--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... if one does not have wild dreams of…" description: "\"... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg" --- # ... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there… ![“... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg) > “... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams drive effort; heroic mindset fuels ordinary excellence **In simple terms:** Think like a hero to achieve daily tasks Key Takeaway Adopt heroic perspective for routine Themes motivation self‑improvement heroism Mood inspirational pragmatic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - workplace tasks - personal chores - academic projects Key Concepts psychology of aspiration self‑efficacy role models Questions to Reflect On - How can ordinary people cultivate heroic habits? - What small actions reflect heroism? A Different Perspective Not everyone can be a hero; expectations may be unrealistic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wild dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-dreams/) ## Related quotes > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“Something within me drives me loopy, this is called passion, determination, desire to dream wild dreams continuously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/something-within-me-drives-me-loopy-this-is-called-passion/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [“Discover more about yourself, dream wild dreams because what others see in you right is just a mild chapter of you; the wild chapter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/discover-more-about-yourself-dream-wild-dreams-because-what-others/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Ser eyes met his, hers naked with pleading, his remote as mountain lakes under gray skies. She saw in them defeat of her wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/ser-eyes-met-his-hers-naked-with-pleading-his-remote-as-mountain/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“A half-equipped little knight she was, venturing to reconnoitre the mysterious city and dreaming wild dreams of some vague, far-off supremacy...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-half-equipped-little-knight-she-was-venturing-to-reconnoitre-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wild dreams torment me as I lie. And though a god lives in my heart, though all my power waken at his word, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wild-dreams-torment-me-as-i-lie-and-though-a-god-lives-in-my-heart/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“A half-equipped little knight she was, venturing to reconnoiter the mysterious city and dreaming wild dreams of some vague, far-off supremacy, which should make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/a-half-equipped-little-knight-she-was-venturing-to-reconnoiter-the/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [“Caroline, or Sister Carrie, as she had been half affectionately termed by the family, was possessed of a mind rudimentary in its power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/caroline-or-sister-carrie-as-she-had-been-half-affectionately-termed/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-de-forest/to-place-a-man-in-a-multi-stage-rocket-and-project-him-into-the-2/) [Lee De Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-de-forest/) > [I know a place where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-know-a-place-where-the-wild-thyme-blows-where-oxlips-and-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We wish our names eternally to live; Wild dream! which ne'er had haunted human thought, Had not our natures been eternal too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-wish-our-names-eternally-to-live-wild-dream-which-ne-er-had/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Writing practice brings us back to the uniqueness of our own minds and an acceptance of it. We all have wild dreams, fantasies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/writing-practice-brings-us-back-to-the-uniqueness-of-our-own-minds/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [You continue to dream the wild dreams that you dream when you were young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tomlin/you-continue-to-dream-the-wild-dreams-that-you-dream-when-you-were/) [Mike Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tomlin/) > [It is now time for our nation to frustrate the wild dreams of the whites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadao-araki/it-is-now-time-for-our-nation-to-frustrate-the-wild-dreams-of-the/) [Sadao Araki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadao-araki/) > [She was able to feel active creation going on around her in the rocks and hills, where the mystery of lust took place; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/she-was-able-to-feel-active-creation-going-on-around-her-in-the-rocks/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achievement-there-is-no-spur-even/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achievement-there-is-no-spur-even/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/may-sarton-897_achievement_if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achi_2764973.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... if one does not have wild dreams of achievement, there is no spur even to get the dishes washed. One…” — May Sarton", "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": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "... if one does not have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achievement-there-is-no-spur-even/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/if-one-does-not-have-wild-dreams-of-achievement-there-is-no-spur-even/#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 } } ] } ```