"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast"
About this Quote
"Eat them for breakfast" does the heavy lifting. Breakfast is ordinary, daily, unglamorous. By placing problems there, the quote shrinks them to the size of a morning ritual. It’s also a dominance metaphor, but softened by humor: you don’t wrestle problems heroically at midnight; you metabolize them with your coffee. That’s why it sticks. It offers agency without pretending you control the world, only your stance toward it.
The subtext is a mid-century self-mastery ethos: discipline, preparedness, a kind of cheerful stoicism that plays well in business culture and motivational speech. Montapert, writing in an era that prized grit and personal responsibility, gives you a slogan that flatters competence while sidestepping melodrama. Still, there’s an edge worth noticing: if every problem is breakfast, the burden stays individual. The quote energizes, but it also implies that struggle is a personal management issue, not always a structural one. That tension is exactly what makes it culturally durable.
Quote Details
| Topic | Overcoming Obstacles |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Montapert, Alfred A. (2026, January 14). Expect problems and eat them for breakfast. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/expect-problems-and-eat-them-for-breakfast-171121/
Chicago Style
Montapert, Alfred A. "Expect problems and eat them for breakfast." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/expect-problems-and-eat-them-for-breakfast-171121/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/expect-problems-and-eat-them-for-breakfast-171121/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.







