--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yeah, I wasn't chosen to be first. I was…" description: "\"Yeah, I wasn't chosen to be first. I was just chosen to command that flight. Circumstance put me in that particular role. That wasn't planned by anyone..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/neil-armstrong-5298_chosen_yeah-i-wasn-t-chosen-to-be-first-i-was-j_2137166.jpg" --- # Yeah, I wasn't chosen to be first. I was just chosen to… ![“Yeah, I wasn't chosen to be first. I was just chosen to command that flight. Circumstance put me in that particular role. That wasn't planned by anyone.” quote by Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/neil-armstrong-5298_chosen_yeah-i-wasn-t-chosen-to-be-first-i-was-j_2137166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/neil-armstrong-5298_chosen_yeah-i-wasn-t-chosen-to-be-first-i-was-j_2137166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/neil-armstrong-5298_chosen_yeah-i-wasn-t-chosen-to-be-first-i-was-j_2137166.jpg) > “Yeah, I wasn't chosen to be first. I was just chosen to command that flight. Circumstance put me in that particular role. That wasn't planned by anyone.” [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He acknowledges that leadership can arise from circumstance rather than ambition, emphasizing humility and duty. **In simple terms:** Leadership often comes from being in the right place at the right time. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility when it appears, even if unplanned. Themes leadership humility circumstance Mood thoughtful inspirational Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - team projects - crisis management - public service - unexpected opportunities Key Concepts role theory situational leadership serendipity Questions to Reflect On - How would you respond if suddenly given authority? - What responsibilities accompany unplanned leadership? A Different Perspective Not all leaders are chosen; some are thrust into roles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) ## Related quotes > [“Our whole life passes asking only one question to ourselves, “I did the same or more hard work than the one standing on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/our-whole-life-passes-asking-only-one-question-to-ourselves-i-did-the/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [“Laurent wasn’t here because he had chosen not to be here. And when he thought about goodbye, it was a welling silence full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/laurent-wasn-t-here-because-he-had-chosen-not-to-be-here-and-when-he/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [I hadn't planned on being on TV. 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It just happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/twitter-wasn-t-planned-it-just-happened/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [When you don't get a role, it wasn't meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-schroeder/when-you-don-t-get-a-role-it-wasn-t-meant-to-be/) [Erica Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-schroeder/) > [I didn't think I could be my imperfect self. I pretended I was Marcia, so I was always playing this role. I became her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-mccormick/i-didn-t-think-i-could-be-my-imperfect-self-i-pretended-i-was-marcia/) [Maureen McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-mccormick/) > [I would never accept a role that wasn't going to stretch me or challenge me in some way. 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I blew the first words on the moon, didn't I?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/damn-i-really-did-it-i-blew-the-first-words-on-the-moon-didn-t-i/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Fear is not an unknown emotion to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/fear-is-not-an-unknown-emotion-to-us/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [I fully expected that, by the end of the century, we would have achieved substantially more than we actually did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-fully-expected-that-by-the-end-of-the-century-we-would-have/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [As a boy, because I was born and raised in Ohio, about 60 miles north of Dayton, the legends of the Wrights have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/as-a-boy-because-i-was-born-and-raised-in-ohio-about-60-miles-north/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [The single thing which makes any man happiest is the realization that he has worked up to the limits of his ability, his capacity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/the-single-thing-which-makes-any-man-happiest-is-the-realization-that/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-guess-we-all-like-to-be-recognized-not-for-one-piece-of-fireworks/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next 10.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/science-has-not-yet-mastered-prophecy-we-predict-too-much-for-the/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Lindsay Lohan isn't a DJ, but because of her celebrity power she can do a gig somewhere, put her name on a flyer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/lindsay-lohan-isn-t-a-dj-but-because-of-her-celebrity-power-she-can/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [The exciting part for me, as a pilot, was the landing on the moon. That was the time that we had achieved the national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/the-exciting-part-for-me-as-a-pilot-was-the-landing-on-the-moon-that/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/houston-tranquillity-base-here-the-eagle-has-landed/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-didn-t-feel-like-a-giant-i-felt-very-very-small/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [I tell you, we're going to be busy for a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-tell-you-we-re-going-to-be-busy-for-a-minute/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [Opportunities will be available to you that you cannot imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/opportunities-will-be-available-to-you-that-you-cannot-imagine/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) [Explore all 101 Neil Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) ## More Chosen quotes > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) God > [I would have let you shoot me without further ado! But it is not possible to hang the German Reichsmarschall! I cannot permit this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/i-would-have-let-you-shoot-me-without-further-ado-but-it-is-not/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [People have a whole lot more choices than they've had in the past, and I have only earned the right to be considered -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/people-have-a-whole-lot-more-choices-than-they-ve-had-in-the-past-and/) [Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/) > [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/) [Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/) > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [It seems that the whole world is beginning to decay, and that its putrefaction has chosen to spread outward from here, from the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/it-seems-that-the-whole-world-is-beginning-to-decay-and-that-its/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-mazzini/love-your-country-your-country-is-the-land-where-your-parents-sleep/) [Giuseppe Mazzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-mazzini/) > [You'd chosen to be an upright biped on the surface of a small planet of a minor sun on the edge of a minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-d-chosen-to-be-an-upright-biped-on-the-surface-of-a-small-planet/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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