--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're waiting for encouragement from…" description: "\"If you're waiting for encouragement from others, you're doing it wrong. By the time people think an idea is good, it's probably too late.\" — Aaron Levie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/aaron-levie-7788_encouragement_if-you-re-waiting-for-encouragement-from_3067715.png" --- # If you're waiting for encouragement from others, you're… ![“If you're waiting for encouragement from others, you're doing it wrong. By the time people think an idea is good, it's probably too late.” quote by Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/aaron-levie-7788_encouragement_if-you-re-waiting-for-encouragement-from_3067715.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/aaron-levie-7788_encouragement_if-you-re-waiting-for-encouragement-from_3067715.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/aaron-levie-7788_encouragement_if-you-re-waiting-for-encouragement-from_3067715.png) > “If you're waiting for encouragement from others, you're doing it wrong. By the time people think an idea is good, it's probably too late.” [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on others for motivation delays action; act now before ideas become stale. **In simple terms:** Don't wait for others' encouragement. Key Takeaway Act immediately on ideas. Themes initiative self-reliance timing Mood determined urgent Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - startup launch - creative brainstorming - personal projects Key Concepts motivation delay ownership Questions to Reflect On - What can you start today without approval? - How does self‑motivation change outcomes? A Different Perspective Waiting can cause missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [I like the encouragement I get from doing new things. I like to feel scared or challenged in the hope that I can pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-whalley/i-like-the-encouragement-i-get-from-doing-new-things-i-like-to-feel/) [Joanne Whalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-whalley/) > [Most actors try to do as many different things as possible. I like the encouragement I get from doing new things. I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-whalley/most-actors-try-to-do-as-many-different-things-as-possible-i-like-the/) [Joanne Whalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-whalley/) > [“If there is already a market research report out there with all the information you need, it is probably too late for your new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-aulet/if-there-is-already-a-market-research-report-out-there-with-all-the/) Bill Aulet > [If she's asking, she probably knows the answer. It's probably too late to lie now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-she-s-asking-she-probably-knows-the-answer-it-s-probably-too-late/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I know I'm probably much too late to try and apologize for my mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-mars/i-know-i-m-probably-much-too-late-to-try-and-apologize-for-my-mistakes/) [Bruno Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-mars/) > [My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/my-idea-of-good-company-is-the-company-of-clever-well-informed-people/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Can an idea always be a good idea? Yes it can, for example the idea of 'spending your free time in nature' is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/can-an-idea-always-be-a-good-idea-yes-it-can-for-example-the-idea-of/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/my-idea-of-good-company-mr-elliot-is-the-company-of-clever-well/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I've got a penny-ante talent, out of which I try to drum up a living for myself. And what nobody seems to realize is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-winsor/i-ve-got-a-penny-ante-talent-out-of-which-i-try-to-drum-up-a-living/) [Kathleen Winsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-winsor/) > [“When you do good, let it be good in line with nature. Don't latch onto the thought that you're good. If you get attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-jyoty-bhante/when-you-do-good-let-it-be-good-in-line-with-nature-don-t-latch-onto/) [Suman Jyoty Bhante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-jyoty-bhante/) > [My idea of good poetry is any dog doing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-boone/my-idea-of-good-poetry-is-any-dog-doing-anything/) [J. Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-boone/) > [My idea of a good time is creating something and reading a good book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-gibb/my-idea-of-a-good-time-is-creating-something-and-reading-a-good-book/) [Robin Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-gibb/) > [My idea of a good job would be to be paid really well to sit on my ass all day to look at pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/my-idea-of-a-good-job-would-be-to-be-paid-really-well-to-sit-on-my/) [Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/) > [In the world of knowledge, the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/in-the-world-of-knowledge-the-idea-of-good-appears-last-of-all-and-is/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Why is it a good idea for you and not a good idea for me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/why-is-it-a-good-idea-for-you-and-not-a-good-idea-for-me/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) ## More by Aaron Levie > [The benefit to building a startup is that customers don't have the same kind of friction when they adopt new technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-benefit-to-building-a-startup-is-that-customers-don-t-have-the/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [My acronym is WWSJD: What Would Steve Jobs Do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/my-acronym-is-wwsjd-what-would-steve-jobs-do/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-only-way-to-avoid-disruption-is-to-constantly-do-what-you-would/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [The chance of failure is almost always better than the guarantee of never knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-chance-of-failure-is-almost-always-better-than-the-guarantee-of/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [You can look at the cost structure of an incumbent company and discover: where are they not going to be able to drop their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/you-can-look-at-the-cost-structure-of-an-incumbent-company-and/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [My dad is a chemical engineer, and my mom was a teacher. They were pretty serious about education, but I always thought about things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/my-dad-is-a-chemical-engineer-and-my-mom-was-a-teacher-they-were/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Modularize, don't customize. Build a platform as opposed to building all of the custom technology and custom vertical experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/modularize-don-t-customize-build-a-platform-as-opposed-to-building/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [I'm certainly not into money and prestige. For me there is simply nothing more exciting than people involved in the creation of great products.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/i-m-certainly-not-into-money-and-prestige-for-me-there-is-simply/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [A lot of being productive personally is determined by how you organize your entire business. You can't separate those two things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/a-lot-of-being-productive-personally-is-determined-by-how-you/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [I have a lot of faults. I often interrupt in meetings. I talk too loud. I talk too fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/i-have-a-lot-of-faults-i-often-interrupt-in-meetings-i-talk-too-loud/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Too little process and you can't get good work done. Too much process and you can't get any work done. Most companies never find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/too-little-process-and-you-can-t-get-good-work-done-too-much-process/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [All we're really doing is repeating technologies that were tried 10, 20, 30 years ago... it's just that it was too expensive, too unusable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/all-we-re-really-doing-is-repeating-technologies-that-were-tried-10/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Innovation is hard because solving problems people didn't know they had & building something no one needs look identical at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/innovation-is-hard-because-solving-problems-people-didn-t-know-they/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [They can bring the technology in, then you can sell to the enterprise when they want to have better control, better security... you still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/they-can-bring-the-technology-in-then-you-can-sell-to-the-enterprise/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Sometimes things are the way they are and can't be changed, other times it's because no one ever tried. Your job is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/sometimes-things-are-the-way-they-are-and-can-t-be-changed-other/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) [Explore all 87 Aaron Levie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) ## More Encouragement quotes > [Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/change-your-attitude-and-gain-some-altitude-believe-me-you-ll-love-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Today if anything is trying to hold you back, give no attention to it. Get your hopes up, get your faith up, look up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/today-if-anything-is-trying-to-hold-you-back-give-no-attention-to-it/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [Great people are not people who have never fallen down. Greatness has to do with how you get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/great-people-are-not-people-who-have-never-fallen-down-greatness-has/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [If You want to be Awesome, You have to kick all the negative and boring people out of your life and arm yourself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajdeep-sarkar/if-you-want-to-be-awesome-you-have-to-kick-all-the-negative-and/) [Rajdeep Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajdeep-sarkar/) > [It isn't bad judgment to make a man believe he is something. He is by nature inclined to it, and a little encouragement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-langley-bosher/it-isn-t-bad-judgment-to-make-a-man-believe-he-is-something-he-is-by/) [Kate Langley Bosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-langley-bosher/) > [God's plans are never beyond your reach, sometimes you just have to move closer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/god-s-plans-are-never-beyond-your-reach-sometimes-you-just-have-to/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/instruction-does-much-but-encouragement-everything/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“What would you think if I told you that, yes, your bad choices and decisions have had a part in your ending up under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/what-would-you-think-if-i-told-you-that-yes-your-bad-choices-and/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [“I have learned that positive encouragement and positive advice is limited to the believers not the masses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-edgar-alamo/i-have-learned-that-positive-encouragement-and-positive-advice-is/) Herbert Edgar Alamo > [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/) [Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/) > [“Don’t be afraid of your struggles, they are making you dangerously strong and wise. They are preparing you for your superpowers. Let them happen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-lee/don-t-be-afraid-of-your-struggles-they-are-making-you-dangerously/) [Melody Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-lee/) > [I really want people to know that I've worked hard, very hard, to get to where I am today.. this didn't just happen overnight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/i-really-want-people-to-know-that-i-ve-worked-hard-very-hard-to-get/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [If people are kicking you in the behind, at least you're in front of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-people-are-kicking-you-in-the-behind-at-least-you-re-in-front-of/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Our words are very powerful, always make sure that you use the right words, which encourages people instead of discouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/our-words-are-very-powerful-always-make-sure-that-you-use-the-right/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [When we start focusing on things we can do and don't think so much about the things we can't do, things really start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/when-we-start-focusing-on-things-we-can-do-and-don-t-think-so-much/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 2,407 Encouragement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're waiting for encouragement from others, you're doing it wrong. 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