Context

This line was spoken by John F. Kennedy in his address to the University of North Dakota (Sept. 25, 1963).

President John F. Kennedy trekked across the United States in the fall of 1963. One of his pit stops was at the University of North Dakota—and he didn't stop just to have a snack at Dairy Queen and bathroom break. He gave a speech while he was there about the importance of continuing the work of Theodore Roosevelt and conserving our natural resources.

In this speech, he said, "things don't happen, they are made to happen." In other words, he wanted people to pay attention and make decisions based on long-term consequences for future generations of the United States.

You can find the full speech nicely preserved at the University of North Dakota's digital library.

Where you've heard it

You've heard this when people are encouraging conservation. It's also a quote that people could use to motivate you to get off your rear end and do something productive and significant. (Like writing that U.S. History paper instead of procrastinating on Shmoop and learning random, yet educational facts.)

This quote can also be found on run of the mill, inspirational pics found all over the Internet.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This quote is true, great advice, and solidly in the non-pretentious camp. If you want something to happen, you've gotta work hard and make it happen.