Shlain invoked this famous quote — often attributed to Goethe — as the capstone of her message about moxie. She described how she founded The Webby Awards in 1996 when most people had no idea what the internet was, how she scraped together funding for independent films when everyone told her it was impossible, and how every major breakthrough in her career came from simply beginning — from taking that first bold step before she felt ready. The quote captured perfectly what she wanted the Berkeley graduates to understand: you don't need a perfect plan or guaranteed success. You just need to start, and the boldness of beginning itself carries a kind of magic.