“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”
This saying is attributed to Les Brown [motivational speaker] and Brian Littrell [lead singer - Backstreet Boys].
This is absolutely horrible advice.
I'm no physicist, but...if you miss the moon then the chances of landing among the stars is infinitesimal. There's a greater chance of hitting our Sun, which is of course a star, than there is escaping our solar system and landing among all those other trillions of stars. But, even with this nearest-star there's a hitch. You will burn up before you can land.
I'm no philosopher, but...there's an argument to be made: you have already landed among the stars. Fortunately, you have landed here on Earth where the nearest star does you much more good than harm and the rest of the stars, at least those visible to us, provide an awe-inspiring view at night. There is little to be gained in trying to re-position oneself among the stars.
I'm no rocket scientist, but...if you shoot for the moon then you just might hit it or, if you plan properly, you just might land on it. When I was a boy the Americans used to do that every once in a while. Yes - in the early 1960's President Kennedy spearheaded a space race to the moon. Kennedy began the race with one of the greatest motivational speeches of all time.
Here, thanks to Wikipedia, is a transcript of his words:
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency."
John F. Kennedy,
Speech at Rice University, Houston, 12 September 1962
Kennedy's vision was realized July 20, 1969..here's a picture of the crew.
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin
P.S.: Don't shoot for the moon. If you want to go to the moon check out
Richard Branson.