“I always wanted to start a school. I talked about it in college - but ...” — Sal Khan Quote

I always wanted to start a school. I talked about it in college - but I didn't do anything about it.

At a lot of college graduations, you'll hear people say, 'Follow your passions,' and that is important, but no one talks about the stress of not having enough money, the issues of debt, and the issues of work stress.

A lot of times, when kids have problems with algebra or trigonometry, it has nothing to do with the subject matter, has nothing to do with their innate intelligence. It's just they that they had some gaps in elementary school that they never got to fill in.

No one goes on a direct path, even though it sometimes feels like your peers might be racing ahead. Everyone's trying to figure it out. But if you just put yourself out there, step out of your comfort zone, establish yourself in terms of skills, mentorship, but leave space for your passions, then you're going to turn out pretty well.

I wasn't from a political family. Nobody talked politics.

I don't remember men in our village after World War II: during the war, one out of four Belarusians perished, either fighting at the front or with the partisans. After the war, we children lived in a world of women. What I remember most is that women talked about love, not death.

I wanted to be successful enough that I'd have opportunities to talk about the church. I wanted people to listen whenever I talked about it.

Once you've been talked to by voices, it's not possible to go back to a world where talking voices is not possible.

I found it really difficult when teachers talked down to me.