---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can set unachievable goals, and you…"
description: "\"You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing out on your life because, in some ways, ambition is kind of living in the future.\" — Simon L..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png"
---

#  You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing…

![“You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing out on your life because, in some ways, ambition is kind of living in the future.” quote by Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png)

> “You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing out on your life because, in some ways, ambition is kind of living in the future.”

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

## About This Quote

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

Chasing unattainable goals can cause you to miss present experiences, as ambition often focuses on future outcomes.

**In simple terms:** Ambition can distract from living now.

Key Takeaway

Balance goals with present enjoyment.

Themes

ambition present life balance

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- career planning
- personal relationships
- travel
- hobbies

Key Concepts

future orientation goal setting mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What present moments are you sacrificing for future goals?
- How can you integrate ambition with daily joy?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on future may lead to regret.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-kind-3298041/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-future-837117/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Missing out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing-out/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unachievable Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unachievable-goals-5618234/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Ways Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-ambition-3789142/)

## Related quotes

> [“Is is said that those who study the ways of ambition learn patience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-plaidy/is-is-said-that-those-who-study-the-ways-of-ambition-learn-patience/)

[Jean Plaidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-plaidy/)

> [There are no unachievable goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/there-are-no-unachievable-goals/)

[Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/)

> [I just think the time and where I was brought up had a great deal to do in giving me the ambition to kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mancini/i-just-think-the-time-and-where-i-was-brought-up-had-a-great-deal-to/)

[Henry Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mancini/)

> [“Zhenyi knew she was awesome, too. In one of her well-regarded poems, she writes that her ambition was “to a kind even stronger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-maggs/zhenyi-knew-she-was-awesome-too-in-one-of-her-well-regarded-poems-she/)

[Sam Maggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-maggs/)

> [Ambition is a kind of fire that is burning within and must not be doused until you reach your goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-coleman/ambition-is-a-kind-of-fire-that-is-burning-within-and-must-not-be/)

[Damian Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-coleman/)

> [I'm going to let love lead the way, always. And I was born with this blind - blind ambition, and it's kind of gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/i-m-going-to-let-love-lead-the-way-always-and-i-was-born-with-this/)

[Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/)

> [If I wanted to know what a certain future would feel like to me, I would find someone who is already living that future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/if-i-wanted-to-know-what-a-certain-future-would-feel-like-to-me-i/)

[Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/)

> [If your always living in the future, when the future comes, you won't be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-copeland/if-your-always-living-in-the-future-when-the-future-comes-you-won-t/)

[Rachel Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-copeland/)

> [“The reins of our life are in the hands of the future. Man always lives today in the hope of tomorrow. And likewise he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-reins-of-our-life-are-in-the-hands-of-the-future-man-always-lives/)

[Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/)

> [Anxiety is simply living out the future before it gets here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/anxiety-is-simply-living-out-the-future-before-it-gets-here/)

[Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/)

> [I do not believe in living in either the future or the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-bedi/i-do-not-believe-in-living-in-either-the-future-or-the-past/)

[Kiran Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-bedi/)

> [Living in the past or living in the future - those aren't real. The moment is now, and that's where safety and comfort and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/living-in-the-past-or-living-in-the-future-those-aren-t-real-the/)

[Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/)

> [For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatever in making plans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-unless-one-is-able-to-live-fully-in-the-present-the-future-is-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Stop living in the future. Every time you think someday or when I have time I will, stop. Ask yourself, Why not now? Think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-living-in-the-future-every-time-you-think-someday-or-when-i-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Living in the past isn't going to give you a future. Living in the future isn't going to give you today. Live for today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/living-in-the-past-isn-t-going-to-give-you-a-future-living-in-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Simon Le Bon

> [God created the world and then created the devil, to blame for his mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/god-created-the-world-and-then-created-the-devil-to-blame-for-his/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [There's no question that a vinyl record is a lot nicer than a CD. It's nicer to hold in your hands, you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/there-s-no-question-that-a-vinyl-record-is-a-lot-nicer-than-a-cd-it-s/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [Digital music boils down the actual musical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/digital-music-boils-down-the-actual-musical-experience/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [Sad news- Prince is gone. Music has lost a great presence. A world less funky. I don't believe in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/sad-news-prince-is-gone-music-has-lost-a-great-presence-a-world-less/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [Music is not supposed to be nationalist. It is supposed to surpass language barriers. It is about generations communicating with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/music-is-not-supposed-to-be-nationalist-it-is-supposed-to-surpass/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [After a foreign invasion, there has to be a sort of feeling of musical inadequacy in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/after-a-foreign-invasion-there-has-to-be-a-sort-of-feeling-of-musical/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [I think repeating yourself is a sign of old age, telling the same joke again and again. Especially if they're jokes that don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/i-think-repeating-yourself-is-a-sign-of-old-age-telling-the-same-joke/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [My kids love vinyl, I had to teach them how to put the needle on the records. Now they're worried about scratching the records,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/my-kids-love-vinyl-i-had-to-teach-them-how-to-put-the-needle-on-the/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [Ambition is a funny thing. You can completely screw yourself with it if you're not careful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/ambition-is-a-funny-thing-you-can-completely-screw-yourself-with-it/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [I succumbed to hedonism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/i-succumbed-to-hedonism/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [We were five heterosexual, good-looking men. We competed against each other for the sexiest girls... I won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/we-were-five-heterosexual-good-looking-men-we-competed-against-each/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [You've got to make sure that you make the best of the day that you're in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-ve-got-to-make-sure-that-you-make-the-best-of-the-day-that-you-re/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [You don't really want to be always thinking about the future, always thinking about where you're heading for. You've got to think about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-don-t-really-want-to-be-always-thinking-about-the-future-always/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [I think it's important when you make a record that you know you're working with the people who are going to get the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/i-think-it-s-important-when-you-make-a-record-that-you-know-you-re/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

> [“I'm not a snob. Ask anybody. Well, anybody who matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/i-m-not-a-snob-ask-anybody-well-anybody-who-matters/)

[Simon Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

[Explore all 26 Simon Le Bon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/)

## More Ambition quotes

> [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/)

[Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/)

> [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/)

[Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/)

> [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/)

[Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/)

> [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/)

[Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/)

> [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/)

[Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/)

> [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/)

[Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/)

> [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/)

[Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/)

> [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/)

[Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/)

> [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/)

[Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/)

> [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/)

[London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/)

> [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/)

[Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/)

[Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing out on your life because, in some ways, ambition is kind of living in the future.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Simon Le Bon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-can-end-up-missing-out-on-your/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ambition"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-can-end-up-missing-out-on-your/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/408/simon-le-bon-23221_ambition_you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-c_3144591.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You can set unachievable goals, and you can end up missing out on your life because, in some ways, ambition…” — Simon Le Bon",
                "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": "Simon Le Bon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-le-bon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You can set unachievable goals, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-can-end-up-missing-out-on-your/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-le-bon/you-can-set-unachievable-goals-and-you-can-end-up-missing-out-on-your/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
