--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All beings begin their lives with hope…" description: "\"“All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/timothy-zahn-8750_dreams_all-beings-begin-their-lives-with-hope-a_23371.jpg" --- # All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations… ![“All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is seldom so. Perhaps never. Sometimes the turns are of one's own volition, as one's thoughts and goals change over time. But more often the turns are…” quote by Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/timothy-zahn-8750_dreams_all-beings-begin-their-lives-with-hope-a_23371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/timothy-zahn-8750_dreams_all-beings-begin-their-lives-with-hope-a_23371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/timothy-zahn-8750_dreams_all-beings-begin-their-lives-with-hope-a_23371.jpg) > ““All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is seldom so. Perhaps never. Sometimes the turns are of one's own volition, as one's thoughts and goals change over time. But more often the turns are mandated by outside forces. It was so with me. The memory is vivid, unsullied by age: the five admirals rising from their chairs as I am escorted into the chamber. The decision of the Ascendancy has been made, and they are here to deliver it. None of them is happy with the decision. I can read that in their faces. But they are officers and servants of the Chiss, and they will carry out their orders. Protocol alone demands that. The word is as I expected. Exile. The planet has already been chosen. The Aristocra will assemble the equipment necessary to endure that solitude does not quickly become Death from predators or the elements. I am led away. Once again, my path has turned. Where it will lead, I cannot say.”” [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on how life's aspirations are often derailed by external forces, leading to unexpected exile and uncertainty about the future. **In simple terms:** External forces reshape personal destiny. Key Takeaway Life rarely follows a straight line. Themes fate authority adaptation solitude survival Mood melancholic reflective resolute Type narrative philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - military reassignment - political exile - personal crisis - career change - survival in hostile terrain Key Concepts exile choice power dynamics environment Practical Applications - strategic planning for adversity - building resilience in isolation Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when your goals are forced to change? - What role does authority play in shaping personal destiny? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ascendancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascendancy/) [Aspirations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspirations/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Star wars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/star-wars/) [Straight path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-path/) [Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrawn/) ## Related quotes > [“One may learn a great deal of a people by the stories they tell of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/one-may-learn-a-great-deal-of-a-people-by-the-stories-they-tell-of/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“Grand Admiral Thrawn could perhaps have breathed the remaining sparks into an Imperial Victory. But Grand Admiral Thrawn was gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/grand-admiral-thrawn-could-perhaps-have-breathed-the-remaining-sparks/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“It is said that one should keep one's allies within view, and one's enemies within reach. A valid statement. One must be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/it-is-said-that-one-should-keep-one-s-allies-within-view-and-one-s/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“Thrawn smiled—a smile that sent a shiver up Pellaeon's back. "Why, the only puzzle worth solving, of course," the Grand Admiral said softly. "The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/thrawn-smiled-a-smile-that-sent-a-shiver-up-pellaeon-s-back-why-the/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“All people have regrets. Warriors are no exceptions. 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There are always unexpected factors including those stemming from the opponent's initiative. A battle must thus becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/no-battle-plan-can-anticipate-all-contingencies-there-are-always/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“There are things in the universe that are simply and purely evil. A warrior does not seek to understand them, or to compromise with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/there-are-things-in-the-universe-that-are-simply-and-purely-evil-a/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“One may learn a great deal about a people by the stories they tell of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/one-may-learn-a-great-deal-about-a-people-by-the-stories-they-tell-of/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“Each person has goals. Some goals are open, visible to all who care to observe. Others are more private, shared only with one's closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/each-person-has-goals-some-goals-are-open-visible-to-all-who-care-to/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) > [“Military leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is continually challenged, and must continually prove it self anew against fresh obstacles. Sometimes those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/military-leadership-is-a-journey-not-a-destination-it-is-continually/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) > [“No one is immune to failure. All have tasted the bitterness of defeat and disappointment. A warrior must not dwell on that failure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/no-one-is-immune-to-failure-all-have-tasted-the-bitterness-of-defeat/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) > [“War is a primarily a game of skill. It is a Contest of mind matched against mind, tactics matched against tactics. But there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/war-is-a-primarily-a-game-of-skill-it-is-a-contest-of-mind-matched/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) > [“It is believed by many that the military life is one of adventure and excitement. In truth, that life more often consists of long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/it-is-believed-by-many-that-the-military-life-is-one-of-adventure-and/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) ## More by Timothy Zahn > [“the way an Ugnaught gets to be an old Ugnaught is by being smart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/the-way-an-ugnaught-gets-to-be-an-old-ugnaught-is-by-being-smart/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“The mind and body are linked together in a meshwork of oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and neuron health. Physical exercise drives that meshwork, stimulating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/the-mind-and-body-are-linked-together-in-a-meshwork-of-oxygen/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“A friend need not be kept either within sight or within reach. A friend must be allowed the freedom to find and follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/a-friend-need-not-be-kept-either-within-sight-or-within-reach-a/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“I’ve found that what most people call luck is often little more than raw talent combined with the ability to make the most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/i-ve-found-that-what-most-people-call-luck-is-often-little-more-than/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“One may learn a great deal about a people by the stories they tell of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/one-may-learn-a-great-deal-about-a-people-by-the-stories-they-tell-of/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“But ultimate safety does not exist. Those who trust in such will find that hope dashed upon the very rock behind which they seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/but-ultimate-safety-does-not-exist-those-who-trust-in-such-will-find/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“But just because he couldn’t sense it didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t there.11”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/but-just-because-he-couldn-t-sense-it-didn-t-necessarily-mean-it-wasn/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“...But we will succeed. I've seen the future, Jorj. We will succeed, because we have no other choice." -Thrawn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/but-we-will-succeed-i-ve-seen-the-future-jorj-we-will-succeed-because/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“There are things in the universe that are simply and purely evil. A warrior does not seek to understand them, or to compromise with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/there-are-things-in-the-universe-that-are-simply-and-purely-evil-a/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [ “\[Han\] glared into his mug. Besides, he didn't add, asking Princess Leia for repacement reward credits would mean he'd have to tell her how… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/han-glared-into-his-mug-besides-he-didn-t-add-asking-princess-leia/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“Yes, they’d lost. But it was just a battle, not the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/yes-they-d-lost-but-it-was-just-a-battle-not-the-war/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“For if one is remembered by a friend, one is never truly gone. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/for-if-one-is-remembered-by-a-friend-one-is-never-truly-gone/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [A more accurate statement would be that I was the first person since Jedi who was permitted to stick a fork into the piecrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/a-more-accurate-statement-would-be-that-i-was-the-first-person-since/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [When you understand a species' art, you understand that species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/when-you-understand-a-species-art-you-understand-that-species/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/a-long-time-ago-in-a-galaxy-far-far-away/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) [Explore all 74 Timothy Zahn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) ## More Ascendancy quotes > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Combativeness was, I suppose, the dominant trait in my grandmother's nature. An aggressive churchgoer, she was quite without Christian feeling; the mercy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/combativeness-was-i-suppose-the-dominant-trait-in-my-grandmother-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [If you are trying to live with and maintain ascendancy over same-gender attractions, the best way to do that is to have groups that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/if-you-are-trying-to-live-with-and-maintain-ascendancy-over-same/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [Remember back then we thought about al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and a few other places? well, we've seen al Qaeda metastasize. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ridge/remember-back-then-we-thought-about-al-qaeda-in-afghanistan-and/) [Tom Ridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ridge/) > [The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-state-governments-possess-inherent-advantages-which-will-ever/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“Ascendancy was but one of the countless mysteries of the world, a world where uncertainty ruled all—god and mortal alike—and its rules were impenetrable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/ascendancy-was-but-one-of-the-countless-mysteries-of-the-world-a/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [More and more are turning to photography as a medium of expression as well as communication. The leavening of aesthetic approaches continues. While it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beaumont-newhall/more-and-more-are-turning-to-photography-as-a-medium-of-expression-as/) [Beaumont Newhall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beaumont-newhall/) > [When pain has been constant, it has its own momentum and laws. The vital thing is to break its ascendancy over the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-massie/when-pain-has-been-constant-it-has-its-own-momentum-and-laws-the/) [Suzanne Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-massie/) > [“Politeness is the first thing people lose once they get the power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/politeness-is-the-first-thing-people-lose-once-they-get-the-power/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The dynamism and freedom that characterizes the West is the product of Christianity's reforming itself and moving forward culturally. The ascendancy of the West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/the-dynamism-and-freedom-that-characterizes-the-west-is-the-product/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [There is nobody as enslaved as the fanatic, the person in whom one impulse, one value, has assumed ascendancy over all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-sapirstein/there-is-nobody-as-enslaved-as-the-fanatic-the-person-in-whom-one/) [Milton Sapirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-sapirstein/) > [“Apparently, a week Japan was laughable; but a strong Japan was immediately transformed into the prime example of a "Yellow Peril". Might Japan forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-emmerson/apparently-a-week-japan-was-laughable-but-a-strong-japan-was/) [Charles Emmerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-emmerson/) > [I think a Donald Trump presidency sets up an Elizabeth Warren ascendancy. And it not Elizabeth Warren, someone of her ilk. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/i-think-a-donald-trump-presidency-sets-up-an-elizabeth-warren/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Scottish operative lodges began in the seventeenth century to admit non-operative members as accepted or gentleman masons and that by the early eighteenth century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hamill/scottish-operative-lodges-began-in-the-seventeenth-century-to-admit/) [John Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hamill/) > [I was born with the wrong sign In the wrong house With the wrong ascendancy I took the wrong road That led to The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gore/i-was-born-with-the-wrong-sign-in-the-wrong-house-with-the-wrong/) [Martin Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gore/) [Browse all 39 Ascendancy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascendancy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is seldom so. Perhaps never. Sometimes the turns are of one's own volition, as one's thoughts and goals change over time. But more often the turns are mandated by outside forces. It was so with me. The memory is vivid, unsullied by age: the five admirals rising from their chairs as I am escorted into the chamber. The decision of the Ascendancy has been made, and they are here to deliver it. None of them is happy with the decision. I can read that in their faces. But they are officers and servants of the Chiss, and they will carry out their orders. Protocol alone demands that. The word is as I expected. Exile. The planet has already been chosen. The Aristocra will assemble the equipment necessary to endure that solitude does not quickly become Death from predators or the elements. I am led away. Once again, my path has turned. 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