You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great

Meaning: Greatness is not a prerequisite for beginning; beginning is the path to greatness.

Origin: Attributed to Zig Ziglar, American motivational speaker and author, 20th century.

Translations

• French: Il n'est pas nécessaire d'être grand pour commencer, mais il faut commencer pour être grand (literally: You don't have to be great to start, but you must start to be great)
• Spanish: No tienes que ser grande para empezar, pero tienes que empezar para ser grande (literally: You don't have to be great to start, but you must start to be great)
• Japanese: 偉大でなくても始められるが、始めなければ偉大になれない (Idai de nakute mo hajimerareru ga, hajimenakereba idai ni narenai) (literally: You don't have to be great to start, but you can't become great without starting)

← Back to Proverbs

Loading the full interactive collection…