"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around"
About this Quote
The specific intent is corrective. Rohn is warning his audience - aspiring entrepreneurs, salespeople, self-improvers - that raw drive is morally neutral. Motivation is a multiplier, not a compass. Multiply the wrong inputs and you don’t get success; you get more efficient failure. That’s why he pairs “motivation” with “speed,” a word that usually reads as progress but here becomes danger. He’s puncturing the adrenaline myth.
The subtext is also a critique of self-help’s lazier promise: that wanting something badly enough will solve structural problems like ignorance, bad strategy, or poor judgment. “Education” in Rohn’s world isn’t about credentials; it’s about calibration - learning to see reality clearly enough to change course. Turning around is humbler than charging ahead, and that’s the point. The quote sells a grown-up version of ambition: not louder confidence, but better thinking.
Context matters: Rohn built his brand in the late-20th-century American seminar economy, where motivation was literally a product. This line works as both guidance and differentiation - a way to say, I’m not just here to hype you; I’m here to re-route you.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teaching |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rohn, Jim. (2026, January 15). If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-someone-is-going-down-the-wrong-road-he-doesnt-16689/
Chicago Style
Rohn, Jim. "If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-someone-is-going-down-the-wrong-road-he-doesnt-16689/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-someone-is-going-down-the-wrong-road-he-doesnt-16689/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.









