---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True Excellence requires a worthy dream…"
description: "\"True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of how to realize it and the courage to risk failure to achieve it.\" — William J. Clinton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg"
---

#  True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of…

![“True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of how to realize it and the courage to risk failure to achieve it.” quote by William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg)

> “True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of how to realize it and the courage to risk failure to achieve it.”

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

## About This Quote

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

Excellence demands a clear vision, a solid plan, and bravery to risk failure.

**In simple terms:** Dream, plan, and risk for greatness.

Key Takeaway

Set bold goals, accept risk.

Themes

excellence vision courage

Mood

inspirational determined

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- business strategy
- personal development
- entrepreneurship

Key Concepts

strategic planning risk management leadership

Questions to Reflect On

- What dream drives you?
- How will you mitigate risk?

A Different Perspective

Risk can lead to loss if not managed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Good ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [Excellence requires discomfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/excellence-requires-discomfort/)

[T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/)

> [“Believe in yourself, your abilities and your own potential. Never let self-doubt hold you captive. You are worthy of all that you dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bennett/believe-in-yourself-your-abilities-and-your-own-potential-never-let/)

[Roy Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bennett/)

> [It's a dream of mine to win a Grammy one day. I'm not saying I'm Grammy-worthy, but it would be a dream come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/it-s-a-dream-of-mine-to-win-a-grammy-one-day-i-m-not-saying-i-m/)

[Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/)

> [Today, we seem to be striving towards injustice, applauding it as though it's a worthy dream, made sacred by the caste system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/today-we-seem-to-be-striving-towards-injustice-applauding-it-as/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Excellence requires us to prepare in advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-henderson/excellence-requires-us-to-prepare-in-advance/)

[Jeff Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-henderson/)

> [“Few people realize how much courage it takes in a community like ours to ignore the established taboos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-benton-frank/few-people-realize-how-much-courage-it-takes-in-a-community-like-ours/)

[Dorothea Benton Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-benton-frank/)

> [You give up the world line by line. Stoically. And then one day you realize that your courage is farcical. It doesn't mean anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-give-up-the-world-line-by-line-stoically-and-then-one-day-you/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [Judicial excellence requires an understanding that the law is more than an intellectual game and more than a mental exercise. He or she must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/judicial-excellence-requires-an-understanding-that-the-law-is-more/)

[Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/)

> [I realize now how much courage it takes to choose the life you want, whatever that might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-realize-now-how-much-courage-it-takes-to-choose-the-life-you-want/)

[Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/)

> [The Enlightenment dream is a good one. The idea that people should rationally appreciate their place in nature, assess threats and possibilities, and regulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-enlightenment-dream-is-a-good-one-the-idea-that-people-should/)

[Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/)

> [“No idea is a bad Idea. No dream is a bad dream. If your dream was good enough to have its good enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrius-garrett/no-idea-is-a-bad-idea-no-dream-is-a-bad-dream-if-your-dream-was-good/)

[Darrius Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrius-garrett/)

> [A child's own story is a dream, but a good story is a dream that is true for more than one child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wise-brown/a-child-s-own-story-is-a-dream-but-a-good-story-is-a-dream-that-is/)

[Margaret Wise Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wise-brown/)

> [“I had to imagine this was the dream of every good person - to find the world in need of the thing you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/i-had-to-imagine-this-was-the-dream-of-every-good-person-to-find-the/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [I only had one focus and one direction, and I knew where my spirit and heart lived, and it was in singing and dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-only-had-one-focus-and-one-direction-and-i-knew-where-my-spirit-and/)

[Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/)

> [Music is able to make a person dream. When you dream, you dream of something good, something beautiful, and when you dream, you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/music-is-able-to-make-a-person-dream-when-you-dream-you-dream-of/)

[Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/)

## More by William J. Clinton

> [When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/when-personal-freedom-s-being-abused-you-have-to-move-to-limit-it/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Almost makes you want to go to jail out here, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/almost-makes-you-want-to-go-to-jail-out-here-doesn-t-it/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [I take full responsability...for what we did. It was the right thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-take-full-responsability-for-what-we-did-it-was-the-right-thing-to/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Even as people take pride in their national independence, we know we are becoming more and more interdependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/even-as-people-take-pride-in-their-national-independence-we-know-we/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [To build a twenty-first-century economy, America must revive a nineteenth-century habit--investing in the common, national economic resources that enable every person and every firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/to-build-a-twenty-first-century-economy-america-must-revive-a/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [One of the things that I think we have learned is that we should all be very careful about making predictions about the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/one-of-the-things-that-i-think-we-have-learned-is-that-we-should-all/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Only astrophysicists new about the Internet 20 years ago. Today my cat has a website.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/only-astrophysicists-new-about-the-internet-20-years-ago-today-my-cat/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [You know, I've always been really interested in this stuff, and I'm going to read this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/you-know-i-ve-always-been-really-interested-in-this-stuff-and-i-m/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [If you believe in making change from the bottom up, if you believe the measure of change is how many people's lives are better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/if-you-believe-in-making-change-from-the-bottom-up-if-you-believe-the/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [ We \[Democrats\] have got to be strong. When we look weak in a time where people feel insecure, we lose. when people feel uncertain,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-democrats-have-got-to-be-strong-when-we-look-weak-in-a-time-where/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [It's the economy, stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/it-s-the-economy-stupid/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [The Republicans could mess up a two car parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-republicans-could-mess-up-a-two-car-parade/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-re-all-in-this-together-is-a-far-better-philosophy-than-you-re-on/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

[Explore all 712 William J. Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

## More Achieve quotes

> [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/)

[Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/)

> [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/)

[Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/)

> [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/)

[Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/)

> [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/)

[Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/)

> [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/)

Deon Taylor

> [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/)

Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera

> [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/)

[Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/)

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/)

[Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/)

> [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power &amp; movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/)

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

> [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/)

[John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/)

> [To achieve something you've never achieved before, you must become someone you've never been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/to-achieve-something-you-ve-never-achieved-before-you-must-become/)

[Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/)

> [I've identified as bisexual since I was a teenager, and if we want to achieve equality for all in our policies, we need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hill/i-ve-identified-as-bisexual-since-i-was-a-teenager-and-if-we-want-to/)

[Katie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hill/)

Browse all 6,390 Achieve quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of how to realize it and the courage to risk failure to achieve it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William J. Clinton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream-a-good-idea-of-how-to-realize/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Achieve"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream-a-good-idea-of-how-to-realize/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/william-j-clinton-302_achieve_true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream_1461083.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“True Excellence requires a worthy dream, a good Idea of how to realize it and the courage to risk failure to…” — William J. Clinton",
                "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": "William J. Clinton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "True Excellence requires a worthy dream,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream-a-good-idea-of-how-to-realize/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/true-excellence-requires-a-worthy-dream-a-good-idea-of-how-to-realize/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
