--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first step is always to succeed in…" description: "\"The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.\" — David Gelernter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png" --- # The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised… ![“The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.” quote by David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png) > “The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.” [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surprise reveals hidden opportunities; noticing the unexpected sparks creativity. **In simple terms:** Unexpected moments spark insight. Key Takeaway Embrace surprise to discover new ideas. Themes creativity surprise innovation Mood curious playful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - design thinking workshops - daily reflection Key Concepts cognitive flexibility humor problem solving Questions to Reflect On - How can you capture surprise insights? - What routines help notice the funny? A Different Perspective Surprise can be fleeting without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-going-1017840/) [Notice Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notice-funny-4389973/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem solving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-solving/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Succeed Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed-surprised-4389972/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) [Surprised Notice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-notice-4389974/) ## Related quotes > [I'm going to take this God-given gift of being funny, and I'm going to spread it out like peanut butter on everything I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/i-m-going-to-take-this-god-given-gift-of-being-funny-and-i-m-going-to/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [I've learned to start from a really sound argument, boil down the essence of what you're trying to say, then build your humor around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-ve-learned-to-start-from-a-really-sound-argument-boil-down-the/) [Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/) > [“Avery: "Yeah right, very funny, when are you going to shoot me and dump my body at captree? This is Getting old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-m-ward/avery-yeah-right-very-funny-when-are-you-going-to-shoot-me-and-dump/) [H.M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-m-ward/) > [You think it's funny? well I'm going to think it's funny when someone treats you like shit, and makes you do this to yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/you-think-it-s-funny-well-i-m-going-to-think-it-s-funny-when-someone/) [Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/) > [If you play comedic scenes like they're really serious, then it's so much more funny than if you're going for a laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patton-oswalt/if-you-play-comedic-scenes-like-they-re-really-serious-then-it-s-so/) [Patton Oswalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patton-oswalt/) > [I mean, it's funny, I'm not going to lie. It's funny saying it. 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My first step will blow by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/i-can-turn-an-idea-into-a-business-before-you-know-it-s-going-to-be/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [The first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there's programming going on. It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [How do you turn the invisible into the visible? The first step is to define your dream precisely; the only limit to what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/how-do-you-turn-the-invisible-into-the-visible-the-first-step-is-to/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Women create an idealized, hopeful vision for the future to inspire other women. Fiction and fantasy are the crucial first steps to changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rodale/women-create-an-idealized-hopeful-vision-for-the-future-to-inspire/) [Maya Rodale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rodale/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [“I remember wondering, within a year or two of taking my first steps, why only men sat to drink tea and converse, and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hill/i-remember-wondering-within-a-year-or-two-of-taking-my-first-steps/) [Lawrence Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hill/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) ## More by David Gelernter > [At the same time, on the networks, there are thousands of groups that are building lifestreams, or lifestreaming for themselves in their own way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/at-the-same-time-on-the-networks-there-are-thousands-of-groups-that/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [readable text and authority so that readers know how to spend - no matter how much information there is, I have the same number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/readable-text-and-authority-so-that-readers-know-how-to-spend-no/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The best computer scientists are...technologists who crave beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-best-computer-scientists-are-technologists-who-crave-beauty/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in-2/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Similarly for marking exercises, quantitative exercises, maybe not so much in mathematics, but certainly problem sets in physics, chemistry, and engineering and things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/similarly-for-marking-exercises-quantitative-exercises-maybe-not-so/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The "paperless office" is a bad idea because paper is one of the most useful and valuable media ever invented. "On paper" is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-paperless-office-is-a-bad-idea-because-paper-is-one-of-the-most/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [“Discouragement is a moral state, a failure of heart; you treat it by taking courage, not Prozac.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/discouragement-is-a-moral-state-a-failure-of-heart-you-treat-it-by/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [If this is the information age, what are we so well-informed about?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/if-this-is-the-information-age-what-are-we-so-well-informed-about/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Good programmers know what's beautiful and bad ones don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/good-programmers-know-what-s-beautiful-and-bad-ones-don-t/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [While we bemoan the decline of literacy, computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/while-we-bemoan-the-decline-of-literacy-computers-discount-words-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [I would love to see writing taught online because at university like Yale, there are not enough teachers who are able to teach writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/i-would-love-to-see-writing-taught-online-because-at-university-like/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [We still have books because they are so brilliantly suited to the way human beings absorb information and at their best, they are among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/we-still-have-books-because-they-are-so-brilliantly-suited-to-the-way/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [For years, computer scientists were treating operating systems design as sort of an open-reserch issue, when the field's direction had been decided by commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/for-years-computer-scientists-were-treating-operating-systems-design/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [I think the print media have failed to make the most of their opportunity. They may all disappear because they are approaching things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/i-think-the-print-media-have-failed-to-make-the-most-of-their/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) [Explore all 35 David Gelernter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Gelernter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-becoming-surprised-to-notice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Becoming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-becoming-surprised-to-notice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/david-gelernter-18312_becoming_the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-b_519999.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.” — David Gelernter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Gelernter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The first step is always to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-becoming-surprised-to-notice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-becoming-surprised-to-notice/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```