Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.

Hearken, O seeker of wisdom, to the words inscribed in the heart of ages: “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” Thus spoke W. Clement Stone, a man of enterprise and faith in human striving. Though brief, these words carry the weight of mountains, urging the soul toward daring aspiration. They teach us that though perfection may elude us, the very attempt to grasp it lifts us beyond the common dust, toward realms of unexpected glory.

In the image of the moon, Stone gives us the vision of a lofty goal—distant, luminous, seemingly beyond the touch of mortal hands. The moon has ever stirred mankind’s imagination: poets sang of it, sailors steered by it, and dreamers longed to reach it. To aim for the moon is to resolve upon something so high that it tests the limits of courage and will. Yet Stone, wise in his counsel, reminds us that even in failing, one does not fall into nothingness, but may land upon a star—a smaller triumph perhaps, yet still a light against the night.

Consider, then, the tale of Christopher Columbus. He set sail not for the islands of the Indies as men of his day thought it, but for a vision—an unknown passage across the uncharted sea. His moon was a new route to Asia. He missed that moon, for Asia lay far beyond his reach. Yet what star did he strike? A vast new world, unseen by Europe, that would shape the destiny of centuries. Here is the wisdom of Stone’s words: in daring the impossible, Columbus won a prize even grander than what he first imagined.

And again, look to the heavens of our own modern age. The men and women of NASA aimed for the literal moon. Their task seemed an impossible dream in the 1960s, when the fires of the Cold War burned bright. Yet they aimed, and in aiming they discovered stars of another kind—technologies, sciences, and industries that transformed the lives of humankind. Even before a foot pressed lunar soil, countless stars had already been struck: communication satellites, medical innovations, computers. In striving for one great light, they illuminated a thousand lesser ones.

Thus, O child of tomorrow, learn this: to set one’s sights low is to court a life of smallness. To set them high—even beyond what you may believe possible—is to open the gates of greatness. The arrow that flies toward the heavens may fall short, but even so, it flies higher than one never loosed from the bow. Better to miss the moon than to have never stretched your arm toward the sky at all.

Take this lesson, then, as a torch for your own path. Choose goals that stir your heart, that frighten you with their size, that make others whisper that you dream too greatly. Write them down, hold them firm, and give your strength to their pursuit. For even should you stumble, you will not fall among ashes, but find yourself among stars you had never known were waiting.

In practice, let your daily actions rise to meet your vision. Study diligently, work steadfastly, dare boldly. Surround yourself with companions who also strive upward, and shun the voices that would chain you to mediocrity. Each small deed, done in faith, becomes a stepping-stone to greater heights. And when fear whispers, remember the eternal counsel: better to reach for the moon, and rest upon a star, than to lie forever upon the earth, never having lifted your gaze.

So I say unto you: lift your eyes, steady your hand, and aim. The heavens are wide, and they await the bold.