--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of myself as a beginner…" description: "\"I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the whole joy. If you could just do it, there'd be no point in doing it.\" — Wayne Thiebaud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/wayne-thiebaud-19970_beginner_i-think-of-myself-as-a-beginner-sometime_2990020.png" --- # I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the… ![“I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the whole joy. If you could just do it, there'd be no point in doing it.” quote by Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/wayne-thiebaud-19970_beginner_i-think-of-myself-as-a-beginner-sometime_2990020.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/wayne-thiebaud-19970_beginner_i-think-of-myself-as-a-beginner-sometime_2990020.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/wayne-thiebaud-19970_beginner_i-think-of-myself-as-a-beginner-sometime_2990020.png) > “I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the whole joy. If you could just do it, there'd be no point in doing it.” [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing a beginner's mindset keeps learning fresh and enjoyable. **In simple terms:** Being a beginner can be fun. Key Takeaway Stay curious, enjoy the process. Themes learning mindset joy Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - creative projects - skill development Key Concepts beginner's mindset growth motivation Questions to Reflect On - What does being a beginner mean to you? - How can you balance learning and expertise? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on novelty may hinder mastery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginner/) [Beginner Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginner-joy-4693779/) [Beginners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginners/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inexperience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inexperience/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Just do it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-do-it/) [No point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-point/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Beginner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-beginner-1529490/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Write every day. Make writing a part of your life, but also don't be afraid of learning from others because I think you can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-willis-holt/write-every-day-make-writing-a-part-of-your-life-but-also-don-t-be/) [Kimberly Willis Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-willis-holt/) > [One becomes a beginner after 1000 days of training. One becomes a master after 10,000 days of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mas-oyama/one-becomes-a-beginner-after-1000-days-of-training-one-becomes-a/) [Mas Oyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mas-oyama/) > [A beginner gets so excited when he hits the ball in the air or maybe hits a nice bunker shot. A player who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-cink/a-beginner-gets-so-excited-when-he-hits-the-ball-in-the-air-or-maybe/) [Stewart Cink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-cink/) > [When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-people-ask-me-how-they-should-approach-performance-i-always-tell/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the experts, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-mind-of-the-beginner-is-empty-free-of-the-habits-of-the-experts/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [I think a critical part of being successful in our industry is having a beginner's mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/i-think-a-critical-part-of-being-successful-in-our-industry-is-having/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [The beginner's humility and openness lead to exploration. Exploration leads to accomplishment. All of it begins at the beginning, with the first small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/the-beginner-s-humility-and-openness-lead-to-exploration-exploration/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I've been making movies for a long time. The Japanese way of making movies has become second nature to me. To get away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/i-ve-been-making-movies-for-a-long-time-the-japanese-way-of-making/) [Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/) > [Talent is important, and some background as well. This really is not beginner's school. I want to work with people that have achieved a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlatko-stefanovski/talent-is-important-and-some-background-as-well-this-really-is-not/) [Vlatko Stefanovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vlatko-stefanovski/) > [If he ever had a bright idea it would be beginner's luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/if-he-ever-had-a-bright-idea-it-would-be-beginner-s-luck/) [William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/) > [A fiery, good beginner always stands higher than a master in mediocrity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/a-fiery-good-beginner-always-stands-higher-than-a-master-in-mediocrity/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [Starting out in a beginner class and really understanding the fundamentals of yoga is really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/starting-out-in-a-beginner-class-and-really-understanding-the/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [I know now that everybody in the arts is forever a beginner. Experience counts for a great deal and very little. Every night onstage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-know-now-that-everybody-in-the-arts-is-forever-a-beginner/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [If the angel deigns to come it will be because you have convinced her, not by tears but by your humble resolve to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-the-angel-deigns-to-come-it-will-be-because-you-have-convinced-her/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [There never was a winner, who wasn't a beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/there-never-was-a-winner-who-wasn-t-a-beginner/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## More by Wayne Thiebaud > [My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of-experience-that-came-out-of/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Diebenkorn was a very good critic, a very tough critic, tough on himself, tough on others. He expected the finest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/diebenkorn-was-a-very-good-critic-a-very-tough-critic-tough-on/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [I haven't the slightest idea what art is, but to be a painter is something of which you have to prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/i-haven-t-the-slightest-idea-what-art-is-but-to-be-a-painter-is/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [We all need critical confrontation of the fullest and most extreme kind that we can get. You can unnecessarily limit yourself by choosing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/we-all-need-critical-confrontation-of-the-fullest-and-most-extreme/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [When you think of painting as painting it is rather absurd. The real world is before us - glorious sunlight and activity and fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/when-you-think-of-painting-as-painting-it-is-rather-absurd-the-real/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Art means something very rare, an extraordinary achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/art-means-something-very-rare-an-extraordinary-achievement/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Art is one of the dirtiest words in our language; it's mucked up with all kinds of meanings. There's the art of plumbing; there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/art-is-one-of-the-dirtiest-words-in-our-language-it-s-mucked-up-with/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Morandi gave an intimate view of his deepest thoughts. We watched him inquiring after the devilish questions of essences and substances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/morandi-gave-an-intimate-view-of-his-deepest-thoughts-we-watched-him/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [I don't make a lot of distinctions between things like landscape or figure painting, because to me the problems are inherently the same -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/i-don-t-make-a-lot-of-distinctions-between-things-like-landscape-or/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [An artist has to train his responses more than other people do. He has to be as disciplined as a mathematician. Discipline is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/an-artist-has-to-train-his-responses-more-than-other-people-do-he-has/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [My sin as a painter is that I just want to paint anything I want to paint - and repaint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/my-sin-as-a-painter-is-that-i-just-want-to-paint-anything-i-want-to/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [A conscious decision to eliminate certain details and include selective bits of personal experiences or perceptual nuances, gives the painting more of a multi-dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/a-conscious-decision-to-eliminate-certain-details-and-include/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [A painter is always overjoyed when anybody pays any attention to him at all, puts him in any category, calls him anything - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/a-painter-is-always-overjoyed-when-anybody-pays-any-attention-to-him/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [If you stare at an object, as you do when you paint, there is no point at which you stop learning things from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/if-you-stare-at-an-object-as-you-do-when-you-paint-there-is-no-point/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [As far as I'm concerned, there is only one study and that is the way in which things relate to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-there-is-only-one-study-and-that-is-the-way/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) [Explore all 31 Wayne Thiebaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) ## More Beginner quotes > [There never was a winner, who wasn't a beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/there-never-was-a-winner-who-wasn-t-a-beginner/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [If the angel deigns to come it will be because you have convinced her, not by tears but by your humble resolve to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-the-angel-deigns-to-come-it-will-be-because-you-have-convinced-her/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I know now that everybody in the arts is forever a beginner. Experience counts for a great deal and very little. Every night onstage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-know-now-that-everybody-in-the-arts-is-forever-a-beginner/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I've always liked to learn how to do things - I'm a hobby person. So I'll learn something at a beginner's level, then usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-van-etten/i-ve-always-liked-to-learn-how-to-do-things-i-m-a-hobby-person-so-i/) [Sharon Van Etten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-van-etten/) > [Starting out in a beginner class and really understanding the fundamentals of yoga is really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/starting-out-in-a-beginner-class-and-really-understanding-the/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [I am always a beginner. I only try to include different parts of life; the pastoral, the tragic, et cetera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/i-am-always-a-beginner-i-only-try-to-include-different-parts-of-life/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [A fiery, good beginner always stands higher than a master in mediocrity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/a-fiery-good-beginner-always-stands-higher-than-a-master-in-mediocrity/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“Masters today, were Starters Yesterday, so begin now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/masters-today-were-starters-yesterday-so-begin-now/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [If he ever had a bright idea it would be beginner's luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/if-he-ever-had-a-bright-idea-it-would-be-beginner-s-luck/) [William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/) > [The expert in anything was always a beginner once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/the-expert-in-anything-was-always-a-beginner-once/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [Talent is important, and some background as well. This really is not beginner's school. I want to work with people that have achieved a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlatko-stefanovski/talent-is-important-and-some-background-as-well-this-really-is-not/) [Vlatko Stefanovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vlatko-stefanovski/) > [For a beginner, find a trainer that you trust and set some goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafthor-bjornsson/for-a-beginner-find-a-trainer-that-you-trust-and-set-some-goals/) [Hafthor Bjornsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafthor-bjornsson/) > [I've been making movies for a long time. The Japanese way of making movies has become second nature to me. To get away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/i-ve-been-making-movies-for-a-long-time-the-japanese-way-of-making/) [Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/) [Browse all 119 Beginner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the whole joy. 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