-went-to-the-chicago-art-institute-which-was-the-best-painting/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/it-was-there-that-we-really-first-came-in-contact-with-the-work-of/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ Bernard \[Leach\] was making pots which were duplicates of his drawing, and that was a difference of approach, which I think is quite critical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/bernard-leach-was-making-pots-which-were-duplicates-of-his-drawing/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I don't know, it's very difficult if you're in a strange country to just barge in and say, "Hello, I'm Warren MacKenzie, and aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/i-don-t-know-it-s-very-difficult-if-you-re-in-a-strange-country-to/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [ \[Shoji\] Hamada seldom drew an exact drawing of a pot that he was going to make. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/shoji-hamada-seldom-drew-an-exact-drawing-of-a-pot-that-he-was-going/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) [Explore all 108 Warren MacKenzie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. 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I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) [Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we thought.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Warren MacKenzie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-anything-and-we-thought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-anything-and-we-thought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/warren-mackenzie-4654_can-do_when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-a_3234293.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're young, you think you can do anything, and we thought.” — Warren MacKenzie", "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": "Warren MacKenzie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're young, you think you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-anything-and-we-thought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-do-anything-and-we-thought/#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 } } ] } ```