--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's never any percentage in being…" description: "\"There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time.\" — Jonathan Lethem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png" --- # There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time. ![“There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time.” quote by Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png) > “There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time.” [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being ahead of your time isn’t measured by percentages but by visionary thinking, urging focus on innovation over comparison **In simple terms:** Innovation isn’t about being ahead numerically but conceptually Key Takeaway Pursue ideas that challenge the status quo Themes innovation vision timing Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - startup - artistic creation - scientific research Key Concepts philosophy technology culture Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance being visionary with staying grounded? - What metrics truly reflect progress? A Different Perspective Being “ahead” can isolate you from peers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) [Ahead Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead-time-263769/) [Percentage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percentage/) [Percentage Ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percentage-ahead-4811147/) [Percentages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percentages/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [All of our competitors around the world, every country is investing more in infrastructure as a percentage of their GDP than we are. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/all-of-our-competitors-around-the-world-every-country-is-investing/) [Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/) > [If I had to put a percentage on it - I'd say not likely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-gregg/if-i-had-to-put-a-percentage-on-it-i-d-say-not-likely/) [Forrest Gregg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-gregg/) > [100 per cent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/100-per-cent-of-us-die-and-the-percentage-cannot-be-increased/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Slow growth and inflation have a tendency to accompany large deficits and increasing debt as a percentage of GDP.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/slow-growth-and-inflation-have-a-tendency-to-accompany-large-deficits/) [Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/) > [13. 99 percent is a very large percentage. For instance, easily 99 percent of people want a roof over their heads, food on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/13-99-percent-is-a-very-large-percentage-for-instance-easily-99/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My life, I swear, is, like, 75% public. I have a very small percentage of my life that is private. But I do keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aoki/my-life-i-swear-is-like-75-public-i-have-a-very-small-percentage-of/) [Steve Aoki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aoki/) > [There is an established tradition of actors directing films that have a particular, personal meaning for them - Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-van-zandt/there-is-an-established-tradition-of-actors-directing-films-that-have/) [Steven Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-van-zandt/) > [A very big percentage of small-scale construction is plastic. But its some horrible beige plastic made to look like wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-lynn/a-very-big-percentage-of-small-scale-construction-is-plastic-but-its/) [Greg Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-lynn/) > [I often call Daptone the Motown and Stax of today. But in some ways, it's different. At Motown, a lot of the musicians didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-often-call-daptone-the-motown-and-stax-of-today-but-in-some-ways-it/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [A certain tiny percentage of everyone is gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/a-certain-tiny-percentage-of-everyone-is-gay/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [Don't just give me an advance. I want a percentage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pitbull/don-t-just-give-me-an-advance-i-want-a-percentage/) [Pitbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pitbull/) > [Shooting percentage is just as much about decision making as it is about technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-van-gundy/shooting-percentage-is-just-as-much-about-decision-making-as-it-is/) [Jeff Van Gundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-van-gundy/) > [If you want to go beyond that small percentage of people who are already environmentally and scientifically aware, you have to make your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-nadkarni/if-you-want-to-go-beyond-that-small-percentage-of-people-who-are/) [Nalini Nadkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-nadkarni/) > [What percentage should you give? I tell people to start with 10 percent because the Bible writers have a lot to say about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/what-percentage-should-you-give-i-tell-people-to-start-with-10/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [I give a percentage of the earnings to the Motion Picture Home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macarthur/i-give-a-percentage-of-the-earnings-to-the-motion-picture-home/) [James MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macarthur/) ## More by Jonathan Lethem > [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/) > [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [Life is fundamentally up for grabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/life-is-fundamentally-up-for-grabs/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/my-heart-to-put-it-more-simply-got-nostalgic-for-the-present-always-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [It's impossible to overstate how my relationship to music forms a preserve for the esoteric or even spiritual aspect of my relationship to cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-s-impossible-to-overstate-how-my-relationship-to-music-forms-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“If. If Mingus Rude could be kept in this place, kept somehow in Dylan's pocket, in his stinging, smudgy hands, then summer wouldn't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/if-if-mingus-rude-could-be-kept-in-this-place-kept-somehow-in-dylan-s/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was read in multiple contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-had-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-who-confused-genre-boundaries-and/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Memory is a rehearsal for a show that never goes on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/memory-is-a-rehearsal-for-a-show-that-never-goes-on/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“There is nothing Tourettic about the New York City subways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-is-nothing-tourettic-about-the-new-york-city-subways/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Mingus Rude, Arthur Lomb, Gabriel Stern and Tim Vandertooth, even Aaron K. Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-try-to-write-every-day-i-don-t-beat-myself-up-about-word-counts-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Enough of this. Does every conversation with you have to be the director's cut? Get out of the car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/enough-of-this-does-every-conversation-with-you-have-to-be-the/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“The stumbling block will turn out to be the traditional one for students of consciousness: the flashlight is incapable of shining on itself, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-stumbling-block-will-turn-out-to-be-the-traditional-one-for/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“May one plead, Your Honor, postmodernism as an involuntary condition?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/may-one-plead-your-honor-postmodernism-as-an-involuntary-condition/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) [Explore all 241 Jonathan Lethem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## More Ahead quotes > [Anybody who thinks that they should lead the country should go ahead and put their hat in the ring. I am not among them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/anybody-who-thinks-that-they-should-lead-the-country-should-go-ahead/) [Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/) > [If I have a problem with somebody, I go ahead and say what's on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-hulkenberg/if-i-have-a-problem-with-somebody-i-go-ahead-and-say-what-s-on-my-mind/) [Nico Hulkenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-hulkenberg/) > [I once invested in a risky business. Quite a few people warned me not to do so, but I still went ahead and invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-rode/i-once-invested-in-a-risky-business-quite-a-few-people-warned-me-not/) [Gautam Rode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-rode/) > [“What lies behind us is nothing compared to what lies within us and ahead of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/what-lies-behind-us-is-nothing-compared-to-what-lies-within-us-and/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [In Life, We May Never Get The Same Opportunity Again, But There's Always Something Better Ahead...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/in-life-we-may-never-get-the-same-opportunity-again-but-there-s/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [Makeup is only fun if it's occasional and capricious - just like it's a treat to have an empty day ahead, but it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-coren-mitchell/makeup-is-only-fun-if-it-s-occasional-and-capricious-just-like-it-s-a/) [Victoria Coren Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-coren-mitchell/) > [There is no such thing as disposable time if you want to stay ahead of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-as-disposable-time-if-you-want-to-stay-ahead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm the kind of guy who comes home and checks scores for everything. I'm a sports fan in general, so I pretty much keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-m-the-kind-of-guy-who-comes-home-and-checks-scores-for-everything-i/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [People are flying you places in business class. Everyone wants to take pictures of you and find out information about you. It's a freak-out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolandi-visser/people-are-flying-you-places-in-business-class-everyone-wants-to-take/) [Yolandi Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolandi-visser/) > [I wasn't putting my all into it and I was still managing to score goals, and that gave me something to dream about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gray/i-wasn-t-putting-my-all-into-it-and-i-was-still-managing-to-score/) [Andre Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gray/) > [There's no limit to what you can accomplish, but there's always someone one step ahead of you, so it's a constant uphill battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-mary-stewart/there-s-no-limit-to-what-you-can-accomplish-but-there-s-always/) [Catherine Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-mary-stewart/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [I don't want to look too far ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofra-archer/i-don-t-want-to-look-too-far-ahead/) [Jofra Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jofra-archer/) > [“one who takes the first step always remains one step ahead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabi-shaheen/one-who-takes-the-first-step-always-remains-one-step-ahead/) [Rabi Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabi-shaheen/) > [I am not interested to sing in Bollywood. I sing for only those actors whom I admire. I sing free of cost for them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/i-am-not-interested-to-sing-in-bollywood-i-sing-for-only-those-actors/) [Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/) [Browse all 1,773 Ahead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Lethem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ahead-of-your-time/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ahead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ahead-of-your-time/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/jonathan-lethem-1403_ahead_there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ah_1385188.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's never any percentage in being ahead of your time.” — Jonathan Lethem", "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": "Jonathan Lethem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's never any percentage in being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ahead-of-your-time/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-s-never-any-percentage-in-being-ahead-of-your-time/#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 } } ] } ```