--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could remember it. But I couldn’t see…" description: "\"“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 by dreams coming true, be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/john-green-12_ambition_i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-i_3025571.jpg" --- # I could remember it. But I couldn’t see it again, and it… ![“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 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/95e/john-green-12_ambition_i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-i_3025571.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/john-green-12_ambition_i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-i_3025571.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/john-green-12_ambition_i-could-remember-it-but-i-couldn-t-see-i_3025571.jpg) > ““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 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 ambition is never satisfied; even fulfilled dreams leave the desire for improvement. **In simple terms:** We always want more, even after success. Key Takeaway Pursue continual growth. Themes ambition insatisfaction human nature Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal goals Key Concepts philosophy of desire psychology of achievement Questions to Reflect On - What does 'enough' look like for you? - How can you balance ambition with contentment? A Different Perspective Endless striving can cause chronic dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams coming true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-coming-true/) [John-green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-green/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Remember Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-couldn-3315429/) [Sated Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sated-dreams-4918301/) [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-2/) [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/) > [“I could imagine it. I could remember it. 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I couldn't remember, I couldn't remember. Or recall key events concerning illegal server…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/hillary-clinton-told-the-fbi-39-times-she-couldn-t-remember-anything/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > ['Twilight' and 'Remember Me' couldn't be more different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilie-de-ravin/twilight-and-remember-me-couldn-t-be-more-different/) [Emilie de Ravin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilie-de-ravin/) > [Just because you're old that doesn't mean you're more forgetful. The same people whose names I can't remember now I couldn't remember fifty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/just-because-you-re-old-that-doesn-t-mean-you-re-more-forgetful-the/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“I missed the future. Obviously I knew even before his recurrence that I'd never grow old with Augustus Waters. But thinking about Lidewij and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-missed-the-future-obviously-i-knew-even-before-his-recurrence-that/) [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/) > [“the smell of canals and cigarette smoke, all the people sitting outside the cafés drinking beer, saying their r's and g's in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-smell-of-canals-and-cigarette-smoke-all-the-people-sitting/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“How fun it would be to bounce on the back of Lidewij Vliegenthart’s bike down the brick streets, her curly red hair blowing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/how-fun-it-would-be-to-bounce-on-the-back-of-lidewij-vliegenthart-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I go to seek a Great Perhaps. That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-go-to-seek-a-great-perhaps-that-s-why-i-m-going-so-i-don-t-have-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## 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": "“I could remember it. 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