--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't always have a five-year plan. One…" description: "\"I don't always have a five-year plan. One thing you must do in life is keep your learning curve as high as possible.\" — Yo-Yo Ma" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/yo-yo-ma-8612_curves_i-don-t-always-have-a-five-year-plan-one_1477973.png" --- # I don't always have a five-year plan. One thing you must… ![“I don't always have a five-year plan. One thing you must do in life is keep your learning curve as high as possible.” quote by Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/yo-yo-ma-8612_curves_i-don-t-always-have-a-five-year-plan-one_1477973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/yo-yo-ma-8612_curves_i-don-t-always-have-a-five-year-plan-one_1477973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/yo-yo-ma-8612_curves_i-don-t-always-have-a-five-year-plan-one_1477973.png) > “I don't always have a five-year plan. One thing you must do in life is keep your learning curve as high as possible.” [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Continuously expanding knowledge is essential; rigid long‑term plans can limit growth. **In simple terms:** Keep learning constantly. Key Takeaway Prioritize ongoing education. Themes growth learning flexibility Mood inspired reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - personal development - academic study - entrepreneurship Key Concepts lifelong learning skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance breadth and depth? - What habits keep your learning curve steep? A Different Perspective High‑speed learning may sacrifice depth or well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curves/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five year plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-year-plans/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Learning curve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-curve/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-learning/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plan/) [Plan Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plan-thing-2104367/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Year Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-plan-587468/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Today, if someone showed me a five-year plan, I'd toss out the pages detailing Years Three, Four and Five as pure fantasy Anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mccormack/today-if-someone-showed-me-a-five-year-plan-i-d-toss-out-the-pages/) [Mark McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mccormack/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) > [I've never been the girl that's had the five-year plan, the 10-year plan and I'm still not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-yearwood/i-ve-never-been-the-girl-that-s-had-the-five-year-plan-the-10-year/) [Trisha Yearwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-yearwood/) > [I want to do weird things and big budget things and no budget things. I don't have a five-year plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taika-waititi/i-want-to-do-weird-things-and-big-budget-things-and-no-budget-things/) [Taika Waititi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taika-waititi/) > [Americans are so direct. They'd ask me, 'What's your five-year plan? Do you have a five-year plan?' I don't know what I'm having for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/americans-are-so-direct-they-d-ask-me-what-s-your-five-year-plan-do/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [My whole family's gonna be set for life and I'm not stopping rappin until that happens. I already know I got a five year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayceon-terrell-taylor/my-whole-family-s-gonna-be-set-for-life-and-i-m-not-stopping-rappin/) [Jayceon Terrell Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayceon-terrell-taylor/) > [I've never had a five-year plan or a three-year plan, or whatever, ... We had an idea philosophically of what we were going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-ferentz/i-ve-never-had-a-five-year-plan-or-a-three-year-plan-or-whatever-we/) [Kirk Ferentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-ferentz/) > [I have a theory in life that there is no learning. There is no learning curve. Everything is tabula rasa. Everybody has to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-hersh/i-have-a-theory-in-life-that-there-is-no-learning-there-is-no/) [Seymour Hersh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-hersh/) > [“Beauty won’t protect you. Not in the end. What will is the one thing you can’t plan for. The one thing you can’t save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dave/beauty-won-t-protect-you-not-in-the-end-what-will-is-the-one-thing/) [Laura Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dave/) > [“A plan is a thing that goes unsaid, but puts the hope in your voice nonetheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/a-plan-is-a-thing-that-goes-unsaid-but-puts-the-hope-in-your-voice/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [One thing I've learned about his business is this whole 'plan thing' - it doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-charles/one-thing-i-ve-learned-about-his-business-is-this-whole-plan-thing-it/) [Josh Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-charles/) > [“I now know that God has a plan for each of us. The thing is to find out what it is.” How? Through prayer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/i-now-know-that-god-has-a-plan-for-each-of-us-the-thing-is-to-find/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [Every activity worth doing has a learning curve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/every-activity-worth-doing-has-a-learning-curve/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I have fun running all the Virgin businesses, so a setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-have-fun-running-all-the-virgin-businesses-so-a-setback-is-never-a/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I work with a lot of music programs and there's a steep learning curve to a lot of them. You can really find yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe/i-work-with-a-lot-of-music-programs-and-there-s-a-steep-learning/) [Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe/) ## More by Yo-Yo Ma > [With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/with-every-year-of-playing-you-want-to-relax-one-more-muscle-why/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/a-composition-is-always-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts-in-other-words/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Good things happen when you meet strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/good-things-happen-when-you-meet-strangers/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/my-involvement-in-the-political-arena-is-to-make-sure-there-s-a-place/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-we-enlarge-our-view-of-the-world-we-deepen-our-understanding-of/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [People will ask, 'Are you famous?' And I always answer, 'My mother thinks so.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/people-will-ask-are-you-famous-and-i-always-answer-my-mother-thinks-so/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/i-remember-when-i-was-growing-up-my-great-wish-was-to-understand-who/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [It took me way beyond what I knew, into places of which I was totally scared, but as I became less frightened, I welcomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/it-took-me-way-beyond-what-i-knew-into-places-of-which-i-was-totally/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [One is that you have to take time, lots of time, to let an idea grow from within. The second is that when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/one-is-that-you-have-to-take-time-lots-of-time-to-let-an-idea-grow/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [You go through phases. You have to reinvent reasons for playing, and one year's answer might not do for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/you-go-through-phases-you-have-to-reinvent-reasons-for-playing-and/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [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/) > [Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/mastering-music-is-more-than-learning-technical-skills-practicing-is/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [I think that peace is, in many ways, a precondition of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/i-think-that-peace-is-in-many-ways-a-precondition-of-joy/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/jazz-has-been-such-a-force-in-music-that-any-musician-including/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Practicing is not only playing your instrument, either by yourself or rehearsing with others - it also includes imagining yourself practicing. Your brain forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/practicing-is-not-only-playing-your-instrument-either-by-yourself-or/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) [Explore all 79 Yo-Yo Ma quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) ## More Curves quotes > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [ Sexy for me is a curvy woman - doesn't have to be skinny, which I hate anyway. I'm glad \[the fashion industry\] is changing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/sexy-for-me-is-a-curvy-woman-doesn-t-have-to-be-skinny-which-i-hate/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [People might not agree with me, but I think a woman should have a feminine shape, something you can get your hands on. You,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/people-might-not-agree-with-me-but-i-think-a-woman-should-have-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [I work with a lot of music programs and there's a steep learning curve to a lot of them. You can really find yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe/i-work-with-a-lot-of-music-programs-and-there-s-a-steep-learning/) [Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Look at me and tell me if I dont have Brazil in every curve of my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-miranda/look-at-me-and-tell-me-if-i-dont-have-brazil-in-every-curve-of-my-body/) [Carmen Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-miranda/) > [Real Women Have Curves. Be Yourself Eveyone Else is Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-mc/real-women-have-curves-be-yourself-eveyone-else-is-taken/) [Theresa Mc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-mc/) > [Currently, it was leading him through a neighborhood that was on the downside of whatever curve you hoped you'd bought your property on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/currently-it-was-leading-him-through-a-neighborhood-that-was-on-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I like having curves. Curves are in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-alaina/i-like-having-curves-curves-are-in/) [Lauren Alaina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-alaina/) > [“A line only gets grace when it curves, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-enger/a-line-only-gets-grace-when-it-curves-you-know/) [Leif Enger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-enger/) > [She clenched her fist in his T-shirt, put her other arm around those too-broad, too-real shoulders. When he tried to pull away, she held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/she-clenched-her-fist-in-his-t-shirt-put-her-other-arm-around-those/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [I'd want to have Gisele Bundchen's body. Even though she's tall and skinny, she does have curves... and I think that's hot. Halle Berry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/i-d-want-to-have-gisele-bundchen-s-body-even-though-she-s-tall-and/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [I love curves. Being super skinny just isnt attractive to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-love-curves-being-super-skinny-just-isnt-attractive-to-me/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) [Browse all 701 Curves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curves/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't always have a five-year plan. 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