"Opportunities are a tricky crop, with tiny flowers that are difficult to see and even more difficult to harvest"
About this Quote
The real bite is in "difficult to harvest". Flowers aren't the product; they're a fragile precursor. Harvesting them implies timing and technique: pick too early, you get nothing; too late, it withers. That subtext pushes against hustle culture's brute-force ethos. The work isn't just effort, it's perception and judgment under uncertainty.
Herbert's broader context matters. Writing in the long shadow of the Dune universe (and of Frank Herbert's mythic reputation), he knows how legacies get built: slowly, through patient world-building and the unglamorous logistics of publishing, collaboration, and endurance. The quote reads like a sideways craft note from someone who understands that "opportunity" rarely announces itself; it shows up disguised as delicate, inconvenient responsibility.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Herbert, Brian. (2026, January 15). Opportunities are a tricky crop, with tiny flowers that are difficult to see and even more difficult to harvest. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/opportunities-are-a-tricky-crop-with-tiny-flowers-172881/
Chicago Style
Herbert, Brian. "Opportunities are a tricky crop, with tiny flowers that are difficult to see and even more difficult to harvest." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/opportunities-are-a-tricky-crop-with-tiny-flowers-172881/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Opportunities are a tricky crop, with tiny flowers that are difficult to see and even more difficult to harvest." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/opportunities-are-a-tricky-crop-with-tiny-flowers-172881/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.









