"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible"
About this Quote
The line also smuggles in a worldview where ambiguity is the enemy. Goals aren’t just helpful; they are the first step, the necessary opening move. That absolutism is part of Robbins’s brand, forged in the late-20th-century self-help boom when corporate productivity culture and therapy-speak started sharing the same vocabulary. In that context, "visibility" isn’t merely personal clarity; it’s measurability. If you can see it, you can track it. If you can track it, you can optimize it. Life becomes a project plan.
The subtext is both empowering and slightly coercive: if your dreams remain "invisible", it’s because you haven’t done the basic work. The quote offers a clean moral: intention without structure is just daydreaming. And it lands because it gives people what they crave in uncertain times - a simple lever to pull, a first step that feels concrete, and a story where transformation is less mystery than method.
Quote Details
| Topic | Goal Setting |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Robbins, Tony. (2026, January 17). Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/setting-goals-is-the-first-step-in-turning-the-28709/
Chicago Style
Robbins, Tony. "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/setting-goals-is-the-first-step-in-turning-the-28709/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/setting-goals-is-the-first-step-in-turning-the-28709/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.











