--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I couldn't see it again, and it…" description: "\"“But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg" --- # But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that… ![“But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg) > ““But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human desire for achievement never ends; even fulfilled dreams spark new aspirations for improvement. **In simple terms:** People always want more, even after success. Key Takeaway Embrace continual growth, not complacency. Themes ambition insatisfaction progress Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - creative projects - personal goals - relationship building Key Concepts human nature psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What drives your next goal after success? - How do you balance contentment with ambition? A Different Perspective Constant striving can lead to burnout or never satisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-humans-1651692/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Coming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-coming-455787/) [Dreams coming true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-coming-true/) [True Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-thought-361109/) [Voracious Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voracious-ambition-659970/) ## Related quotes > [“the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-voracious-ambition-of-humans-is-never-sated-by-dreams-coming-true/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious-ambition-of-humans-is-never-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“The voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-voracious-ambition-of-humans-is-never-sated-by-dreams-coming-true-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/ambition-of-humans-is-never-sated-by-dreams-coming-true-because-there/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“It occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams come true because there is always the thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious-ambition-of-humans-is-never/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Someone once told her there’s a formula for how long it takes to get over someone, that it’s half as long as the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/someone-once-told-her-there-s-a-formula-for-how-long-it-takes-to-get/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I could imagine it. I could remember it. But I couldn't see it again, and it occured to me that the voracious ambition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-imagine-it-i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I could remember it. But I couldn’t see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occurred-to-me/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [ I had never experienced anything like it before and I don't think I have experienced anything like it since \[on Ruapehu\]. It was my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/i-had-never-experienced-anything-like-it-before-and-i-don-t-think-i/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [If you listen only to those around you, the chances of your dreams coming true are very small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/if-you-listen-only-to-those-around-you-the-chances-of-your-dreams/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [“Thank you God for so many dreams coming true. Thank you for everything. Even confusion and hard decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/thank-you-god-for-so-many-dreams-coming-true-thank-you-for-everything/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [Never be afraid of failure or disappointment, because those are just temporary experiences on the path to your dreams coming true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/never-be-afraid-of-failure-or-disappointment-because-those-are-just/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Elvis is symbolic of a lot of things, dreams coming true being one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/elvis-is-symbolic-of-a-lot-of-things-dreams-coming-true-being-one-of/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Sometimes all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/sometimes-all-you-have-to-do-is-ask-and-it-can-lead-to-all-your/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [“The excitement of dreams coming true is beyond the description of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-excitement-of-dreams-coming-true-is-beyond-the-description-of/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/john-green-12_dreams_but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occur_1499629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by…” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But I couldn't see it again,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-couldn-t-see-it-again-and-it-occurred-to-me-that-the-voracious/#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 } } ] } ```