--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How many beginnings before you see the…" description: "\"How many beginnings before you see the lies in your excitement?\" — Don DeLillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg" --- # How many beginnings before you see the lies in your… ![“How many beginnings before you see the lies in your excitement?” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg) > “How many beginnings before you see the lies in your excitement?” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Repeated attempts to start new ventures often reveal underlying false hopes and excitement. **In simple terms:** Excitement can hide false expectations. Key Takeaway Beware of excitement‑driven decisions. Themes existential culture psychology literature Mood introspective philosophical Type critical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts illusion anticipation disillusionment Questions to Reflect On - What patterns repeat in your pursuits? - How do you differentiate genuine excitement from illusion? A Different Perspective Excitement can be motivating, not just deceptive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) [Beginnings Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-lies-3316332/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-excitement-3316333/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [In our beginnings lies our journey's end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-awoonor/in-our-beginnings-lies-our-journey-s-end/) [Kofi Awoonor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-awoonor/) > [Unity, I thought, implies the possibility of disunity. Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Bad beginnings, bad endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/bad-beginnings-bad-endings/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“The beginnings of marriage can be a tough phase because it's the time when two individuals are learning to synchronize their hearts, minds, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/the-beginnings-of-marriage-can-be-a-tough-phase-because-it-s-the-time/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. But if you were to say that the beginnings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/there-are-not-many-beginnings-but-there-is-a-single-beginning-prior/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [“January 20th,2021 Blow the trumpets loud, Salute the National Guard in the crowd, New beginnings, A new day has dawned, No need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/january-20th-2021-blow-the-trumpets-loud-salute-the-national-guard-in/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. My beginnings here made me pay attention to where the sun is, where the winds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/my-beginnings-in-the-southwest-are-clear-and-palpable-my-beginnings/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [“Our beginnings never know our ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/our-beginnings-never-know-our-ends/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [There are no beginnings, not even to stories. There are only places where you make an entrance into someone else's life and either stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/there-are-no-beginnings-not-even-to-stories-there-are-only-places/) [Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/) > [My little notebooks were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [“God is going to send you someone that will rescue you. Then one day you will rescue them in return and together your story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-is-going-to-send-you-someone-that-will-rescue-you-then-one-day/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Beginnings quotes > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“God is going to send you someone that will rescue you. Then one day you will rescue them in return and together your story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-is-going-to-send-you-someone-that-will-rescue-you-then-one-day/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [My little notebooks were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There are no beginnings, not even to stories. There are only places where you make an entrance into someone else's life and either stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/there-are-no-beginnings-not-even-to-stories-there-are-only-places/) [Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/) > [“Our beginnings never know our ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/our-beginnings-never-know-our-ends/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. My beginnings here made me pay attention to where the sun is, where the winds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/my-beginnings-in-the-southwest-are-clear-and-palpable-my-beginnings/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“January 20th,2021 Blow the trumpets loud, Salute the National Guard in the crowd, New beginnings, A new day has dawned, No need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/january-20th-2021-blow-the-trumpets-loud-salute-the-national-guard-in/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. But if you were to say that the beginnings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/there-are-not-many-beginnings-but-there-is-a-single-beginning-prior/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [“The beginnings of marriage can be a tough phase because it's the time when two individuals are learning to synchronize their hearts, minds, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/the-beginnings-of-marriage-can-be-a-tough-phase-because-it-s-the-time/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [Bad beginnings, bad endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/bad-beginnings-bad-endings/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [Unity, I thought, implies the possibility of disunity. Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“You see the bird and you see its flight. You can not see through its eyes. Therefore, you don't know its plight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/you-see-the-bird-and-you-see-its-flight-you-can-not-see-through-its/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) [Browse all 401 Beginnings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How many beginnings before you see the lies in your excitement?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don DeLillo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-lies-in-your-excitement/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginnings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-lies-in-your-excitement/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/don-delillo-294_birth_how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-l_1971859.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How many beginnings before you see the lies in your excitement?” — Don DeLillo", "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": "Don DeLillo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How many beginnings before you see...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-lies-in-your-excitement/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/how-many-beginnings-before-you-see-the-lies-in-your-excitement/#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 } } ] } ```