Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace.
Interpretation
Innovative ideas are often dismissed until someone proves them possible.
This quote emphasizes that visionary ideas may initially seem unrealistic or humorous until someone has the courage to bring them to fruition. Once these ideas are demonstrated successfully, they shift from being viewed as peculiar or unattainable to being accepted as ordinary or conventional, underscoring the importance of perseverance and innovation in human progress.
In practice
In a motivational speech about entrepreneurship, one might say, 'As Robert H. Goddard remarked, every vision is a joke until realized.'
How many more years I shall be able to work on the problem I do not know; I hope, as long as I live. There can be no thought of finishing, for 'aiming at the stars' both literally and figuratively, is a problem to occupy generations, so that no matter how much progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning.
It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.
The only barrier to human development is ignorance, and this is not insurmountable.
It is not a simple matter to differentiate unsuccessful from successful experiments. . . .[Most] work that is finally successful is the result of a series of unsuccessful tests in which difficulties are gradually eliminated.
No one should ever be afraid of failing; it’s being afraid to give it your all in trying that I urge against. If there is one thing I have learned, particularly in my life as an athlete, it is that our limits may not be where we think they are. And, even when we think we’ve finally reached them, the next time we go there exploring we often find that they’ve moved again.
When I was young and ocean-racing competitively, and working the rest of the time, I was going 24 hours. I was on the verge of collapsing. But you've got to slow down a bit.
I fall, I stand still... I trudge on. I gain a little... I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory.
'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.
There is a place in God's sun for the youth "farthest down" who has the vision, the determination, and the courage to reach it.
I don't care what other people say. I fight every day to be the best player I can.
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