What would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday just passed. His was a career most musicians would kill for and he died at 40. One could only imagine what would have come from him had he lived until now. Lennon’s work, and that of the Beatles, is some of the only music I can always come back to and enjoy. And as I age I see new wisdom in the lyrics of songs that, in my youth, just sounded real good. Lennon has helped shape the way I look at music and the world.
So here are some interesting John Lennon quotes on money and life (and my take on them):
When I was about twelve, I used to think I must be a genius, but nobody’s noticed. Either I’m a genius or I’m mad, which is it? “No,” I said, “I can’t be mad because nobody’s put me away; therefore I’m a genius.” Genius is a form of madness and we’re all that way. But I used to be coy about it, like me guitar playing. But if there’s such a thing as genius — I am one. And if there isn’t, I don’t care.
- My take: Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can go far.
If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.
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- My take: We put a lot of time and effort into consumerism. What if we could re-direct that energy to bigger issues in the world? What could be accomplished?
I don’t have any romanticism about any part of my past. I think of it only inasmuch as it gave me pleasure or helped me grow psychologically. That is the only thing that interests me about yesterday. I don’t believe in yesterday, by the way. You know I don’t believe in yesterday. I am only interested in what I am doing now.
- My take: Don’t spend your energy harping on past accomplishments, and mistakes, of yesterday. Make your life now! If you got yourself in debt, do something to get yourself out! Take those steps.
All kids draw and write poetry and everything, and some of us last until we’re about eighteen, but most drop off at about twelve when some guy comes up and says, “You’re no good.” That’s all we get told all our lives. “You haven’t got the ability. You’re a cobbler.” It happened to all of us, but if somebody had told me all my life, “Yeah, you’re a great artist,” I would have been a more secure person.
- My take: What are you doing to foster your child’s imagination? I think we all need to make efforts to see the world through a child’s eye every now and then. Be supportive to your children. They are delicate yet so full of energy and creativity that it’s a shame if that is ever lost or diminished. I think sometimes our schools worry a little too much on test scores and not enough on creating whole people with vivid ideas.
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. – Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
- My Take: I love this lyric! We get caught up in so much that we forget to LIVE. Yes, the bills need to be paid, the lawn needs mowing, you need to work overtime…but we need to find time to lay out on the grass with the kids and imagine what the clouds look like too.
I know you understand the little child inside of your man. – Woman
- My take: Sometimes I’m a fool that needs coddling. Thank goodness I have my wife who understands that.
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.
- My take: Take your passions and share them!
Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.
- My take: Do those things you do in your life with purpose.
You make your own dream. That’s the Beatles’ story, isn’t it? That’s Yoko’s story. That’s what I’m saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don’t expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself.
- My take: YOU are the solution! How are you going to go about implementing yourself?
We reckoned we could make it because there were four of us. None at us would’ve made it alone, because Paul wasn’t quite strong enough, I didn’t have enough girl-appeal, George was too quiet, and Ringo was the drummer. But we thought that everyone would be able to dig at least one of us, and that’s how it turned out.
- My take: The Beatles were huge because they were the Beatles – John, Paul, George, and Ringo (and I like to include George Martin as well). They were a team that complemented each other. Who’s part of your team? Who are the people around you pushing you and filling in for your weaknesses?
I could keep going on but I’d rather hear what you have to say. What are some of your favorite Lennon quotes and what does it mean to you?
Sources: John Lennon – Wikiquote; BeatlesQuotes.com John Lennon Quotes; JohnLennonQuotes.net
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I like “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” If you’re having fun, write that one down as an experience. If you remember it in 5 years, it’s far more valuable than just about anything else you could have done with that time.
Yup. And a memory will last so much more than a “thing.”
“When you’re drowning, you don’t say ‘I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,’ you just scream.”
Knowing when to ask for help! If your in debt up to your eyeballs seek help, learn from others, just ask!
It’s ok to ask but a lot of people get embarrassed. Sometimes though you need to suck it up and act!
The quotes about children really get to me. I spend as much time as I can with my kids, but it’s never enough. I want to spend my time cultivating their imaginations because I know they will have ideas the world has never heard before, and they will make them a reality.
Beautifully said! I love that Lennon took time off from music for his family and it ended up making him even better.
I think my favorite was this one:
“All kids draw and write poetry and everything, and some of us last until we’re about eighteen, but most drop off at about twelve when some guy comes up and says, “You’re no good.” That’s all we get told all our lives. “You haven’t got the ability. You’re a cobbler.” It happened to all of us, but if somebody had told me all my life, “Yeah, you’re a great artist,” I would have been a more secure person.”
I just wish the world was more encouraging. People have so much potential, and you never know what gift you may be killing be being negative. We should all support each other and if someone fails, just be there for them and help pick them back up.
I think back to when I was a wee lad and I used to draw and build and glue and paint… Somewhere along the line though, my creativity slowed and I think it was because school and those around me became more concerned with scores rather than creating. What out economy needs, in my opinion, is more creators. Look at Gates, Jobs, Lucas… these are people who create and as a result they grow our economy.
“All you need is love.” I think it speaks for itself
Yeah, that is pretty universal isn’t it? The great quotes and sayings tend to be simple and to the point.
One thing about Lennon I’ve always loved was his wordplay. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find out that his quote about yesterday was at least, in part, a bit of a dig at Paul (who wrote “Yesterday”). He even went so far as to write “The only thing you did was Yesterday” in his song How Do You Sleep? (off the Imagine album). That entire song is a poison pen letter to Paul.
But i digress…
Back to quotes about money and Lennon. I’ve always liked the fact that in Can’t Buy Me Love, the Beatles wrote that “money can’t buy me love”, but then in She’s Leaving Home they wrote that “fun is the one thing that money can’t buy.”
I may be reading into things a bit, but then that was the beauty of so much of Beatle lore.
They certainly had a way with words! I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that was a dig a Paul.
To take another from Can’t Buy Me Love:
“Tell me that you want the kinds of things that money just can’t buy.”
It’s amazing how much time children naturally, without being taught, spend being artists. I wonder if I still have an artist inside of me, or if it’s lost with my youth.
It’s still there, you just have to let it be (get that? I’m a riot). Seriously though, most adults forget how to be kids and have fun. That’s where we lose true art. Take someone like Picasso – he’s tapping into some primal way of seeing things that’s not unlike that of a child (in my opinion at least).