I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
Sonia SotomayorRead
. . . But experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is instirring within us the will to aspire. That will, wherever it finally leads, does at least move you forward. And after a time you may recognize That the proper measure of success is not how much you've closed the distance to some far-off goal but the quality of what you've done today.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dreams should be valued for their ability to inspire us, not just by the likelihood of achieving them.
Sonia Sotomayor highlights that the essence of our dreams lies not in their probability of realization, but rather in the motivation they instill within us to strive for greatness. True success is measured not by how closely we reach our distant aspirations, but by the quality of our daily efforts and actions towards achieving our goals.
Themes
DreamsAspirationSuccessMotivationQuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be a great addition to a graduation speech to inspire graduates to focus on their efforts rather than just outcomes.
More from Sonia Sotomayor
All quotes →This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear.
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I was fifteen years old when I understood how it is that things break down: people can't imagine someone else's point of view.
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The truth is that since childhood I had cultivated an existential independence. It came from perceiving the adults around me as unreliable, and without it I felt I wouldn't have survived. I cared deeply for everyone in my family, but in the end I depended on myself.
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As you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.
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There are uses to adversity, and they don't reveal themselves until tested. Whether it's serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.
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