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Success Quote by Zendaya

"I think it's important to have a big dream and make sure you have a backup plan. Because in this industry, it's hard to make it"

About this Quote

Zendaya’s line lands because it refuses the glamour trap. In an industry that sells destiny narratives - the “discovered” ingénue, the overnight breakout - she swaps myth for management. “Big dream” keeps the aspirational engine running; “backup plan” quietly punctures the fantasy that wanting something hard enough makes it inevitable. The phrasing is plain on purpose. It’s advice you could hear from a parent at the kitchen table, which is exactly the point: she’s smuggling pragmatism into a culture built on spectacle.

The subtext is class-aware without waving a flag. For most people, especially young performers without family money or connections, chasing a dream isn’t just romantic risk; it’s rent, healthcare, time, and the emotional toll of constant rejection. Zendaya’s “because in this industry, it’s hard to make it” doesn’t dramatize hardship; it normalizes it. That matters coming from someone who, on paper, “made it.” She’s using her credibility to stress that her outcome is not a template.

Contextually, it fits her public persona: disciplined, strategic, and careful about being turned into a fairy-tale. She’s also speaking to a generation raised amid economic volatility and side-hustle realism. The quote doubles as career counsel and brand ethic: ambition is admirable, but so is contingency. In a business that monetizes people’s hopes, that’s a subtle act of honesty.

Quote Details

TopicGoal Setting
SourceSeventeen magazine interview/profile (2013)
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Zendaya. (2026, February 16). I think it's important to have a big dream and make sure you have a backup plan. Because in this industry, it's hard to make it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-its-important-to-have-a-big-dream-and-184654/

Chicago Style
Zendaya. "I think it's important to have a big dream and make sure you have a backup plan. Because in this industry, it's hard to make it." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-its-important-to-have-a-big-dream-and-184654/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think it's important to have a big dream and make sure you have a backup plan. Because in this industry, it's hard to make it." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-its-important-to-have-a-big-dream-and-184654/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Zendaya Add to List
Zendaya on Ambition and Backup Plans: Practical Career Wisdom
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About the Author

Zendaya

Zendaya (born September 1, 1996) is a Actress from USA.

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