“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; similar expressions were used by others prior to Lennon's use of this line, and have been attributed to Betty Talmadge, Thomas La Mance, Margaret Millar, William Gaddis, and Lily Tomlin, but the earliest known published occurrence was the 1957 attribution of "Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." to Allen Saunders in Reader's Digest, according to The Quote Verifier : Who Said What, Where, and When (2006) by Ralph Keyes
Lyrics, Double Fantasy (1980)
Variant: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Variant: Life is what happens while you are making other plans.
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John Lennon228
English singer and songwriter 1940–1980Related quotes
Dana Reeve (1961–2006) Actress, singer, activist
Middlebury College Address (2004)
Context: John Lennon wrote a line that I’m sure has been used in many commencement addresses. “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans.” … There is really no way of knowing where your life’s journey will take you. I never would have predicted the fabric of my life would have evolved into the rich, complex design I enjoy and am challenged by daily. My work, the achievements for which I am receiving such a great honor here today, my purpose in life, have been born out of a set of unplanned circumstances, in large part, but not completely, circumstances beyond my control. I never anticipated being a caregiver for my spouse at the age of 34. I don’t think I ever dreamt I would help run a foundation that raises money for biomedical research and people with disabilities.
“What you make happen for others, God makes happen for you.”
T. B. Joshua (1963) Nigerian Christian leader
On the importance of helping others - "Prophet TB Joshua Gives Nigerian Student N26m Sponsorship To Study PhD At Oxford University" http://dailypost.ng/2012/11/19/prophet-t-b-joshua-gives-nigerian-student-n26m-sponsorship-phd-oxford-university/ Daily Post, Nigeria (November 19 2012)
“Life is what you do while you're waiting to die.”
Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America
Fred Ebb, Zorba (1968)
Misattributed
Condoleezza Rice (1954) American Republican politician; U.S. Secretary of State; political scientist
Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011100437_3.html, January 11, 2007.
Steve Maraboli (1975)
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 26
“Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life, I find.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
“The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.”
Agatha Christie (1890–1976) English mystery and detective writer
Roger Ebert (1942–2013) American film critic, author, journalist, and TV presenter
Review http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/red-1994 of Three Colors: Red (2 December 1994) <br class="br">Reviews, Four star reviews <br class="br">Context: We are connected with some people and never meet others, but it could easily have happened otherwise. Looking back over a lifetime, we describe what happened as if it had a plan. To fully understand how accidental and random life is — how vast the odds are against any single event taking place — would be humbling. … This is the kind of film that makes you feel intensely alive while you're watching it, and sends you out into the streets afterwards eager to talk deeply and urgently, to the person you are with. Whoever that happens to be.
