--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you are reading this, and feel…" description: "\"If you are reading this, and feel discouraged by an inability to communicate to others your own feelings about the importance of an active space develo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/charles-sheffield-54410_accepting_if-you-are-reading-this-and-feel-discour_2443019.png" --- # If you are reading this, and feel discouraged by an… ![“If you are reading this, and feel discouraged by an inability to communicate to others your own feelings about the importance of an active space development effort, comfort yourself with this thought. If you want to be on the leading edge of anything, you have by definition to be a couple of…” quote by Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/charles-sheffield-54410_accepting_if-you-are-reading-this-and-feel-discour_2443019.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/charles-sheffield-54410_accepting_if-you-are-reading-this-and-feel-discour_2443019.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/charles-sheffield-54410_accepting_if-you-are-reading-this-and-feel-discour_2443019.png) > “If you are reading this, and feel discouraged by an inability to communicate to others your own feelings about the importance of an active space development effort, comfort yourself with this thought. If you want to be on the leading edge of anything, you have by definition to be a couple of standard deviations away from most people. That makes you an odd-ball. The trick is to learn to accept it, then to like it-and keep on making lots of noise for what you believe in.” [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being ahead of the curve means standing apart from the majority, embracing oddness, and loudly championing your convictions. **In simple terms:** Stand out and stay true to your vision. Key Takeaway Embrace your uniqueness. Themes innovation individualism confidence Mood determined encouraging Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership roles - creative projects Key Concepts non‑conformity risk taking advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance boldness with collaboration? - What noise can you make constructively? A Different Perspective Your uniqueness may alienate collaborators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Active Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active-space-504070/) [Balls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicate/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development/) [Deviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deviation/) [Deviations Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deviations-away-504072/) [Discouraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discouraged/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Importance Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance-active-504073/) [Inability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability/) [Inability to communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability-to-communicate-90210/) [Leading Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leading-edge-230973/) [Learn To Accept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-to-accept/) [Noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noise/) [Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space Development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-development-504071/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [My work at MIT had focused on what we could build in space once we had inexpensive space transportation and industrial facilities in orbit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/my-work-at-mit-had-focused-on-what-we-could-build-in-space-once-we/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Man's inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/man-s-inability-to-communicate-is-a-result-of-his-failure-to-listen/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Onstage it was always comfortable for me because that's where I felt at home. Offstage it was a different situation. I was still shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/onstage-it-was-always-comfortable-for-me-because-that-s-where-i-felt-2/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [As a child, these colourful superheroes that could fly, or were horrifying like Ghost Rider and the Hulk, with this tremendous rage or these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/as-a-child-these-colourful-superheroes-that-could-fly-or-were/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [This time I m not going to tell you a story. I'll just say that insanity is the inability to communicate your ideas. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/this-time-i-m-not-going-to-tell-you-a-story-i-ll-just-say-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Moral crusade: Public activity undertaken by middle-aged men who are cheating on their wives or diddling little boys. Moral crusades are particularly popular among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/moral-crusade-public-activity-undertaken-by-middle-aged-men-who-are/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [Among the reasons marriages fail, sex ranks no higher than fourth, behind money, having only one bathroom, and an inability to communicate, reasons one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/among-the-reasons-marriages-fail-sex-ranks-no-higher-than-fourth/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [An inability to communicate has little to do with international friction-as is seen in the special ferocity of wars fought between people who speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farb/an-inability-to-communicate-has-little-to-do-with-international/) [Peter Farb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farb/) > [Everything is poisoned, and it's all poisoned from greed. I think our inability to communicate with each other and everything that's happening in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/everything-is-poisoned-and-it-s-all-poisoned-from-greed-i-think-our/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [“Leading Edge Area (LEA)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeroen-saey/leading-edge-area-lea/) [Jeroen Saey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeroen-saey/) > [“It is often true that groundbreaking discoveries are made from poor data at the leading edge”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/it-is-often-true-that-groundbreaking-discoveries-are-made-from-poor/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The low carbon economy is at the leading edge of a structural shift now taking place globally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/the-low-carbon-economy-is-at-the-leading-edge-of-a-structural-shift/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [There is never a crowd on the leading edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-is-never-a-crowd-on-the-leading-edge/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [I'm talking about science on the leading edge, where it's not clear which way things are going be cause we don't know, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/i-m-talking-about-science-on-the-leading-edge-where-it-s-not-clear/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [“Leading Edge Area”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeroen-saey-nightbits/leading-edge-area/) [Jeroen Saey (NightBits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeroen-saey-nightbits/) ## More by Charles Sheffield > [“I'm getting old, thought Eileen Calder. Old and worn out and cynical. And being cynical is a lot worse than being old or worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/i-m-getting-old-thought-eileen-calder-old-and-worn-out-and-cynical/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [Sometimes I think about dying. And then I wonder about going to hell. And then I think that if and when I go there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/sometimes-i-think-about-dying-and-then-i-wonder-about-going-to-hell/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [“A joke was the best barometer for mental weather.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/a-joke-was-the-best-barometer-for-mental-weather/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [“I'm fat...I regard that as healthy. Good food wards off disease. - Dr. Erasmus Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/i-m-fat-i-regard-that-as-healthy-good-food-wards-off-disease-dr/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [Remember, an easy question can have an easy answer. But a hard question must have a hard answer. And for the hardest questions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/remember-an-easy-question-can-have-an-easy-answer-but-a-hard-question/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) [Explore all 6 Charles Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you are reading this, and feel discouraged by an inability to communicate to others your own feelings about the importance of an active space development effort, comfort yourself with this thought. If you want to be on the leading edge of anything, you have by definition to be a couple of standard deviations away from most people. That makes you an odd-ball. 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