Painterly wooden paddle leaning against stacked blank canvases beside a small pot of brushes.

Original artwork, not a still

William Faulkner

Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The advice shifts ambition away from competition with other people and toward surpassing oneself. Dreaming beyond known ability sets a demanding standard, but the comparison remains personal. The final sentence condenses that idea into a challenge to exceed one's own present limits.

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