Done Quote by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle
“People almost always do great things without knowing how to do them, and are quite surprised to have done them.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Letters to the Royal Academy, 1685
People often achieve great feats without prior knowledge, discovering abilities through action and surprise.
In simple terms: Great deeds can happen without knowing how.
Key Takeaway
Embrace experimentation and trust intuition.
Themes
growth
surprise
learning
Mood
inspired
curious
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- creative projects
- public speaking
- skill acquisition
Key Concepts
self‑efficacy
novelty
confidence
Questions to Reflect On
- What unknown tasks could you try?
- How does surprise motivate learning?
A Different Perspective
Reliance on surprise can lead to risk; not all unknown tasks succeed.
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