The problem with finding a specific example of this is that the quote claims that this is what most people do. They set their sights low, and having attained those ordinary goals, they merely live out the rest of their lives in obscurity. The people who are famous, and for whom you can find stories to illustrate their greatness, they all set their marks high. Some of them fell short and some didn’t. But an example of a great inventor would not illustrate what the quote meant to say.

Most people set low standards out of fear of failure. As a result, it’s hard to find a concrete example of such a person that you can use in your essay.

The only somewhat helpful example I can think of is that of Portugal and Spain at the time of Columbus and his voyages. Portugal was in a far superior economic position and they turned him down. They felt that the route they had in place to India by going around africa was good enough and they felt that his westward plan was a miscalculation. In a sense you could say that they aimed low, and they achieved their mark.

Spain on the other hand, decided to give him a shot and let him try his best. They needed to find a different route from Portugal because they were in a crummy financial position. So they sent him with hopes for the best. They aimed high, so to speak, and fell short because Columbus didn’t make it to India. He did however discover the Americas and helped Spain become a naval superpower that dwarfed Portugal. You can find more details of this on wikipedia if you want to expand on the example.

This is a tough assignment. The quote is one that most people would read and nod their agreement to. They may comment about how well it’s stated. They may even see something in their own lives that reflects it. But they would have plenty of trouble coming up with an example from the world outside.

Good luck on your essay. 🙂 The wiki article link is below, although I’m sure that if you need footnotes, you should get real books on the subject.

It’s the idea of innovation that makes you want to aim high. I am sure at one point someone in the 1800s was lost and said, “Wouldn’t it be nice to just be able to know where we are?” and now we have GPS… If noone had ever aimed for those goals they never would have been achieved.

i’m not really good at solving messages lol but my could be right lol

like what about man on the moon?

neil armstrong set the record along with others who were with him to step on the moon

leading on to others making there mark on the moon to follow their steps to build a greater space program and ships and now look at the space travel today?

it was their innovative thinkin that gave us such useful things