---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, the odds must be against anybody…"
description: "\"Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg"
---

#  Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly…

![“Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around the world in balloons are effectively flying in experimental craft because these craft cannot be tested.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg)

> “Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around the world in balloons are effectively flying in experimental craft because these craft cannot be tested.”

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Attempting global balloon flight is highly risky because the craft is untested and experimental.

**In simple terms:** Balloon world flight is risky due to untested craft.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty and prioritize safety testing.

Themes

risk adventure innovation

Mood

anervous excited

Type

motivational cautionary

When to use this quote

- exploratory expeditions
- record attempts
- scientific research
- media coverage

Key Concepts

experimental aviation risk management

Questions to Reflect On

- What safety measures would you implement before a first attempt?
- How do you balance ambition with realistic risk assessment?

A Different Perspective

Success depends on rigorous testing and contingency planning.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [“This is the year that everyone is trying to fly around the world in a balloon. I don’t know why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eula-biss/this-is-the-year-that-everyone-is-trying-to-fly-around-the-world-in-a/)

[Eula Biss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eula-biss/)

> [The balloons only have one life and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/the-balloons-only-have-one-life-and-the-only-way-of-finding-out/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Whether we're fighting climate change or going to space, everything is moved forward by computers, and we don't have enough people who can code.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/whether-we-re-fighting-climate-change-or-going-to-space-everything-is/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [It's so graceful to be blown by the wind, to go where the wind takes you. Just drifting over beautiful rivers in a balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/it-s-so-graceful-to-be-blown-by-the-wind-to-go-where-the-wind-takes/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Half the art of ballooning is to make your crashes so gentle that you can fool yourself into calling them landings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/half-the-art-of-ballooning-is-to-make-your-crashes-so-gentle-that-you/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I've been lucky to have survived balloon trips, boating trips, you know, a lot of rather foolish things in my life, so I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-been-lucky-to-have-survived-balloon-trips-boating-trips-you-know/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I have had a lot of fun pushing the boundaries on my balloon and kitesurf adventures, breaking some world records in the process, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-have-had-a-lot-of-fun-pushing-the-boundaries-on-my-balloon-and/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Imagination is to love what gas is to the balloon-that which raises it from earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/imagination-is-to-love-what-gas-is-to-the-balloon-that-which-raises/)

[Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/)

> [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. You just can't sweat the fact that you've lost a small portion of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kilmer-purcell/blackouts-can-be-fun-if-approached-with-the-right-mindset-you-just/)

[Josh Kilmer-Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kilmer-purcell/)

> [It is not difficult to destroy Islam. Islam is the pumped up ego of a megalomaniac psychopath. Muhammad was a narcissist madman. Just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/it-is-not-difficult-to-destroy-islam-islam-is-the-pumped-up-ego-of-a/)

[Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/)

> [“Faith, hope and love should be balloons lifting you up, not anchors weighing you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/faith-hope-and-love-should-be-balloons-lifting-you-up-not-anchors/)

[Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/)

> [Five runs with two outs is tough to take. It sure took the air out of our balloon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hargrove/five-runs-with-two-outs-is-tough-to-take-it-sure-took-the-air-out-of/)

Mike Hargrove

> [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [But the true voyagers are only those who leave Just to be leaving; hearts light, like balloons, They never turn aside from their fatality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/but-the-true-voyagers-are-only-those-who-leave-just-to-be-leaving/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

## More by Richard Branson

> [Lavish praise on people and people will flourish; criticize people and they'll shrivel up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/lavish-praise-on-people-and-people-will-flourish-criticize-people-and/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [Fantasizing about the future is one of my favorite pastimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/fantasizing-about-the-future-is-one-of-my-favorite-pastimes/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I will work day and night to avoid failure, but if I can't, I'll pick myself up the next day. The most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-will-work-day-and-night-to-avoid-failure-but-if-i-can-t-i-ll-pick/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Tough times are inevitable in life and in business. But how you compose yourself during those times defines your spirit and will define your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/tough-times-are-inevitable-in-life-and-in-business-but-how-you/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [All successful people - not just entrepreneurs - have got things wrong over and over again before finding the right solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/all-successful-people-not-just-entrepreneurs-have-got-things-wrong/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [We have the enormous opportunity in our hands to make a positive difference for business, people, and the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/we-have-the-enormous-opportunity-in-our-hands-to-make-a-positive/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I'm a great believer in life to saying yes and not saying no, and hopefully making people smile and just having fun in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-m-a-great-believer-in-life-to-saying-yes-and-not-saying-no-and/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Money is a poor indicator of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/money-is-a-poor-indicator-of-success/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Business leaders take things far too seriously, and forget that most of the time people spend in their lives is at work, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/business-leaders-take-things-far-too-seriously-and-forget-that-most/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I love the freedom of movement that my phone gives me. That has definitely transformed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-love-the-freedom-of-movement-that-my-phone-gives-me-that-has/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Everything in your business can be outsourced... if you're not emotionally attached to doing it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/everything-in-your-business-can-be-outsourced-if-you-re-not/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [People have to decide on priorities if they want to get anywhere. The best lessons I learned was to just do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/people-have-to-decide-on-priorities-if-they-want-to-get-anywhere-the/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [There isn't a flight goes by when I don't stare out of the window and thank my stars for what I'm seeing and feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/there-isn-t-a-flight-goes-by-when-i-don-t-stare-out-of-the-window-and/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

[Explore all 805 Richard Branson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around the world in balloons are effectively flying in experimental craft because these craft cannot be tested.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Branson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-being-able-to-fly-around-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-being-able-to-fly-around-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/227/richard-branson-256_able_well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-be_2418921.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt…” — Richard Branson",
                "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": "Richard Branson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Well, the odds must be against...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-being-able-to-fly-around-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-the-odds-must-be-against-anybody-being-able-to-fly-around-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
