--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who finds a new path is a pathfinder…" description: "\"He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leade..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg" --- # He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail… ![“He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such.” quote by Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg) > “He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such.” [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovators create new routes, but recognition may be delayed; true leaders are ahead of their time. **In simple terms:** New ideas often go unnoticed at first. Key Takeaway Support and recognize innovators early. Themes innovation leadership recognition historical perspective Mood thoughtful inspirational hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Academic research - technology startups - social movements - artistic breakthroughs Key Concepts Sociology philosophy future studies Questions to Reflect On - What barriers prevent early recognition? - How can we foster environments that value forward thinkers? A Different Perspective Societal structures can suppress early innovators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [New paths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-paths/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Trails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trails/) ## Related quotes > [Step off the road. Build yourself a brand new path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/step-off-the-road-build-yourself-a-brand-new-path/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When a big change occurs in your life it forces you to change direction. Sometimes the new path may not be easy, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/when-a-big-change-occurs-in-your-life-it-forces-you-to-change/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I came to the ... open gate of mathematics. From here, well-trodden paths lead in every direction, and since then I have often spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/i-came-to-the-open-gate-of-mathematics-from-here-well-trodden-paths/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Don't just climb the ladder, chart a new path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/don-t-just-climb-the-ladder-chart-a-new-path/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-you-are-going-down-a-road-and-don-t-like-what-s-in-front-of-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Today I set my mind and heart on a new path. I focus my energy on love, appreciation, and my highest possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/today-i-set-my-mind-and-heart-on-a-new-path-i-focus-my-energy-on-love/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Education should no longer be most imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/education-should-no-longer-be-most-imparting-of-knowledge-but-must/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [You might get a "no" a hundred times but you might get "yes" one time. That one "yes" will take you on a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiesza/you-might-get-a-no-a-hundred-times-but-you-might-get-yes-one-time/) [Kiesza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiesza/) > [To dig our heels in and say no to a present madness is a good thing, but to walk a new path and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wallis/to-dig-our-heels-in-and-say-no-to-a-present-madness-is-a-good-thing/) [Jim Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wallis/) > [I think that, regardless of our culture, age, or even personal handicaps, we can still strive for something exceptional. Why not expand our sights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-that-regardless-of-our-culture-age-or-even-personal-handicaps/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I think now, with our technology, our capacity to grow food, our ability to stop raping the Earth and destroying the ecology and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-think-now-with-our-technology-our-capacity-to-grow-food-our-ability/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [“Maybe I will do what I want with my life! The only problem is that I have no idea what I want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/maybe-i-will-do-what-i-want-with-my-life-the-only-problem-is-that-i/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [By my reckoning, I'm about 100 kilometers from Pathfinder. Technically it's called “Carl Sagan Memorial Station.” But with all due respect to Carl, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/by-my-reckoning-i-m-about-100-kilometers-from-pathfinder-technically/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [I consider myself a pathfinder. I have been excavating the jungle and making the road for others to walk. I like to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhirubhai-ambani/i-consider-myself-a-pathfinder-i-have-been-excavating-the-jungle-and/) [Dhirubhai Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhirubhai-ambani/) > [I'm interested in stories. I think I'm a bit of a pathfinder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-harlech/i-m-interested-in-stories-i-think-i-m-a-bit-of-a-pathfinder/) [Amanda Harlech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-harlech/) ## More by Ibn Khaldun > [All the sciences came to exist in Arabic. The systematic works on them were written in Arabic writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/all-the-sciences-came-to-exist-in-arabic-the-systematic-works-on-them/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [If the soul is impartial in receiving information, it devotes to that information the share of critical investigation the information deserves, and its truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/if-the-soul-is-impartial-in-receiving-information-it-devotes-to-that/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [When incentive to acquire and obtain property is gone, people no longer make efforts to acquire any... Those who infringe upon property rights commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/when-incentive-to-acquire-and-obtain-property-is-gone-people-no/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [ Therefore, the Negro nation are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because \[Negroes\] have little \[that is essentially\] human and have attributes that are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/therefore-the-negro-nation-are-as-a-rule-submissive-to-slavery/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Man is essentially ignorant, and becomes learned through acquiring knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/man-is-essentially-ignorant-and-becomes-learned-through-acquiring/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [ Beyond \[known peoples of black West Africa\] to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only humans who are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/beyond-known-peoples-of-black-west-africa-to-the-south-there-is-no/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Sedentary culture is the goal of civilization. It means the end of its lifespan and brings about its corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/sedentary-culture-is-the-goal-of-civilization-it-means-the-end-of-its/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Habits are qualities of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/habits-are-qualities-of-the-soul/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [People are largely ignorant of the interests of the human species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/people-are-largely-ignorant-of-the-interests-of-the-human-species/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [The easiest method of acquiring the habit of scholarship is through acquiring the ability to express oneself clearly in discussing and disputing scholarly problems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/the-easiest-method-of-acquiring-the-habit-of-scholarship-is-through/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Islam is under obligation to gain power over all nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/islam-is-under-obligation-to-gain-power-over-all-nations/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [The term of life of a dynasty does not normally exceed three generations. For in the first generation are still preserved the characteristic features…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/the-term-of-life-of-a-dynasty-does-not-normally-exceed-three/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [The Berbers belong to a powerful, formidable, and numerous people; a true people like so many others, the world has seen - like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/the-berbers-belong-to-a-powerful-formidable-and-numerous-people-a/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Throughout history many nations have suffered a physical defeat, but that has never marked the end of a nation. But when a nation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/throughout-history-many-nations-have-suffered-a-physical-defeat-but/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) > [Businesses owned by responsible and organized merchants shall eventually surpass those owned by wealthy rulers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/businesses-owned-by-responsible-and-organized-merchants-shall/) [Ibn Khaldun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) [Explore all 24 Ibn Khaldun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ibn Khaldun" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder-even-if-the-trail-has-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder-even-if-the-trail-has-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/ibn-khaldun-24349_century_he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder_2877889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks…” — Ibn Khaldun", "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": "Ibn Khaldun", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-khaldun/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who finds a new path...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder-even-if-the-trail-has-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-khaldun/he-who-finds-a-new-path-is-a-pathfinder-even-if-the-trail-has-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```