--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Voyaging begins when one burns one's…" description: "\"Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.\" — Michel Serres" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg" --- # Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures… ![“Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.” quote by Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg) > “Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.” [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Committing fully to a venture means eliminating the option to retreat, forcing bold action. **In simple terms:** Burning boats forces commitment. Key Takeaway Embrace risk, cut escape routes. Themes commitment risk boldness Mood determined anxious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - personal projects - career moves Key Concepts psychology decision theory Questions to Reflect On - What would you risk if you could not quit? - How does removing safety nets affect motivation? A Different Perspective No guarantee of success; may lead to reckless decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Adventures Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventures-begin-1814545/) [Begin Shipwreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-shipwreck-3393997/) [Boat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boat/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Shipwreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipwreck/) [Voyaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyaging/) [Voyaging Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyaging-begins-3393998/) ## Related quotes > [All really great flying adventures begin at dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/all-really-great-flying-adventures-begin-at-dawn/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [I do not insist," answered Don Quixote, "that this is a full adventure, but it is the beginning of one, for this is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-insist-answered-don-quixote-that-this-is-a-full-adventure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It’s better if I think of my life like that – part miracle, part madness. It’s better if I accept that I can’t control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-better-if-i-think-of-my-life-like-that-part-miracle-part-madness/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I addressed my self as one would speak to a companion with whom one is voyaging to the North Pole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-addressed-my-self-as-one-would-speak-to-a-companion-with-whom-one/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-truly-challenging-a-voyage-like-a-life-must-rest-on-a-firm-4/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Voyaging through the sickened mind and body required mapping the route to improved health.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/voyaging-through-the-sickened-mind-and-body-required-mapping-the/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Some men never find prosperity, For all their voyaging, While others find it with no voyaging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/some-men-never-find-prosperity-for-all-their-voyaging-while-others/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Voyaging great distances -- through forests, from island to island, across plains and into the mountains -- is all about finding ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/voyaging-great-distances-through-forests-from-island-to-island-across/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [What I always hoped for out of the psychedelic voyaging was to bring back something. I always felt, and still feel, that that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-i-always-hoped-for-out-of-the-psychedelic-voyaging-was-to-bring/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I believe that one of the great pleasures that we derive from voyaging is that of independence, and we have found that the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-one-of-the-great-pleasures-that-we-derive-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From all that I saw, and everywhere I wandered, I learned that time cannot be spent, It only can be squandered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/from-all-that-i-saw-and-everywhere-i-wandered-i-learned-that-time/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [The other side of the globe is but the home of our correspondent. Our voyaging is only great-circle sailing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-other-side-of-the-globe-is-but-the-home-of-our-correspondent-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“For many people, years spent voyaging through the corporate government disability system results in a blatant denial of earned benefits and an education in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/for-many-people-years-spent-voyaging-through-the-corporate-government/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/a-person-does-not-grow-from-the-ground-like-a-vine-or-a-tree-one-is/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [To be rich is to have a ticket of admission to the masterworks and chief men of each race. It is to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/to-be-rich-is-to-have-a-ticket-of-admission-to-the-masterworks-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Michel Serres > [The skin is a variety of contingency: in it, through it, with it, the world and my body touch each other, the feeling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/the-skin-is-a-variety-of-contingency-in-it-through-it-with-it-the/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [The only philosophy is that of language, the only religion is that of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/the-only-philosophy-is-that-of-language-the-only-religion-is-that-of/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [“only philosophy can go deep enough to show that literature goes still deeper than philosophy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/only-philosophy-can-go-deep-enough-to-show-that-literature-goes-still/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [What philosophy worthy of the name has truly been able to avoid the link between poem and theorem?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/what-philosophy-worthy-of-the-name-has-truly-been-able-to-avoid-the/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [Smell and taste differentiate, whereas language, like sight and hearing, integrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/smell-and-taste-differentiate-whereas-language-like-sight-and-hearing/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [You who look at everything through your perpetually open eyes, is your lucidity never bathed in tears?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/you-who-look-at-everything-through-your-perpetually-open-eyes-is-your/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) > [“On peut presque tout faire sans lumière sauf écrire. Ecrire demande des lueurs. Vivre se suffit d’ombre, lire exige la clarté. Fast alles kann…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/on-peut-presque-tout-faire-sans-lumi-re-sauf-crire-ecrire-demande-des/) [Michel Serres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) [Explore all 8 Michel Serres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel Serres" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/michel-serres-41952_adventure_voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boa_372219.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Voyaging begins when one burns one's boats, adventures begin with a shipwreck.” — Michel Serres", "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": "Michel Serres", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-serres/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Voyaging begins when one burns one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-serres/voyaging-begins-when-one-burns-one-s-boats-adventures-begin-with-a/#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 } } ] } ```