“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

—  Bruce Lee

As translated by Katharine Lyttelton, in Joubert : A Selection from His Thoughts (1899)
Source: Striking Thoughts (2000), p. 121; this likely derives from the observation of Joseph Joubert: The goal is not always meant to be reached, but to serve as a mark for our aim.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at." by Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee photo
Bruce Lee 193
Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and f… 1940–1973

Related quotes

“Man is always aiming to achieve some goal and he is always looking for new goals.”

Gordon Pask (1928–1996) British psychologist

Pask (1968) " A comment, a case history, and a plan http://www.pangaro.com/pask/Pask%20Cybernetic%20Serendipity%20Musicolour%20and%20Colloquy%20of%20Mobiles.pdf" in: Cybernetics, Art and Ideas". (1968) p. 76.

Matsushita Konosuke photo

“It is a kind of law of nature. The goal one aims for can rarely be reached by a direct road.”

Matsushita Konosuke (1894–1989) Japanese businessman

Source: Quest for prosperity: the life of a Japanese industrialist. 1988, p. 47

Arnold Toynbee photo

“It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.”

Arnold Toynbee (1852–1883) British economic historian

Toynbee, cited in: Arnold Joseph Toynbee, ‎Edward DeLos Myers (1955) A study of history. Vol. 7. p. 388

Lennox Lewis photo

“Adversity is something that makes reaching your goals so much more rewarding than if it didn't exist..”

Lennox Lewis (1965) British-Canadian boxer

Lennox Lewis (From his Twitter account)

Erich Fromm photo

“Even good deeds by the enemy are considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the world, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals which they serve.”

The Art of Loving (1956)
Context: The lack of objectivity, as far as foreign nations are concerned, is notorious. From one day to another, another nation is made out to be utterly depraved and fiendish, while one’s own nation stands for everything that is good and noble. Every action of the enemy is judged by one standard — every action of oneself by another. Even good deeds by the enemy are considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the world, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals which they serve.

Friedrich Nietzsche photo

“Not every end is the goal. The end of a melody is not its goal,  and yet if  a melody has not  reached its end, it has not reached its goal.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist

Variant: The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse photo

“To move towards harmony is the persistent impulse of the rational being, even if the goal lies always beyond the reach of accomplished effort.”

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (1864–1929) British sociologist

Source: Liberalism (1911), Chapter VI, The Heart Of Liberalism, p. 69.

Nisargadatta Maharaj photo

Related topics