--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of…" description: "\"I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people, living dangerously in faraway places, crossi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png" --- # I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that… ![“I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people, living dangerously in faraway places, crossing the sea, or starting a power company on the Columbia River, a steamship line in Bolivia.” quote by Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png) > “I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people, living dangerously in faraway places, crossing the sea, or starting a power company on the Columbia River, a steamship line in Bolivia.” [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on youthful fantasies of adventure and grand achievements, realizing they are common misconceptions about what constitutes a meaningful life. **In simple terms:** Youthful fantasies about adventure are common misconceptions. Key Takeaway Embrace realistic, grounded aspirations. Themes adventure fantasy realism ambition selfdiscovery Mood reflective nostalgic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - travel decisions - entrepreneurship - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism nostalgia identity Questions to Reflect On - What does "real life" mean to you? - How can you find adventure in daily routines? A Different Perspective Idealized adventures may overlook everyday fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bolivia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bolivia/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Isn't there something in living dangerously?' There's a great deal in it,' the Controller replied. 'Men and women must have their adrenals stimulated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/isn-t-there-something-in-living-dangerously-there-s-a-great-deal-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Isn't there something in living dangerously?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/isn-t-there-something-in-living-dangerously/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Mistakes are what make life worth living dangerously. If it weren't for our mistakes then our victories wouldn't taste nearly as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-qwits/mistakes-are-what-make-life-worth-living-dangerously-if-it-weren-t/) Justin Qwits > [“I know you’re running scared, but why don’t you consider living dangerously for a change?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-croft/i-know-you-re-running-scared-but-why-don-t-you-consider-living/) [Nina Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-croft/) > [It is not a question of living dangerously. That formula is too arrogant, too presumptuous. I don't care much for bull-fighters. It's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/it-is-not-a-question-of-living-dangerously-that-formula-is-too/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Perhaps passing through the gates of death is like passing quietly through the gate in a pasture fence. On the other side, you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/perhaps-passing-through-the-gates-of-death-is-like-passing-quietly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [When I came back from Bolivia, my Spanish was in some ways as good as my English. I am rusty today. But I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dewhurst/when-i-came-back-from-bolivia-my-spanish-was-in-some-ways-as-good-as/) [David Dewhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dewhurst/) > [ \[In Bolivia\] We want to overcome our historical problems with Chile. The sea has divided us and the sea must bring us back together… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-we-want-to-overcome-our-historical-problems-with-chile-the/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [After the ignominious collapse of the Copenhagen global climate change summit in 2009, Bolivia organised a People's Summit with 35,000 participants from 140 countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/after-the-ignominious-collapse-of-the-copenhagen-global-climate/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Natural disasters in Bolivia have been getting worse with the passage of time. It's brought about by a system: the capitalist system, the unbridled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/natural-disasters-in-bolivia-have-been-getting-worse-with-the-passage/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador lived through times of cruel and ruthless capitalism where the workers, the masses of the population, saw themselves living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/venezuela-bolivia-and-ecuador-lived-through-times-of-cruel-and/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Human relations tend to be more difficult when you're dealing with someone who weighs 30 kilograms more than you do. That's when you worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/human-relations-tend-to-be-more-difficult-when-you-re-dealing-with/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [In Bolivia there are Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Baptist churches, and so on. In Bolivia there are indigenous religious beliefs like the rite of Pachamama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-there-are-catholic-evangelical-methodist-baptist-churches/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua have shown that by breaking with the unfair order imposed by the neoliberal adjustment policies, promoted by Washington and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/venezuela-ecuador-bolivia-and-nicaragua-have-shown-that-by-breaking/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Bolivia is a majority indigenous nation, but that majority has always been excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/bolivia-is-a-majority-indigenous-nation-but-that-majority-has-always/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) ## More by Mark Helprin > [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“In living, one muddles through the years for the sake of those one or two moments which are indisputably great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/in-living-one-muddles-through-the-years-for-the-sake-of-those-one-or/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. The less time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/do-you-know-why-you-walk-slowly-when-you-re-old-no-because-with-age/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Truth is no rounder than a horse's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/truth-is-no-rounder-than-a-horse-s-eye/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [They were dancing around the fountain, arm in arm, in an old Dutch dance, their cheeks touching, their hands entwined. They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [For what can be imagined more beautiful than the sight of a perfectly just city rejoicing in justice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/for-what-can-be-imagined-more-beautiful-than-the-sight-of-a-perfectly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“If all the months and all their days could be like June weather in New York, there would be paradise on earth. Often, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/if-all-the-months-and-all-their-days-could-be-like-june-weather-in/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/at-least-until-there-are-new-lakes-in-the-clouds-that-open-upon/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You will most appreciate 'Freddy and Fredericka' if you are familiar with the story of the Fall, the Good Hermit, 'Tom Jones,' 'Huckleberry Finn,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/you-will-most-appreciate-freddy-and-fredericka-if-you-are-familiar/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-powerlessness-innocence-and-imagination-fused-to-enable-them-to/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) [Explore all 279 Mark Helprin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More Bolivia quotes > [Bolivia is a majority indigenous nation, but that majority has always been excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/bolivia-is-a-majority-indigenous-nation-but-that-majority-has-always/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [ \[In Bolivia\] We want to overcome our historical problems with Chile. The sea has divided us and the sea must bring us back together… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-we-want-to-overcome-our-historical-problems-with-chile-the/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [After the ignominious collapse of the Copenhagen global climate change summit in 2009, Bolivia organised a People's Summit with 35,000 participants from 140 countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/after-the-ignominious-collapse-of-the-copenhagen-global-climate/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Natural disasters in Bolivia have been getting worse with the passage of time. It's brought about by a system: the capitalist system, the unbridled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/natural-disasters-in-bolivia-have-been-getting-worse-with-the-passage/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [In Bolivia there are Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Baptist churches, and so on. In Bolivia there are indigenous religious beliefs like the rite of Pachamama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/in-bolivia-there-are-catholic-evangelical-methodist-baptist-churches/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [When I came back from Bolivia, my Spanish was in some ways as good as my English. I am rusty today. But I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dewhurst/when-i-came-back-from-bolivia-my-spanish-was-in-some-ways-as-good-as/) [David Dewhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dewhurst/) > [Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua have shown that by breaking with the unfair order imposed by the neoliberal adjustment policies, promoted by Washington and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/venezuela-ecuador-bolivia-and-nicaragua-have-shown-that-by-breaking/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Human relations tend to be more difficult when you're dealing with someone who weighs 30 kilograms more than you do. That's when you worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/human-relations-tend-to-be-more-difficult-when-you-re-dealing-with/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador lived through times of cruel and ruthless capitalism where the workers, the masses of the population, saw themselves living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/venezuela-bolivia-and-ecuador-lived-through-times-of-cruel-and/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Some take advantage of natural resources to put the capital in the hands of the few, while some use these natural resources to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/some-take-advantage-of-natural-resources-to-put-the-capital-in-the/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [Had drugs been decriminalized, crack would never have been invented and there would today be fewer addicts... The ghettos would not be drug-and-crime-infested no-man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/had-drugs-been-decriminalized-crack-would-never-have-been-invented/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Lithium is like a beautiful lady, very much sought and pursued, especially in Bolivia. There is data indicating Bolivia has the largest reserves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/lithium-is-like-a-beautiful-lady-very-much-sought-and-pursued/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [“That which we allow to exist, to flourish freely according to its own rhythms, is superior to anything our little hands create.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powers/that-which-we-allow-to-exist-to-flourish-freely-according-to-its-own/) [William Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powers/) > [I have no regrets - in fact, I am pleased to have expelled the US ambassador, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/i-have-no-regrets-in-fact-i-am-pleased-to-have-expelled-the-us/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [The Bolivian government has promised to guarantee autonomy in the framework of unity, legality, and with the goal of equalizing the different regions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/the-bolivian-government-has-promised-to-guarantee-autonomy-in-the/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 73 Bolivia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bolivia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people, living dangerously in faraway places, crossing the sea, or starting a power company on the Columbia River, a steamship line in Bolivia.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Helprin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of-thinking-that-real-life-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bolivia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of-thinking-that-real-life-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/mark-helprin-1171_bolivia_i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of_3217063.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I made a boy's mistake, common enough, of thinking that real life was knowing many things and many people…” — Mark Helprin", "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": "Mark Helprin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I made a boy's mistake, common...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of-thinking-that-real-life-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-made-a-boy-s-mistake-common-enough-of-thinking-that-real-life-was/#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 } } ] } ```